Major General, 38th Division
"We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children."
Ariel Sharon was one of the most complex and controversial figures in Israeli military and political history — a brilliant tactician who became a divisive Prime Minister. In the Six-Day War, commanding a division in the Sinai, he planned and executed the Battle of Abu-Ageila: a textbook combined-arms assault that smashed the Egyptian strongpoint in a single night. The attack used helicopters to drop paratroopers behind Egyptian lines simultaneously with a frontal tank assault and artillery barrage — an audacious coordination that destroyed the Egyptian defensive system. Sharon then raced west, and his division reached the Suez Canal just as the ceasefire came into effect. He had a long subsequent career: hero of the Yom Kippur War, controversial Defense Minister during the Lebanon War, settler movement champion, and finally — in his last act — the Prime Minister who unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, before his stroke ended his active life.
Did you know?
Sharon's night assault on Abu-Ageila in June 1967 — a simultaneous attack combining paratroopers landing by helicopter behind Egyptian lines, tanks attacking frontally, and artillery on the flanks — is still studied at military academies. He designed it personally. He later became Prime Minister, ordered the withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, and suffered a massive stroke in January 2006 from which he never recovered, lying in a coma for 8 years.
June 5–8, 1967 · 15,000 total casualties
The Sinai battle destroyed Egypt's military credibility. Amer's panicked retreat order — made without Nasser's knowledge — transformed a fighting retreat into a catastrophe. Thousands of Egyptian soldiers died in the desert without water. The humiliation toppled Egypt's military leadership and ended any idea of Egypt as a regional military superpower.
February 26, 1928
🌅 Birth
Born at Kfar Malal, Palestine
1948
⚔️ Battle
Fought in 1948 War; wounded at Latrun
June 5–8, 1967
⚔️ Battle
Commanded division at Sinai; executed brilliant Abu-Ageila night assault
October 1973
⚔️ Battle
Commanded crossing of Suez Canal in Yom Kippur War; became national hero
March 2001
milestone
Became Prime Minister of Israel
January 4, 2006
milestone
Suffered massive stroke; entered coma
January 11, 2014
✝️ Death
Died after 8 years in a coma, age 85