Ariel Sharon - Biography Chapters

1956 – 1967 Difficult Years

As a result of the disputable battle in the Mitla Pass during the Sinai War, which claimed the lives of many, Ariel Sharon's promotion is blocked. Only on 1964, when Yitzhak Rabin becomes Chief of Staff, Sharon is promoted again.
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A short while after the Sinai war, Ariel and Margalit Sharon celebrate the birth of their first son, Gur. The happiness is soon mixed with sorrow, when Samuel Sheinerman, Sharon's father, passes away.

On 1957 Ariel Sharon leaves the Paratroopers Brigade and goes to Kimberly, England, for a training year at the Military Academy. When he returns to Israel, he is appointed Head of Infantry Training Department but soon dismissed by his superior for lack of credibility. Sharon is then appointed as Infantry School Commander and imparts his combat doctrine. At the same time Sharon begins to study law at the Tel Aviv University.

After three years as Infantry School Commander, Sharon moves on to a different area and studies the armored doctrine. Sharon impresses his instructor, Yitzhak Ben Ari, with his original thinking, which is based on daring ambition to penetrate deep into enemy lines in order to bring to its collapse. When training is over, Sharon becomes reserve armored brigade commander.

On May 6, 1962, a personal tragedy strikes Sharon: his wife, Margalit, gets killed in a road accident. On her way from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv she goes off her lane and collides with an oncoming truck. Police specialists investigate the accident and find out that there was a contributing negligence on the part of Margalit. Lili, Margalit's younger sister, takes care of Gur, who is only six years old when his mother dies. A year later, Sharon marries Lili.

On 1964, Ariel Sharon is promoted by Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin and becomes Chief Staff Officer at the Northern Command. At that time Israel is in a conflict with Syria, due to Syrian attempts to divert the main tributaries of the Jordan River in order to dry up the Sea of Galilee, which is the main water source of Israel. Sharon formulates a new and aggressive policy in the Syrian-Israeli border. He sends units to patrol very close to the border and encourages agricultural cultivation of lands near the border. His goal is to emphasize Israel's sovereignty in this region. Syrian farmers work in fields in the demilitarized zone. Sharon sends squads at night to destroy their crops. One night, Sharon's soldiers leave behind military equipment. The following night Sharon orders them to go back and retrieve this equipment, so the Syrian army would not find it and use it as a proof for the actions of IDF in the demilitarized zone. Head of Operations Department Mordechai Gur (Motta) adamantly opposes Sharon's intention to send the troops back for this purpose, because he thinks that there is a danger they would fall into a Syrian ambush.

In one of IDF's largest maneuvers in the north, Sharon's Northern Command is assigned to play the role of a defending IDF. The attacking Syrian army is played by armored forces under the command of Brigadier General David Elazar (Dado). At the end of the maneuver, Chief Judge of the exercise, Mordechai Gur (Motta), rules that Sharon defense lines were penetrated and therefore Israel's water supply was in danger. Sharon is furious by Motta's call and says: "I cannot understand how IDF lets someone who's barely fit to command a company rule in an exercise which involves strategic moves, and therefore I reject the conclusion of the exercise director (Motta Gur)."

From the Northern Command Sharon is promoted to the General Headquarters and becomes Head of Training Department. In this capacity he aspires to instill high standards to all IDF units. A year later he's promoted in rank and becomes Brigadier General.

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