War of Independence; The Six-Day War; Retaliatory Actions, 1953-1956; Battles in the Syrian Sector 1957-1967; Battles in the Sinai.

Description

This is a set of five map posters produced circa 1968 by the Israeli Ministry of Defence Publishing House in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and Culture, celebrating 20 years of the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Independence. The maps trace the history of the Israeli War of Independence in 1948, including the Recent Six-Day War, the continuation of the Arab-Israeli Conflict after the Armistice, the shadow war between Israel and Syria, as well as the IDF’s rapid seizure of the Sinai Peninsula in late October and early November 1956, part of the wider Suez Crisis.

[War of Independence] / מלחמת העצמאות.

This sheet contains seven maps, beginning with the largest at left, an overview map of Israel-Palestine, which notes Jewish, Arab, and mixed settlements, including isolated Jewish settlements separated from the areas initially under Israeli control. Color shading indicates the progression of the conflict, including truce periods, and territory gained through various operations (‘Hiram,’ ‘Dani,’ ‘Yoav,’ ‘Horev’). The attacks of Arab forces and these Israeli operations are given dedicated inset maps at top and bottom. A caricature drawing of HaCástel, an ancient fortification that saw extensive fighting in the First Arab-Israeli War, by Israeli illustrator Arieh Navon (אריה נבון) appears at top-right.

מלחמת ששת הימים / The Six-Day War.

This sheet contains six maps, beginning with an interesting circular map located towards the top-left, which depicts the highly successful air force operations against Egyptian, Jordanian, and Syrian airports. Five maps, positioned across the middle of the sheet, then present ground operations, which include, from left, IDF advances in the Sinai Peninsula and towards the Suez Canal, IDF advances in the West Bank, operations around Jerusalem, operations in Jerusalem itself, and IDF advances into the Golan Heights.  A photograph at the bottom right displays burning vehicles of the Arab armies, while an adjacent block of text provides a brief background and celebratory description of the conflict.

1956-1953 / Retaliatory Actions, 1953-1956.

This sheet contains a large general map at left noting the location of all the reprisal operations between 1953 and 1956. Five maps down the center in the form of scenes of a film strip depict specific actions, including at the Sea of Galilee, Khan Younis (in Gaza), and at Qalqiliya. Text at top-right gives an unsurprisingly one-sided account of the background of these operations. A photograph at bottom-right depicts Israeli commandos (likely from Unit 101) in action during a nighttime operation.

[הגיזרה הסורית] 1967-1957 / [Battles in the Syrian Sector] 1957-1967.

This sheet contains a main overview map on the left, noting the locations of military actions and providing a highly detailed account of the roads, paths, waterways, fortifications, United Nations observation posts, and other features along the border. This main map contains a small inset focusing on Syria and including neighboring countries, including part of Israel. Five inset maps depict various military operations, including the 1962 Battle of Nukeib and several smaller operations. Three photographs at right chart the progress of an attack on Syrian MiG fighter.

מערכת סיני / Battles in the Sinai.

This sheet contains a main map at left presenting the Israeli attack (Operation Kadesh) in several phases, including paratrooper landings. Roads, railways, and other critical infrastructure is highlighted, including the Suez Canal at left. Five inset maps provide a closer view of specific actions in the wider offensive, including naval operations to break the Egyptian blockade on the Straits of Tiran. A photograph at bottom-right presents IDF soldiers  dug into foxholes, with at least one appearing to be praying. A block of text next to the photograph gives the Israeli perspective on the origins of the conflict and the justification for the Israeli attack on October 29.

Publication information

This series was prepared and published by the Israeli Ministry of Defence Publishing House (משרד הבטחון-ההוצאה לאור) in conjunction with the IDF’s Training and Information Branch (ענף הכשרה והסברה) and the Ministry of Education and Culture ( משרד החינוך והתרבות), with artistic work done by Meir Halevi (מאיר הלוי). Each map contains the symbol and Hebrew acronym of the IDF (לצה״ל) with the number 20.

The posters are individually cataloged among the holdings of Stanford University and the National Library of Israel, while Yale University catalogs the entire set of five maps together.