‘Valley of Tears’ is the name given to a battle site in the northern Golan Heights. Here, at the outbreak of the 1973 Yom Kippur war, Israeli tank forces successfully held against a massive Syrian assault for continuous 4 days.
In this video we discuss the tank battle in the show.
The Valley of Tears (Hebrew: עֵמֶק הַבָּכָא, Emek HaBakha), (Series original name: Hebrew: שְׁעַת נְעִילָה, Sha‘at Ne'ila - meaning "Ne'ila time") is an Israeli television mini-series directed by Yaron Zilberman based on a screenplay by Ron Leshem and starring Aviv Alush, Joy Rieger and Lior Ashkenazi. Development of the series lasted about a decade and its filming took place over 52 days starting on July 21, 2019.
The series depicts the battles of the Yom Kippur War, with the first season focusing on the northern front of the war, and a second season focusing on the southern front of the fighting is also planned. The series has been described as one of the most expensive television series in Israel, with advanced technologies used to recreate the battles, including the Battle of the Valley of Tears, and the cost of each episode reaching one million dollars.
The Yom Kippur war broke out towards the end of the holiday’s fast, on October 6, 1973, at 2:00 p.m. The Israeli intelligence failed to anticipate the assault, and so the forces on were depleted, also because of the holiday. Some of the soldiers even fasted. The 3 miles ‘Valley of Tears’, in the northern part of the Golan, is a relatively flat terrain, a preferred landscape for armored attack. Being so, the Syrian planned to make it one of the main penetration routes. The assault was accompanied by heavy artillery, but despite the surprise, the Israeli ground forces managed to hold out in the first hours. Even at night, despite the lack of night vision devices, Israeli forces managed to stop the progress of the Syrians. On the second day the Syrians condensed the armored forces and intensified the attack. Israeli reserve forces that arrived were sent to the southern sector of the Golan Heights, where the situation was worse. The Israeli depleted forces at the northern frontier kept fighting to prevent the Syrian army from advancing. During the second night, the Syrians deployed anti-tank missiles. They hit some of the Israeli vessels but did not bring them surrender or retreat. On the third day, the Syrians made another effort to break through the Israeli lines. The Israeli forces were exhausted, some running out of ammunition. The assault began in the morning, accompanied again by heavy artillery shelling. In the heat of battle, the battalion commander ordered a retreat from the frontline positions, but later, shouting the command in the radio, he led the forces to re-occupy the positions and continue the fight. Shortly after, the Syrians retreat. On the fourth day all the Syrian forces retreated to the “Purple line”, leaving behind about 700 burnt tanks and armored vehicles.
Hope you enjoy!!
💰 Want to support my channel? Check out my Patreon Donation page! www.patreon.com/user?u=3081754
💰PayPal: paypal.me/Matsimus?locale.x=e...
Matt’s DREAM: www.gofundme.com/f/matt039s-c...
👕 Check out my Merch: teespring.com/stores/matsimus...
📬Wanna send me something? My PO Box: Matthew James 210A - 12A Street N Suite No. 135 Lethbridge Alberta Canada T1H2J
📸 My instagram: Matt_matsimus
🎮 Twitch: / matsimus_9033
👋DISCORD: / discord
📘 Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?...
🐦Twitter: / matsimusgaming
#valleyoftears #tanks #war
Some notes to add context to the situation. The commander that gets killed is the Lt. for the tank platoon (IDF tank platoons are quite small). So it’s not just a best friend that is killed but the commander of the entire platoon. The troops are not quite aware that the battle is part of a larger war, but rather think it’s a “battle day” which is more a series of intense and escalating skirmishes that stop short of a full war. Charging infantry at close with the tank was part of the armored doctrine. At the time hand held anti tank weapons by the Arab armies was not considered common. It was believed that charging the infantry would either crush them, or shock them into fleeing. All that being said, he was a terrible commander. He should have looked for the source of the fire and engaged rather then fleeing the vehicle. He was panicky during the rest of the series as well.
He was going insane and by the end of the series he lost his mind completely.
I was an infantry officer in the IDF until retirement from reserve service in 2016. Although I’m not an armoured corps soldier I can assure you that if a tank commander would react this way it would be against everything he had been taught. Having said that, it is not unusual for people to lose it like that in combat, especially if they have been surprised. Training, procedures and discipline all go out the window. One must remember that this is fiction and I doubt it reflects a true story I wouldn’t read too much into things like the loading hatch being open in combat etc. it’s most likely a production error. I liked the first episode but not the subsequent ones. The scriptwriters and producers seemed to go out of their way to create manufactured drama when the actual history is dramatic enough.
I agree with you completely about the series. It had lots of potential and I really think the script writers lost it. It started to turn into a soap opera for me by episode three
Shalom Aleichem Chaver! Greetings and respect from Brazil. I entirely agree with you! There's a ol' saying among the US Marines "No plans survive first contact" but what happens in the serie it's beyond absurd. And what most makes me sad is that they didn't show IDF campaign in the middle-end of the war.
I am a citizen of India,the officer selection in Indian armed forces is very tough.The reaction of tank commander came as a surprise to me and left me wondering on how can he be selected as officer of Israeli army.
I was a Tank Commander in baghdad , lots of fun LOTS of stress , Matt's right, panic solves nothing Small crew tactics and procedures saves lives
I lived in Israel in the 1980s. I was living north of the Sea of Galilee. I was blessed to work with veterans of the 1967 and 1973 plus the 1982 wars and there were many tankers in that group. I heard some stories and visited the battlefields in the Golan heights. Great commentary Matt. Keep up the good work
Ex QRH cavalry man here. There is 0% chance another crew commander is going to leave his crew to go into another tank. You have a default position (or at least we did in our training) that the loader would then be in charge (he is usually the second most senior member of the crew). Most likely in this scenario you would tell the other tank that lost it's commander over comms to drop back whilst you provide suppressing fire. Then just like infantry you will drop back as a troop in bounds until you had reasonable cover. If you had no available cover then you have to make a hard choice of either, 1, make a complete withdrawal under fire. 2, go balls deep and go on the attack and fight through. To do this you have to make the assessment what it is, how many it is, ammo state, any qrf, and so on. Just a point to not on the yom kippur war, the T55 and T62 tanks had basic night vision, but the cents lacked this. It was the mighty 105mm and good tactics that pulled the Israelis through the war.
Well and the fact that many Syrian units were still operating under radio silence by the fourth day of the war, the incompetence and pettiness of President Sadat of Egypt who relieved the General he had put in charge of this whole operation - a man who by all accounts was probably one of the best modern military commanders to ever lead an Arab army and had been the one to come up with the plan to cross he Sinai. Lastly there is the even greater incompetence and cowardice of an Egyptian mechanized infantry unit commander that was supposed to link up with the Syrians and provide some much needed infantry support for their armored, but instead he lost his nerve when his column came to a small bridge they needed to cross, halting his advance and requesting engineers to sweep and clear the bridge of mines and explosives before would resume movement. He kept his unit sitting there for three days. Under radio silence. Dispatching runners to deliver his messages to the Egyptian general staff. Back. In. Fing. Egypt. Also about the whole radio silence thing; the plan was that once the Syrians and Egyptian forces linked up they would end it and resume normal transmission use. So this guy not only kept them from getting the infantry they would need, but also was why the Syrians were still adhering to radio silence so late in the fighting. After the war this douche would stand before a military tribunal in Egypt, be charged of a great many things among which was gross incompetence, failure to follow orders, dereliction of duty, and cowardice. A short time after he would then be stood before a wall and then executed by firing squad.
This is what intense and repeated crew drills were all about! It might appeared tedious and maybe sometimes ridiculous but that was what it was all about. In any given situation, crew performed by instinct, repetition and training with little second thoughts. Junior NCOs might not have the kind of leadership training and conditioning to react under intense situations as expected. I personally would not have abandoned my crew to check on my best friend if under fire but I am just second-guessing what was going thru that tank commander was thinking. I always tried to make my crew drills and tactical training as realistic and safely as possible. - - - My praise and respect to all the troopers I have the honor to serve with; thank you for your service!
Thank you for your service from one grateful veteran
There was a small waterfall close to the Kibbutz, and at the bottom of the waterfall was a Syrian T-62, upside down! The story went that the Syrians were advancing at night, and this T-62 went over the edge and landed upside down, killing the crew. It was there in 1984-1985 when I was in Israel. On my kibbutz was also the commander of the first tank to cross the Suez Canal when Israelis counter-attacked to trap the Egyptian third army. The other veteran was in a tank in the Sinai, they were among the first to counterattack when the Egyptians attacked across the Suez Canal. He was a driver, the tank he was in was hit, he bailed out, and was the only survivor. He was badly burned but ran to the other tank in his section. The tank he ran to was buttoned up, so he climbed up to the TC Cupola and banged on the hatch with his helmet, the TC opened the hatch and shot him, he thought he was an Egyptian soldier. He was evacuated and of course survived the war, but many of his unit did not. ****UPDATE The upside-down tank at Banian is, in fact, a T-34, not a T-62.
Bruh I just searched Valley of tears like a few minutes ago cause I missed the tank action. Now Matsimus making a video about the show. The content about this show in YT is very few for a good show.
Bruhh
Matsimus big fan from israel, I personally didn't like the show but still looking forward to watching this video.
why do they hate it?
You're a fan of a country? That's an odd thing to say
@@cameronmachado1774 your not, thats odd way to think. btw its called nationalism, its part of being a human
@@evanf111og yes if you're israeli, i can understand you supporting your country and being nationalistic. If you're not Israeli, how can you be an israeli nationalist? Why are you a "big fan" of another country?
@@cameronmachado1774 I think you have a comprehension problem, you've missed the part where the original poster said "Big fan FROM Israel" (emphasis mine).
Discipline, muscle memory and tactics help make a good crew.
Repetition practice practice practice and then more practice once a tanker always a tanker
Sorry, but Caspi´s face in the thumbnail is simply too hilarious. XD
I think this whole scene disproves the myth of "our boys fighting for their country!" because of how well it illustrates that when everything kicks off you tend not to give much thought to family/loved ones/whatever who are sometimes continents away, all that matters is that your mates are still in one piece after the fact. I honestly didn't know this existed but definitely going to give it a watch.
This is a wonderful series, I highly recommend watching it.
Reconnaissance by fire!Thank you
You were right on point. Great synopsis, well done, like your objective self eval.
Was it great, no it wasn't, was it bad, no it wasn't. Did I enjoy it, yes I did you cant help but love a few Centurions kicking ass. Should we see more of Joy Rieger (Dafna) in the future, oh hell yes we should.
G'day Matsimus, While not anything military I cannot say anything what should of been done. But may I suggest for you to review the 2009 film Lebanon in a similar manner to what you have just done. For any that don't know that film centres around another Israeli Sho't tank & crew during the 1982 Lebanon War and nearly the whole film is set inside the Sho't tank from the crews perspective.
That movie is amazing and still ranks the top on 21st century tank movie list! More people who watched Fury and/or T-34 needs to watch that too!
Excellent video!
The character of Caspi was the most unbelievable character in a "historical" set film that I've ever seen. If he had been my C.O. I'd have shot him myself and slept well that night. There's no way someone that nervous, unstable, and indecisive gets to command troops in the Heyl Shirion.
If I remember correctly the show also has tank vs. tank battles with some very intense low-range exchanges. I'd look forward to Matsimus' take on those scense.
Yeah, i was surprised by the tank scenes. Supposedly they had real crew advisors, hence the authentic lingo and tactics presented on the show.
Valley of tears, sounds like delightful place! Tears of joy right? Will check this out on the old HBO:: Thanks for the tip!!
This was so good
I have studied soviet military equipment used by other countries... I know that the equipment has abilities.. penetration armour mobility doctrine for best use etc... but it's amazing how often it simply devolves into scenes similur to men hitting each other with clubs till one stays down.... you can spend hundreds or thousands of man years developing something and write books about how to use it.. but once blood flows and battle rage is up... people revert very quickly if not expertly controlled .... often that's just the way it is....
I already watch that movie and yup the battle itself is awesome. In the movie, Caspi (the commander of destroyed tank) he can't make a rational decision cus his emotion cloud his judgement after his friend get shot by sniper. And he bring his frirend body cus he not ready to lose his friend
Yup plus he ordered kill on sight without thinking on the Israeli APC, fucking blue on blue
Enlisted into the IDFs armored Corps right when this show aired and it was mentioned pretty frequently because of its accurate representation of IDF tank doctrine (mostly at least), later I was stationed at the valley of tears in the golan and saw all the fighting positions from that battle.
Well at least the show acknowledged that what they did wasn't the best decision. And it's quite funny that most people I heard who were disappointed with the show are Israelis (including myself). tho the first episode was indeed amazing.
yay another one
I love that Matsimus is just casually suggesting going Rambo style if his crew's not up for the borderline suicide run. As for the behaviour and circumstances of the crew in the video well, I haven't seen tge show yet so I can't really come to any specific conclusions but such panic ridden responses are more common in poorly trained and motivated units. Israel didn't really get much help in acquiring their hardware back then - nor were they receiving a great deal of skills based assistance like training from any reliable partners, so besides citizens who had served in other armies, they were pretty much on their own in terms of figuring out doctrine, tactics and competency. Forces that were stood up quickly often lacked the degree of professionalism that Israel is famous for today and to some degree that professionalism was earned through combat. The first couple of decades of the IDF actually reminds me of the development of the Red Army. Much like the Red Army had some forces and officers with experience from the Russian Civil War left by the time WW2 came and its military industry was more or less fledgling, so too did Israel have some experienced officers from other conflicts and a fledgling military industry that was less developed than even the Soviet's industry pre-WW2. On the whole much of the IDF were essentially green until their first few wars were experienced and it would have taken time to translate experience into a world class training regime, especially with as little outside help as they received. I have massive respect for the IDF and how far they had gotten by the 1970's but especially by the 1980s.
@baileyboy73 baileyboy73 Is the show meant to be based on historical events, or just inspired by them - i.e. did this actually happen or is it just for drama?
5:45 that 30cal is a wooden mock up
Why didn't I heard of this before? Thanks!
not so fun fact- the Shot Kal 'Alef' tank didn't even have the smoke dischargers on the turret that centurions usually have. pretty much after this war it was understood it probably wasn't the best idea to remove them in the first place. in the show they used Shot Kal 'Gimel's stripped down to look older, but you can still see the rivets for the newer smoke dischargers.
As an Israeli tanker my friends and I watched this and kept pointing our errors
I watched this show just to see tank battle sequences which were quite impressive. Obviously they had real Centurion tanks and scenes inside the tank turrets looked like the real thing. If there are any ex-Centurion tank crew who have seen this video,it would be interesting to see their comments. In the scenes in the driving compartment,the driver seems to have a tiller bar type steering control,not the old style steering levers. Is this an accurate depiction ? I think the Churchill tank had a tiller type steering control which may have been also used in the Centurion.
centurions had sticks. could be the israelies changed them, thye did change the engines and gearbox
Very interesting to hear a professional view point on this scene.....I did wonder what his intensions were when he jumped out.....but as you say, combat stress must be unimaginable !!!!
The show on TV, but flawed but still great hope you are OK Matt lots of love.
! הכי טוב מכולם Matsimus
I remember when we were training for Iraq we did an ambush training where we got shot at from an elevated position and a fire team leader gets hit.. our first instinct was to try to aid the fallen.. what were told was for our fire team to engage the enemy in position as the other fire team laid suppressive fire and when able aid their fallen team leader.. Squad leaders words were " why would you guys risk getting killed or pinned down for one guy who might already be dead and risk everyone else". That's exactly why you don't do that. He could have saved both tanks.. that's my two cents..
he would save three lives if he didn't abandoned his tank just to save his friend.
@@aker1993 he would have saved both tanks
@baileyboy73 baileyboy73 yes obviously I understand how film works, and it's use to forward dramatic premise. However in regards to Matt's point the reply is based on why you wouldn't want to do that.
@baileyboy73 baileyboy73 That character is always like that.. that's on the director, but I'm sure he did it that way to explain why he was impulsive
Also important to note that they were out of hesh. I believe they only had 4 round of phosphorus and maybe some ap. So they I guess they have 2 decisions 1 being the option they did and the second being unload ap and reload smoke and back off.
It's a fair assessment. They are only human and the stresses involved and most of all, are not very experienced in war so they will react in ways that may make no sense. Also, when ambushed, you immediately attack to stemmy the ambush or the ambush will be totally successful.
Initially expected a lot from this Movie . Turned out just like the reviews that said this movie " A Crybaby teenage compilation". Better movies are there like Lebanon (2009) . and Waltz and Bashir. Though I would recommend Lebanon instead as those who are more interested in understanding war from all POVs , as well as also kind of sensitive to politics shouldn't go for latter .
Walt with Bashir is an amazing movie! Shows REAL stories (not 'based-on') and with amazing visuals. Vally of Tears does suck. Bad writing ang acting (from a well established cast btw). The director is to blame IMO.
@@Shmuzznik like I said , Baltz and Bashir is a Marvel , just not good for the ones whose hearts cannot tolerate the political compass in the movie. Also I kind of love Fauda.
i mean *waltz with Bashir, sorry
In all things very dangerous and high risk, remember your training, follow the plan, remember to breath.
The problem with vehicles in the open they are easy to spot and without Infantry they are easy to sneak up on. You have to keep moving or stay well hidden. Everyone needs to be pulling security or rotating through it. I think for dynamic effect for the show, the tank won but as easy as it is to reload an RPG they would have been hit right away.
Reconnaissance by fire!
If you know you going to get hit by ATGMs partialy opening the hatches helps to prevent overpressaure in the crew compartment. The closest one to the impact is probably dead but the rest of the crew will probably get to keep their eyes.
My father participated in the crossing of the suez to egypt in 1973
The Shot Centurion had 1970s upgraded optics minus night vision. The Centurion had 105 mm gun and upgraded Diesel engine.
The U.S. armed forces still has the M1919 in service today. No joke.
We also pray to John Moses Browning and yell, “2 WOrlD WaRS”
The 1919? In which role?
There was a guy on KZhead that talks about ww2 weapons still in active service and minor militaries today. If I remember correctly he said like some Marines ,U.S. Reserves forces and sometimes using the fire bases.
@@cybersmith9398 as far as I know all 1919s have been faced out since the mid 70 (they were only used on vehicles by then) and been replaced with either M60s and M73s with themselves all have been replaced with M240s. On the contrary the M2 lives on since 1918 😅
Okay
War is brutal, it brings out the worst but also the best in us. What we all have to remember is that the people in this video were soldiers, they were not civilians. In civilian life it would be common to drop everything to run across and help a person in distress but as a soldier we have other more important tasks, your mate is shot dead, tough shit, it's not nice but you yourself have a duty to those who you immediately lead and the notion of leaving them in the lurch to go and help does not even occur to you. Later on it does but not at the time. Callous? Yes it is. War isn't pleasant.
Israel had a conscript army at the time and still does, so they aren't professional in the sense of the U.S. military, because not everyone in the IDF wants to be there or has the emotional capacity..
@Matsimus you could do a similar video on the movie 'The Beast of War'. It's a great movie about a Russian T-55 lost & chased by Mujahideen in Afghanistan.
They were so lucky they had the centurion in their arsenal
Uzi was the primary weapon for Yom Kippur War. The weapon was not really good because of the short range it had.
Before any of you try keep your comments civil and non political or about religion.
Cool on your views. Military history doesn’t worry about politics or religion. The Israeli doctrine dictates long range action and were well trained. 1500 Syrian tanks vs 200 Israelis tanks. Crew commanders during the Yom Kippur War had the highest casualty rate during the war.
I just finished watching this show. And just one point concerning this scene. They had 3 Tanks in this scene not two. The guy on the Machine gun at 7:30 is the commander of the Third Tank.
A couple of points for consideration that some may not know. The Israeli army has conscription, the armoured units got first pick amongst army recruits so they were often more intelligent than the average recruit
🥇
We discuss "the" tank battle in the show? There are at least two.
Great. Well pointed out. Happy now?
@@_Matsimus_ I'm always happy when some youtuber insults his audience.
@@_Matsimus_You seem like you have a lot of friends.
==========!SPOILERS!========== . . . . . . . Later in the show, when Caspi (the tank commander that jumped out of his tank) took over the command of the remaining Sho't, engaged an Israeli half track with the .30 cal, confusing it for Syrian troop carrier, killing all, but one person, from that half track section. After the loss of Aviram (the tank commander that got shot), it really broke him mentally so much, that tank crew was in conflict with Caspi over his unhinged behavior throughout the duration of the show.
Woah new intro?
Oh wait nvm
Mike Tyson said it best: "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face", this is applicable to war but instead of punches it's bullets.
He made the wrong decision for the right reasons.
Comment for statistics
Sir I have a question about the Russians are planning to insert a 150 mm gun on the t 14 armata is it too much weight or is it a game changer.
The IDF are well trained. I don’t think this situation would happen during the war. The Israeli didn’t had time to do any non combat communication.
No “ Valley of Tears “ , The Name is : “ Bakcha Valley “ .
ya to story movie magic by this point they knew where the formation had line up and by time tanks got to lines the enemy already into the border and towns have been caped think all tankers would have been at max aware could done this with a sniper team or just skip the chat go right to rpg hit
Yeah well, Spoiler alert!!! This guy is completely unfit for any commanding position. In fact just moments later, he is obviously still jumpy, fires on a friendly APC and kills all but 1 soldier on it.
POLITICS! RELIGION! HOT BUTTON ISSUES! not here 👌
None of that mess, only tanks.
And soon after the rounds should be cooking off... The smoke isn't black, and I wouldn't be anywhere near a cooking dead tank, because all the explosive inside
Kinda went rambling here
its good for first part - rest is pretty much just acting drama. Market news: Finland has now officially decided to buy F35.
Sad SAAB noises
@@AttiliusRex sweden was offered an comprehensive package but they said no to common defense & security agreement hence we went to USA all the way - I said two years ago that the plane will be F35 and got "how can you know" commnets - not the best available but in line with what our military wants
@@hoponasu2471 something something sweden shall be neutral in peace time and profiting from arms sales in war time B)
@@AttiliusRex not sure about todays situation but back in the 1970s sweden had defense guarantees from USA & Finland is its buffer
@@hoponasu2471 a countries vow to protect a neutrals country's neutrality incase a third party invades does not break the neutrality ...however one could argue (and many has) that swedish neutrality has already been compromised due to the EU defensive pact
You should check out the updated voice lines for GHPC. They're really good.
Cant get anyone to watch this or generation kill both are so good but people cant handle the truth I guess
👍😎🍺🍩
You didn't notice the the top hatch is open too.
What does that have to do with anything?
Just a two reason to watch this movie: Joy Rieger and Shot Kals. Everything else awful. All time crying and complaining soldiers, stupid officers, political and moral discussions. If it was so, how they won that war?
it's a crappy and fictional show, loosely related to the actual events or the culture at that time.
👎
With the exception of the few early tank battles, that show was BS from a historical and a tanker POV. The Israeli 7th Brigade won that battle through better training, better tanks, and superior gunnery. They DID NOT close in and duke it out as the show showed. if they had, the Syrians would have overwhelmed them. Only a moron or an HBO writer would do such a stupid thing. Also. This side story where they made it about racial differences is total crap. I know Israelis and they were either barfing in disgust or laughing when they saw it. Colonel, later general Kahalani, the tank commander of one of the tank Battalions is a Sephardic (ark skinned) Jew. he was given Israel's highest medal. The most patriotic and conservative Jews are Sephardic. Unlike most Aschenazim that look European who are mostly lefties. In fact, the Israeli movie industry is left-wing and anti-military. They take the side of Israel's enemies at the drop of a hat. This show was crap. Badly written, and badly acted. As a tanker, I was both laughing and wanting to barf as people will think we are all idiots like that.
Reconnaissance by fire!