operational commands. On the night of 9 July we would be going into action.
In the early morning hours of 8 July the alarm was sounded. No breakfast. Within minutes we have collected our combat equipment and are ready. In Be’er Tuvia we hear that the Egyptians have broken the ceasefire in the night - thirty hours before it officially ends. They sur-prised our troops in Beit Daras with a massive attack. Shimon’s com-panywas responsible for defense there. In vicious hand-to-hand fighting the attack was beaten off. One comrade, Matitjahu Borochin, who remained at his post after his rifle jammed, had four hand grenades thrown at him. He picked them up and threw them back at the Sudanese attackers - both he and his comrade, Noam Kascher, were rescued.
But the Egyptians committed their reinforcements. The attack was just the start of a large-scale offensive. Our task was to reinforce the defense at Beit Daras. But the road therefrom Be’er Tuvia was blocked by Egyptian tanks. Only later did we find out that most of them were fakes - made of wood and cloth -just decoys.
The jeeps were to attack the enemy from the rear, from the direction ofSawafir. Their sudden appearance completed the work of the infantry and the Sudanese withdrew in panic. Due to a mistake in radio com-munications the leader of the jeeps failed to understand that he had the unique chance to drive the enemy before him and perhaps even reach Hill 69.
At the end of the operation we returned to Be’er Tuvia. We helped to transport the mass of weaponry captured at Beit Daras and waited for new orders. The large-scale offensive was due to start in the night.
In the trenches near Sawafir
Night without compass
"Guess what I have brought you," said Shaul Potruk, the sarge. He showed us a packet of strings with little metal tags attached. "You know what these are? The tickets to heaven, or to hell - with compliments of Farouk."6
So that’s what they look like: the famous dog tags.
"Don’t talk nonsensef’interrupted Ovadia, "that is for the girls, so you don’t have to introduce yourself."