Following its independence from France in 1943, Lebanon had a fairly unusual government with all the various religious sects being responsible for specific powers of the government. While this worked fairly well in 1975, it broke down into civil war, a war that lasted until 1981 and involved the surrounding countries of Israel and Syria. While the war 'ended' in 1981, the nation to this date is still not properly settled under a united government.

With various religious groups fighting each other, it was seen as an opportunity by both Israel and Syria to gain some sort of control over things. Israel provided military support to some groups and Syria to others. Thus the war became a battle-ground between surrogates and eventually the armies of both Israel and Syria.

This second volume covers the period of time between the two most intense time of fighting. A time when Israel pushed into southern Lebanon, effectively annexing that part of the country in a failed attempt to keep the PLO from rocketing northern Israeli towns and from them infiltrating into Israel for clandestine attacks. The Syrians, on the other hand, were heavily involved in eastern Lebanon's Bekka Valley, sending in troops and equipment, effectively annexing that part of the country.

Of course this added to the clashes in other parts of the country, leaving the nation without an effective government and in the hands of various religious sects/warlords. During all of this, the IDF/AF carried out bombin missions and reconnaissance, which the Syrians were unable to stop or even properly intercept.

In this book, the authors cover the story up until this part and then go into some detail on the myriad of operations carried out by all involved, though concentrating more on the Israel vs Syria aspect of things as they really were the major players. Like all previous books by Helion, you get a super selection of period photos, some helpful maps, and a center section of profiles of participants and equipment. It is another very enjoyable read about a conflict that often gets lost in the mists of history. Well worth getting.

March 2022

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