Israeli mountain shooters study the experience of colleagues around the world
"Mountain peaks Sleep in the darkness of the night..." – the first lines of Lermontov's brilliant translation of Goethe's famous poem. "Only mountains can be better than mountains..." sang Vladimir Vysotsky. And the beautiful Israeli poet Israel Rubinstein (a native of Moscow) calls the highest mountain of the Hermon Highlands "steep".
And it really is a cool place.
WINTER RESORT AND MILITARY FACILITY
In principle, Hermon is a tourist destination: the only mountain range on the Golan Plateau where you can practice winter sports. It snows there from November to March. Hermon is considered a winter resort.
However, this territory is disputed by Syria. Although most of the Golan after the Six–Day War in June 1967 is controlled by Israel and only the eastern part is controlled by the Syrians, the UN Security Council recognizes the entire territory as Syrian.
The highest point of the Israeli part of the Golan Heights is Mount Hermon (2236 m). On a clear day, Damascus is visible from there, located just 40 km from the plateau.
Strategically, it is important to keep in mind that only 7% of the Hermon Ridge is located in Israel. The highest of the peaks of Mount Hermon (2814 m) is located on Syrian territory.
During all military confrontations with Damascus, attacks by Syrian tank units always began with attempts to capture the Golan Heights. And it is clear why. The relief of this plateau is ideal for ensuring the security of the Jewish state. And vice versa: the enemy's seizure of this territory dramatically reduces the defense capability of the Israelis, because it is quite possible to shell more than 40% of Israel's territory from the tops of the Golan. It is not surprising that Mount Hermon is called "the eyes and ears of Israel."
To protect the Golan Plateau in 1973, an army mountaineering unit was formed in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) on the basis of the reconnaissance company of the Golani brigade and the Egoz special forces ("Nut"), which can well be called Israeli mountain riflemen.
SHVED – SKI INSTRUCTOR
According to Israeli military experts, the loss of control over the Golan can lead to serious problems in all spheres of life. In particular, the Golan Heights protect the approaches to Lake Kinneret (also called Lake Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee or Genisaret), which serves as the most important source of fresh water in the Jewish state.
Israeli columnist Anna Aronheim, in an article "Jews on Skis" published in the Jerusalem post newspaper this year, talks about the IDF reserve Major Stefan Kogeus. He began service in the Army mountaineering unit in 1982, immediately after repatriation from Sweden.
Before moving to the Jewish state, Kogeus served in a mountaineering unit of the Swedish army. According to him, when he started his service on Hermon, the Israeli military did not use skis even for patrolling: they used snowshoes. Stefan Kogeus was shocked not only by snowshoes, but also by the then equipment of the local military, which almost did not take into account mountain conditions. And this is despite the fact that the Israeli mountaineering unit has existed for nine years. It is not surprising that such a weak preparation once went sideways.
In mid-April 1974, 60 Israeli fighters under the command of 28-year-old Amiram Levin stormed Mount Hermon. At the same time, the Syrians lost 12 soldiers and the Israelis captured about 40 more. However, this assault by the IDF command was considered extremely unsuccessful, because the losses of Jews amounted to 30 people killed and almost 50 wounded. The Syrians could not take prisoners. After such a failure, the first Israeli mountaineering unit was disbanded. It was recreated only four years later.
It is noteworthy that the unsuccessful assault on Hermon did not affect the military career of Amiram Levin. Two years later he became the commander of the elite special forces "Sayeret Matkal", and in 1994-1998 he commanded the Northern Military District.
It should be noted that after the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in December 1979, the contingent command faced the problem of training a significant part of the military personnel in combat operations in the highlands. The problem was solved by creating mountain rifle battalions on the basis of motorized rifle regiments.
Among other things, the "Swede" Stefan Kogeus taught Israeli mountain shooters not to sleep in tents, as ordinary infantrymen do for the night, but to dig caves in the snow, which are more correctly called grottoes.
The Golan Heights and the Hermon mountain range have their own peculiarities. Therefore, the Israelis refused to send their mountain shooters to study in Germany and Switzerland. Although joint exercises with the military of some countries are held.
CONSIDERING THE SOVIET EXPERIENCE
In the post-war period, Soviet mountain riflemen received special uniforms and equipment, and also studied special disciplines in a small amount. Only later did experienced instructors appear. Although it was in the Soviet Union in 1942-1945 that there was a School of military mountaineering and skiing of the Transcaucasian and North Caucasian fronts.
This school, as well as several similar schools in Central Asia, were created on the initiative of Marshal of the Soviet Union Ivan Stepanovich Konev. He considered the training of troops for combat operations in the mountains to be very relevant for the implementation of strategic and tactical tasks in the event of the deployment of army units in mountainous areas. In one of his books he wrote: "In the mountains, a well-trained, organized battalion with reinforcement means, led by brave and determined commanders and officers, can fulfill the task assigned to a regiment, or even a division." And another quote: "A mountain shooter who has received special training and trained in fighting in the mountains is worth at least five infantry soldiers."
However, after the victory in the Great Patriotic War, it seemed to some army chiefs that "we will not fight on Elbrus now," and all military climbing schools were closed. They had to be revived much later.
EXPERTS ARE WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD
In the Israeli mountaineering special forces, in other words, a unit of mountain shooters, fighters are called up without taking into account the country from which they were repatriated. It is obvious that there are very few people from the Scandinavian countries or from the mountainous regions of Russia or North and South America among the recruits. The principle of distribution of conscripts is completely different here.
"Most of the recruits who come to the mountain climbing unit," says Stefan Kogeus, a 67–year-old veteran of military mountaineering, "do not know how to ski. Therefore, at first they undergo specialized training in the area of the Golan Heights and the same Mount Hermon."
Novice military climbers are taught the correct wearing of equipment, patrolling in severe weather conditions of the highlands. In the training camp, mountain shooters practice sniper shooting, learn the ability to move quickly in the snow and stay in ambush.
The number of Israeli units of military climbers, including active duty and reservists, is several hundred people. Anna Aronheim writes in the above article: "In the Israeli mountaineering special forces, they are trying in every way to reduce turnover – fighters trained for mountaineering service are valued at their weight in gold." Due to the special difficulties of service in such a unit, women are not called into this special forces.
In peacetime, Israeli reservists of most military profiles and specialties are usually called up on schedule. And few are called up annually. Except for mountain shooters, who gather at least once every year and a half.
"Otherwise, the loss of the acquired climbing skills and climbing skills is guaranteed," explains Boris Dalnik, a former soldier of the mountaineering special forces, and now a certified ski and snowboard instructor at the Hermon winter resort. Boris, a native of Mytishchi near Moscow, believes that he became a real professional only after five years.
INDIANS ARE AHEAD OF EVERYONE
Israeli military climbers conduct patrols on the borders with Syria and Lebanon.
The leadership of Hezbollah, which fully controls Southern Lebanon, has created a climbing unit that conducts training in Iran and Pakistan. The combat capability of this unit is very doubtful.
There is no information about Syrian military climbers. And this despite the fact that in 2019, Syrian climber Samer Al-Akkad conquered the highest peak in the world – Everest and at an altitude of 8,848 m set the flag of his country. It is noteworthy that Samer Al-Akkad is a resident of the city of Aleppo, not connected with the army in any way, he is a graduate of the University of Humanities in Japan.
It is curious that among the countries of the world, the most numerous units of mountain shooters exist in the Armed Forces of India. According to the latest published data, the Indians have 10 mountain infantry divisions and up to six mountain infantry brigades. Such attention of New Delhi to military climbers is explained by the peculiarities of the state border of India. The borders with Pakistan and China run in the north and northeast of the country along the Himalayas. Since India gained independence in 1947, conflicts and incidents have repeatedly arisen with both Pakistanis and Chinese.
Military rifle ("mountaineering") units specializing in fighting in mountains or terrain with harsh Arctic weather conditions and difficult terrain have also been created in the armies of the United States, Germany, Austria and France.
WITHOUT TREMBLING AND FEAR
Israeli lovers of skiing, who prefer active recreation on Hermon, call themselves "tourists of the sky-high peaks". The already mentioned Boris Dalnik, who has both special forces and instructor-tourist experience, said in an interview with HBO that it was the army service that made him a real climber.
Boris says that in the mountains it is necessary to stay away from stones that accumulate heat during the day and melt snow. At night, the meltwater turns into ice, which melts in the morning and forms hidden sinkholes. The reservist and instructor of the Hermon resort, Dalnik, speaks Hebrew, Russian, English and Arabic, so he has many students of different levels.
Vladimir Vysotsky in the song "To Climbers during the war" calls his heroes, Soviet soldiers, "fighters of the sky-high front." Quite a specific definition. There are such words in the song: "Well, the trembling in my hands has disappeared, now – up! Well, fear has fallen into the abyss –forever, forever." Said very accurately. For real climbers, especially military ones, the trembling disappears and the fear disappears forever. H
Jerusalem
Zakhar Gelman
Zakhar Gelman is a military journalist.
