Following years of growing tensions, in June 1982 Israel launched an all-out invasion of Lebanon. During the night from 5 to 6 June 1982, four armored divisions of the Israeli Defense Force moved into starting positions near the border with Lebanon, while a full paratrooper division was embarked on amphibious assault ships. Looking forward to engaging the enemy, the Israelis then crossed the border late on the morning of 6 June, and promptly became involved in the bitter battle of Tyre, landings at Awali, and the highly-symbolic assault on Beaufort Castle.
The next day saw a further intensification of combat, with the Israelis securing Tyre and then attacking Sidon, and clashing with the Syrian armed forces for the first time in years. Fighting for Jezzine and Ein Zehalta quickly conflagrated into major armored engagements, while after their landing, the sea-borne Israeli forces launched their advance on Beirut through the positions of Palestinian militants and their Lebanese allies, and then onto some of the best units of the Syrian Arab Army.
Based on extensive interviews with veterans from all involved parties, focusing on minute reconstructions of combat operations, and richly illustrated with exclusive photography, Lebanese Civil War, Volume 3, offers unsurpassed coverage of one of the most spectacular and most tragic conflicts of the late twentieth century.
