On the Edge: The Incredible Story of the 188th Armored Brigade and the Greatest Tank Battle Ever Waged

On Saturday, October 6, 1973, a few minutes before 14:00, the Syrian army attacked the Golan Heights unprovoked and with full force, marking the beginning of the infamous Yom Kippur War. In the first crucial hours of combat, only one group of soldiers and their tanks stood between the Syrians and the Sea of Galilee: the 188th Armored Brigade. 

Divided and outnumbered eight to one, the young soldiers of the 188th were given orders to halt the enemy’s advance for 48 hours until the arrival of reserve units. They assumed control of the brigade after losing their commanding officers in the first hours of battle. They held back an unprecedented ratio of enemy forces in what became a world-famous armored battle of defense. They turned the tide of the war, storming deep into enemy territory. 

And they did it in just two days. 

On the Edge tells the unbelievable story of the legendary 188th Armored Brigade and the heroic actions of its fighters: the drivers, loaders, gunners, and commanders. With chilling, exhilarating testimonials from the brigade’s surviving soldiers, it dissipates the fog of war from the first 48 hours on the Golan front, shedding light on the individual crews and soldiers who gave their lives as the anvil on which the waves of Syrian attacks were shattered.