War Begins

The Israeli�s had operated their plan with perfection. In less than three hours, the Egyptian Air Force had been destroyed. It no longer constituted an effective fighting force and was unable to give either cover or close support to the Egyptian Army in Sinai. Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon�s air forces were also attacked. Israel�s losses were minuscule in comparison with the Arabs.
With Egypt out of the way, Israel focused on the other Arab nations. Israel had asked Jordan

not to join in the war. After the attack on the Egyptian Air Force, Nasser was desperate to invade Israel. He called upon King Hussein of Jordan and deceitfully asked for his help.
Hussein ordered the Jordanian army to attack the Israeli half of Jerusalem. Israel turned its attention towards Jordan. Jordan had suffered heavy damages to its air force and was unable to protect their troops. With almost total control of the skies, the Israeli planes were able to back up and protect the troops and tanks.

air force. Israel�s plan required exact and detailed planning in order to be carried out successfully.
Attacking at 0745 was crucial. The Egyptian state of alert was at its peak. It was safe to assume that the Egyptians had several flights of fighter planes waiting at the end of the runway.
Often, attacks are made at dawn.

Israel preferred to strike first because they did not want to fight on their homeland. At 0745 (7:45 Israeli time; 8:45 Egyptian time) on the morning of Monday, June 5, the first wave of Israeli air strikes occurred against Egypt.
Israel�s objective was to shatter the Arab air forces while their aircraft were still on the ground. The Egyptian air force was the main Arab

If Israel had attacked the next day, their pilots would have possibly gone 36 hours without sleep.
The weather played an important role in this attack. At 0800, the visibility is optimal because of the angle of the sun. The air is at its stillest, which is important for dropping bombs.
0745 Israeli time is 0845 Egyptian time. The Egyptians arrive at work by 9 a.m. Striking 15 minutes before that time would catch officers and soldiers on their way to their daily routines.