30 Okt 1956 Jahr - Battle of Jebel Heitan

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Continuation of Paratroopers' Advance
Under Colonel Ariel Sharon's command, paratroopers continued advancing to meet with the 1st Brigade. En route, Sharon's forces assaulted Themed in a dawn attack, successfully storming the town through the Themed Gap and routing the Sudanese police company stationed there. As they moved towards Nakla, Sharon's men faced attacks from Egyptian MIG-15s. By October 30th, Sharon had linked up with Eytan near Nakla.

Battle of Jebel Heitan
Though General Moshe Dayan had no plans for further advances, Sharon independently decided to attack the Egyptian positions at Jebel Heitan. Sharon believed that failing to seize the high ground would allow the 1st and 2nd Brigades of the 4th Egyptian Armored Division to annihilate his forces. On the afternoon of October 31, Sharon sent two infantry companies, a mortar battery, and some AMX-13 tanks, commanded by Mordechai Gur, into the Heitan Defile.

The Egyptians were in strong defensive positions and brought heavy anti-tank, mortar, and machine gun fire upon the IDF force. Gur's men retreated into the "Saucer," where they were surrounded and heavily fired upon. In response, Sharon sent another task force, while Gur's men scaled the walls of the Heitan Defile under the cover of night. The ensuing battle saw the Egyptians defeated and forced to retreat, with 260 Egyptian and 38 Israeli soldiers killed.

Controversy and Criticism
Although the battle was an Israeli victory, the casualties sustained led to controversy surrounding Sharon. He was criticized for ordering the unauthorized attack on Jebel Heitan and not realizing that with the Israeli Air Force controlling the skies, his men were not in imminent danger from Egyptian tanks. Dayan acknowledged that Sharon made the right decision to order the attack without orders under the circumstances but criticized his head-on attack tactics, which led to unnecessary casualties.

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