The main road from Damascus to the heart of Golan Heighl in the north passed between two large volcanic hills: Hermonit in the north and Booster in the south. Connecting these two hills was a low rise or saddle- back called Booster Ridge, and it was along this dominating feature that the Israeli 7th Armored Brigade placed its defenses.
The 7th Brigade was a late arrival to the Golan. One battalion, the 77th Tank Battalion, had been sent to the Golan early, and the rest of the brigade was still arriving on October 6 as the Syrian attack broke. Before the brigade arrivals, the only armored unit had been the 188th "Barak" Brigade, with two tank battalions and some mechanize infantry. The brigade's 74th Tank Battalion was in the north, near Booster, and the 52nd Tank Battalion was in the south. As the 7th came on line, it was given responsibility for the northern half of the front an had taken over the command of the 74th Tank Battalion. Its own 82nd Tank Battalion was detached to the Barak Brigade in the south, but before Colonel Avigdor Ben Gal, the brigade commander, had stripped off a tank company and attached it to his 75th Mechanized Battalion. An additional tank battalion was available in the north, that of the Armor School Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. Menshalom Carmels, and it was assigned to rei ' nfome the 7th Armored Brigade.
The Israeli position in front of Booster was held by an antitank ditch and minefield, backed by a line of bunkers manned by elements of the Golani Brigade. The 74th Tank Battalion was placed back stopping the Golani Brigade from positions along Booster itself. 0n October 6-7 as the 7th Armored took up its positions, the Syrians committed the 85th Infantry Brigade, the 78th Tank Brigade and 81st Independent Tank Brigade against the Booster position. By mid-morning of the 8th the remains of the 7th Armored Brigade still held, having stopped all three Syrian attacks. However, the Syrian attack had served their purpose. The antitank ditch and minefields had bee breached, and the few remaining elements of the Golani clung to few positions along the ditch. The battalions of the 7th Armored Brigade were down to company strength and less. Reinforcements had been called for, but it was not known whether they would reach the front in time.
On the morning of October 8, the Syrians committed the fresh 70th Independent Tank Brigade, commanded by Lt Col. Rafid Assad, the brother of the President of Syria. The remains of the 81st also surged forward, and the Israelis found themselves with the backs against the wall.
More Golan Heights October 8th, 1973: Booster Ridge
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© Copyright 1993 by Greg Novak.
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