Insubordinate!

This is coolbert.

In his book, "Elusive Victory", Dupuy mentions at length the insubordinate nature of Ariel Sharon.

Sharon, now in a coma, is probably the most recognized and best known Israeli of his generation. A military man who had a distinguished and controversial career as a soldier. Followed by a distinguished and controversial career as a politician.

Sharon's insubordinate nature was most apparent during the 1973 war between the Arabs states and Israel. Sharon commanded a division in that war and was a subordinate to General Gonen, the commander of Israeli Southern Command. The Israeli command opposite Egypt.

Repeatedly, during the campaign to stem the Egyptian advance and then in the counter-attack and crossing of the Suez Canal by Israeli forces, Sharon went over the head of his direct superior, Gonen, and appealed to the Defense Minister [Dayan], and various General officers of the Israeli General Staff. Made his case for action counter to the orders of Gonen. And did so repeatedly!!

Consider these comments of De Puy:

[talking here about the 1973 war and the attempt of Sharon to cross the Suez Canal in a preemptory manner.]

"Sharon's zone . . . was less busy . . . he was able to send his reconnaissance battalion on a maneuver . . . without encountering any serious resistance . . . appealed to General Gonen to permit him to make a crossing . . . Gonen, annoyed that Sharon had attacked against his orders, preemptorily refused, and ordered Sharon to withdraw . . . Sharon simply radio directly to Tel Aviv, where an old friend and former subordinate . . . was Deputy Chief of the Operations Division . . . and asked him to get Major General Israel Tal to persuade either General Elazar or Defense Minister Dayan to authorize the crossing . . . . when Gonen realized what had happened he was furious at Sharon. First it seemed to him to be unpardonable that a subordinate would bypass him and seek to have his order countermanded by higher authority. Even worse was the fact that Sharon had deliberately disobeyed his order"

"After the war, Gonen confided to his friends that he had been unable to control Sharon, and that Bar Lev had been sent down for the single purpose of exercising the control over that general that he, Gonen was incapable of exercising."

[I could go on and on with such typical comments and observations regarding the insubordinate nature of Sharon during the 1973 war. I have confined my blog to strictly this few!]

SHARON WAS NOT RELIEVED OF COMMAND DURING THE 1973 WAR, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD "DISOBEYED" ORDERS. ALSO WENT OVER THE HEAD OF A SUPERIOR WITH STRATEGY AND TACTICS OF HIS OWN. THIS IS THE TYPE OF THING NORMALLY DEEMED TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE IN MILITARY CIRCLES THE WORLD OVER. AND YET, SHARON WAS NOT ONLY NOT RELIEVED, HE WAS LISTENED TO BY THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF COMMAND AND DID GO ON TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART IN THE STOPPING AND REPELLING OF THE EGYPTIAN ATTACK ALONG THE SUEZ CANAL!!

For Sharon to be in direct contact [and going over the head of his direct superior as well!!] with the highest command levels of the Israeli military and the civilian leadership was not unusual. Sharon WAS IN THE HABIT OF DOING SO! That a distinguished a military historian such as De Puy did not seem to be aware of this is unusual!

Sharon had developed this familiarity with high levels of command from the earliest stages of his military career. From while he served as commander of the Israeli Unit 101.

[Unit 101 was named such in honor of the U.S. 101st Airborne division.]

An Israeli ranger/commando/special operations unit.

"Unit 101 was set up on 30 July 1953 and Ariel Sharon was chosen as its commander. In Israel's Border Wars, Israeli historian Benny Morris describes the killer squad: "The new recruits began a harsh regimen of day and night training, their orientation and navigation exercises often taking them across the border; encounters with enemy patrols or village watchmen were regarded as the best preparation for the missions that lay ahead. Some commanders, such as Baum and Sharon, deliberately sought firefights. Unit 101 recruits went on forced marches and did calisthenics, judo, and weapons and sabotage training, at their base camp at Sataf, an abandoned Arab village just west of Jerusalem."

[this training has the type of tenor that has typified all elite Israeli military forces even before the inception of Israel. The type of units and training and operations as espoused by Orde Wingate!!]

Created for the purpose of:

* Counter-guerilla/counter-terrorist/special operations.

* Cross-border raids. [against Arab neighbors of Israel].

* Punitive expeditions. [punish Arabs for attacking Israel.]

Organized in response to Arab fedayeen attacks on Israel.

Organized at the behest of the Prime Minister/Defense Minister, David Ben Gurion, and the Chief of Staff, Moshe Dayan.

As commander of Unit 101, Ariel Sharon, as a very junior commander, had a direct line to both Ben Gurion and Dayan.

Operations of Unit 101 had to be approved in advance by the highest level of command authority in Israel. Sharon was accustomed to dealing with levels of command that a junior officer would almost NEVER deal with. NOT only dealt with, but gave advice and consulted with in a manner unheard of in any other military in the world, period. Sharon was a man with his finger in decisions of the greatest portent. And this from a very junior officer!!

Sharon, from the earliest point in his career, was given extraordinary leeway and almost carte blanche authority to perform his missions as he saw fit. And DID so too. Sharon is seen as a man possessing elan'. Spirited action. A man who employs measured audacity while in command.

To go over the heads of his direct superiors and appeal to the highest levels of command authority was NOT unusual for Sharon. On the contrary, it was standard practice for the man!!

Persons in the command authority of Israel have ALWAYS listened to and heeded the military advice of Sharon. A lot of familiar adages and sayings apply in the case of Sharon. Such as:

* "A good plan now is better than a perfect plan tomorrow." [don't dither.]

* "He who dares, wins!!" [motto of the British SAS.]

* "Make the enemy bleed, make him keep his head down, make him wonder where YOU are coming from!!" [attributed to General Patton.]

* "Offensive action is necessary to win at war!!"

Keep in mind also that the fighting style of Sharon is in consonance with the doctrine of the Israeli military eve since it's inception. This doctrine places great emphasis upon:

* Carrying the war to the enemy. Fighting the war on the territory of the enemy.

* Quick decisive action leading to victory and a cessation of hostilities. Wars fought by Israel MUST BE over relatively quickly. Israel cannot fight a war of prolonged attrition. Commanders who exercise restraint and exhibit cautious behavior are NOT wanted. Commanders who "make" things happen, even if displaying an overly aggressive style, are desired and appreciated.

The advice of Sharon WAS listened to by those of the highest command echelons in Israel. Even if Sharon WAS wrong, and you can make a case that in some instances he was, Sharon is the type of commander that those in Israeli HIGH POLITICAL OFFICE are fond of!!

Israel has had a military that has ALWAYS combined unconventional military tactics with the conventional. As a prior practitioner of both, Sharon, in 1973, pushed everything to the limit. NOT necessarily desired in a conventional commander, but then Sharon in his lifetime WAS ANYTHING BUT A CONVENTIONAL COMMANDER!!

coolbert.