From their vantage points on both sides of the war, TIME correspondents in the Middle East last week sent the following battlefront reports.
From William Mormon, with Israeli forces in the Sinai:
"How about that Israeli task force operating on the west bank of the Suez Canal?" we asked the senior officer, who walked with the stiff waddle characteristic of an aging warrior. He removed his goggles, revealing the dark eyepatch that left no doubt about who the officer was. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan replied coyly: "That is, how you say, the $64,000 question." Dayan was relaxed, confident, even nonchalant as he met reporters on the tarmac of a small airfield in the Sinai. He gave the impression that the Israeli task force was not in any trouble, but he was not about to reveal how much havoc it had wreaked.
We met Dayan during our second trip of the week to Sinai. On the first visit, it was already clear that the Israeli army had recovered from its initial setback. There was a constant movement of men and equipment along the vast network of roads crisscrossing the central Sinai region. Israeli rear bases were jammed with trucks, tires, earth-moving equipment, ammunition and tank vans. Soldiers were bivouacked along the road, with masses of armored cars, artillery, antiaircraft guns and tanks near by. The Israeli logistics system was obviously working well. The soldiers were eating fresh meat, fruit and vegetables. They even seemed to have enough water vans to provide welcome makeshift showers.
When we returned for a second look at the Sinai, the Israelis had gone on the offensive and some of their units had even crossed the canal. In the southern sector they had already regained considerable territory occupied by Egyptian troops and we drove to within a few miles of the canal in two places. Everywhere the Israeli troops displayed ebullient confidence. "Yes, there are a few Egyptians left down there," said one trooper. "But they won't be there long. It will end for all of us very soon."
We were offered a soft drink as the soldiers took time off from the push forward to celebrate the joyful feast of Simhath Torah. Soldiers—dressed in sweaty fatigues and sporting twelve days' growth of beard—linked hands and danced around one trooper holding miniature Torah scrolls, singing the traditional happy songs of the holiday. Near by, a first-aid station received wounded—a reminder that the war was far from over.
The troops seemed at ease and relaxed, despite the occasional incoming rounds of artillery. Reinforcing their confidence was the arrival at the front of supplies airlifted to Israel from America. The roads were full of trucks with English markings. A further encouraging sign to the troops was the exodus of many senior commanders from a permanent command post in the middle of the Sinai. When we asked where these officers had gone, we were told with a wink that they were "far forward." We assumed that meant on the Egyptian side of the canal.
From Wilton Wynn, with Egyptian forces in the Sinai: