Undercurrent

"This fascinating memoir recounts the experience of Amir as a young soldier, caught up in the chaos and violence of the Yom Kippur War of October 1973. It vividly retells the constant fighting through the entire war as the initially overconfident Israeli military learns hard lessons and regains its balance to take the fight to its enemies." — Military Heritage Magazine

Tank commander cadet Amir Bega is about to leave training for the Jewish High Holiday of Yom Kippur when a surprise attack on Israel by Egyptian and Syrian forces upends this peaceful reprieve, throwing the teenager into an unexpected war. A war in which the confidence and complacency of the Israeli army led to disaster.

Believing himself well-trained and the Israeli army unstoppable, Bega struggles to accept the horrifying events surrounding him. His battalion was annihilated in one of the first combats by new anti-tank weaponry. He survived and joined a reserve unit, with which he fought to stop the Egyptian army from advancing beyond the first line of defense, all through the war’s end.

In this realm of death and destruction, Bega comes face to face with the conflicts between the reality of war, his core beliefs, and his basic ideology. As the war progresses, he deals with the horrific losses of both those around him and his own innocence. Tank after tank that he joins is destroyed or damaged, and he is seen as a bad omen by those still alive. Gnawed by survivor guilt, the young soldier agrees to go on a sole perilous mission to rescue an army technical unit surrounded by Egyptian commandos.

This captivating first-hand account, as viewed through the eyes of the young soldier, conveys the heavy toll of the Yom Kippur War and its impact on the people of Israel. Ultimately, Undercurrent is a story about survival, friendship, humanity, duty, and honor.