The First Battle
At about two o'clock in the afternoon, the Syrian army starts firing heavy artilery all around the Golan Heights, including the post in Tel-Saki. Hundreds of different kinds of ammunition are fired at the soldiers. This noisemaking marks the beginning of the war. In the late afternoon, when it was already clear beyond any doubt that a war is going on, the soldiers in Tel-Saki noticed long rows of Syrian ACPs and tanks invading Israel close to post number 116, five kilometers to the north of Tel-Saki. Three tanks from Brigade 188 under the command of Yoa'av Yakir fought together with the soldiers in post 116 and tried to block the Syrian invasion. The tanks fought until nightfall, but eventually the Syrian had a quantative advantage and they won. The wounded soldiers from the tank force retreated to Tel-Saki and joined the five soldiers already there, under Ansbacher's command. The Syrian division kept moving south, towards the main Golan areas, and their final destination –The Kinnet, the Sea of Galilee. Tel-Saki is located on the main road leading to the Kinneret, in a strategic crossroads point.
The post has a great geo-strategical importance, and it cannot be evacuated. Everybody hopes that the small group of soldiers located there will have the abillity to delay the Syrian attack, giving the IDF enough time to organize the reserve forces in order to strike back. A short while after midnight, Ansbacher notices a Syrian force moving close to Tel-Saki, in a general southern direction. Ansbacher opens fire on the Syrian force. Later on the asks that a tank force located near by, from brigade 7 under Dany Levin's command, will also confront the Syrian force. The tanks fired at the Syrians, and they decided to withhold their attack until the morning. It was a small Israeli victory: every second is important, every minunte counts. Ansbacher reports of a possibility that a number of Syrian APCs have made it through to Ramat-Magshimim. A force under the command of first lieutenant Benny Hanani reaches Ramat-Magshimim and stops the Syrian movement. Another small but important success. Sunday morning arrives, and a battle begins in Tel-Saki. The tanks and soldiers in Tel-Saki face a whole Syrian division. This disproportion is amazing. The tanks are severly damged, many soldiers are killed, wounded or taken into captivity. The wounded retreat back into the post, joining their friends, they are now all seiged, surrounded all around by Syrian soldiers. They are running out of armor and supply, they are wounded, tired and absorbing heavy fire from more than one direction. Things seem hopeless, but they keep fighting. They are fighting to protect their country.
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