June 5, 1967 · Egypt / Air War Theater

At 7:45 a.m. on June 5 — when Israeli intelligence knew Egyptian pilots would be eating breakfast — 183 Israeli aircraft fly low over the Mediterranean and destroy 300 Egyptian aircraft in less than three hours. Flying in tight waves, Israeli jets hit 11 Egyptian airfields simultaneously, destroying planes on the ground, cratering runways, and eliminating Egypt's entire air force before it can take off. A second wave destroys Jordan, Syria, and Iraq's air forces hours later.

June 5–8, 1967 · Sinai Peninsula Theater

Three Israeli armored divisions — Tal, Sharon, and Yoffe — crash into Egyptian defenses simultaneously along different axes. Sharon's division fights the battle of Abu-Ageila in a brilliant coordinated night attack. Without air cover, Egyptian armor is devastated. Amer panics and orders a general retreat that turns into a rout — soldiers abandon vehicles and flee on foot across the desert. The entire Sinai falls in four days.

June 5–7, 1967 · West Bank / Jerusalem Theater

Israel had urged Jordan's King Hussein to stay out of the war, but Egyptian disinformation led him to believe Egypt was winning. Jordan opened fire on West Jerusalem, and Israel responded with a three-pronged assault on East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Paratroopers of the 55th Brigade fought street by street through the Old City. On June 7, Col. Mordechai Gur radioed the words: 'The Temple Mount is in our hands.'

June 9–10, 1967 · Golan Heights Theater

With Egypt and Jordan defeated, Israel turned north on the final day and stormed the Golan Heights — the volcanic plateau overlooking the Sea of Galilee from which Syria had been shelling Israeli farms for years. The assault against fortified Syrian positions on steep basalt cliffs was Israel's most difficult and costly operation. Syrian forces collapsed after fierce fighting and the Heights fell in 36 hours.