On March 21 of each year, Jordanians remember the Day of Dignity in which the Jordanian Armed Forces – the Arab Army struck 55 years ago, a date with victory, and the commemoration of the martyrs who were the cause of the great victory.

And the Jordan News Agency (Petra) monitored the speech of the brave men of the armed forces who witnessed the events of dignity, which was not only the battle of Jordan, but a defining moment in the nation’s history to restore its glory, dignity and glory.

In this regard, he says Historian Bakr Khazer Majali The battle of dignity was not a sudden event. Rather, it is the result of Jordan’s refusal to accept any terms of its surrender, and the assertion of its determination to erase all traces of the disastrous June that made the Israeli arrogance reach its limit by mobilizing a large army to cross the Jordan River and occupy parts of the Jordan Valley, up to the heights of Salt, while The Jordanian army was watching the crowd, and preparing to meet with revenge, despite the lack of weapons in his hand, but in his hand a lot of determination.

He added, the attack began, and the Jordanian army was stationed at the front, and the Jordanians were watching the event and the statements, moment by moment, and praying to God to grant them victory and success for the army that was fighting a decisive battle under the leadership of Hussein bin Talal – may God rest his soul -.

He continues, it was not an ordinary battle, or a limited raid on a specific target that could be destroyed and annihilated in only ten minutes. Rather, the goal was the broad Jordanian front, breaking the steadfastness of the Jordanian army, and forcing Jordan to sign a separate peace treaty, especially since Jordan is on the longest front. The Israelis wanted to ensure security for Israel – according to their claim – but the Israeli expectations returned to their side, so it was steadfastness, courage, sacrifice and uncommon steadfastness that turned the front into a fire that burns their skins.

He emphasized that Commander Al-Hussein was in the heart of the battle, following the bravery of the soldiers, and all the commanders in the northern axis led by Qassem Al-Maaytah, in the central axis led by Kaseb Safouk Al-Jazi, and in the southern axis led by Bahjat Al-Muhaisen, were managing the fighting and their concern was to thwart this premeditated attack, and their confidence in their soldiers was high. A Jordanian soldier is an army of victory that confronts the enemy with determination and courage.

Al-Majali indicated that the enemy army began to fall, and he officially requested a cease-fire, so Al-Hussein, may God rest his soul in peace, refused that, saying, “How do I ask the soldiers to stop firing while they are chasing the enemy’s remnants?” How do I break the guns in their hands? What will be the reaction of the Jordanian soldiers when I stop their victory and successes, as if I confiscate this glory that they are achieving?”

For his part, he said Retired Staff Colonel Hisham Al-Khasawneh Brother of the martyr Salem, my brother joined the armed forces on April 6, 1966 as an officer candidate in the third beginner candidate course on May 7, 1966 until December 11, 1966, then he graduated with the rank of candidate, and after his graduation he joined the Royal Armored Corps, the Royal 3rd Tank Battalion as a commander. for one of the tank platoons.

He adds, “My brother participated in the June War, and after the June War he participated in a foundation course for shields at the Royal Shield School, and he joined his unit on February 1, 1968, which was the Royal 3rd Tank Battalion on the front lines, and he remained stationed in his unit until the day of eternal dignity came, and in the early morning the battle began The fight became heated and the wrath raged, and a heated battle took place with the enemy, so Salem and his tank crew, Hamid Sadaf Bakhit and Muhammad Salem Al-Raqqad, were martyred.

For his part, aRetired Brigadier General Shehab Abu Wendy (80 years old), and he is one of the heroes of dignity, “I was in the rank of lieutenant / 2 commander of the fourth faction of the second company in the third tank battalion, and the defensive position was in Ain al-Fanush, south of Al-Ardah, and we occupied the new defensive positions after eight in the evening on the night of 3/21 east of the triangle Egyptian.

He added: At four in the morning we woke up and prayed dawn together, praying to God for victory or martyrdom, and when the shooting began at five thirty in the morning, I passed that to the company commander and the tank commanders, and when the Israeli tanks approached at a distance of 1200 meters, the targets were divided among the tanks under my command, and we began to occupy them. In one hour we destroyed a number of vehicles; The enemy retreated west towards the old outpost of Damia to reorganize, then resumed the attack, and informed the tank commanders to shoot, and after they approached at a distance of 800 meters, we started shooting again, so the enemy vehicles stopped, and began to retreat west towards the reefs east of the Damia outpost, leaving the destroyed vehicles in the hope of resuming the attack .

And he continues: I asked the company commander to shoot artillery, and he informed me that the monitoring officer, First Lieutenant Muhammad Hashim Erekat, had lost communications, and asked me to direct the shooting at the hostile targets, and I took the Al-Masry Triangle as a reference point, and I asked for shooting (correction shot), and I began calculating the distance on the existing telephone poles, It was approximately 50 meters between each column, and after two correction shots, we hit the targets.

And he goes on to say: At one in the afternoon, the enemy began advancing with six tanks. Two of them are of the Super Sherman type, and four of the Centurion type, and a support base worked southwest of the Al-Masry triangle at a distance of 200 meters, so we were able to shoot and destroy this base, in addition to the vehicles of the convoy that headed to the Al-Masry triangle, and the outcome of the destroyed vehicles was thirty vehicles of tanks and a half Tracked vehicles and AMX armored vehicles carrying a 90 mm cannon. Among these vehicles was the Israeli Brigade Command Operations Carrier, in which Israeli maps were found showing the Salt Heights as the final target.

He explains that he asked the company commander to provide him with ammunition, but it did not reach the intensity of the Israeli air strikes, and one of the vehicles carrying ammunition advanced in an attempt to reach it, but it was bombed, and its commander, Corporal Faisal Ibrahim from the city of Ma’an, was martyred, and the first soldier, Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Kassab al-Faroukh, was martyred. The Israeli destroyed 87 vehicles, including minesweepers carrying a 105 mm cannon.

Retired Brigadier General Ali Abdul Qadir Al-LawamaHe said, I was a position officer in the 3rd Royal Artillery Battalion, and all the Arab fronts were silent except for the Jordanian front after the 1967 war, on which skirmishes and exchanges of shelling continued between the Arab army and the Israeli enemy, so our armed forces were reorganized in fortified defensive positions in the eastern heights of the Jordan River In preparation for any Israeli aggression.

And he adds: I was working as a site officer with the rank of first lieutenant, and the morale was high for the readiness and sacrifice on the part of the soldiers and officers in defense of their homeland and their people, and they recommended patience and steadfastness, so that many of them swore on the Holy Qur’an that they would not be defeated in front of the enemy; Either defeating the enemy or martyrdom, the positions of the cannons were prepared, prepared, provided with the required ammunition, targets were determined according to the plan set, and the cannons were completely hidden under the enemy’s complete air control.

And he indicated that at 5:30 in the morning on March 21, 1968, after the enemy forces had crossed, our artillery launched a heavy artillery bombardment after the enemy was in open ground, and they took control of it from our defensive positions in the heights, which made the enemy forces an easy target for our artillery, and confusion occurred in its ranks. Sometimes he advanced and withdrew to reorganize his forces. Reports began to come in successively about the destabilization of the enemy’s soldiers’ morale, his retreat and his losses, which he was passing on to their communication networks, which raised the morale of our armed forces.

He explains that the enemy issued orders to his forces to withdraw, which sparked joy and euphoria of victory in all of us, then the enemy announced a request for a cease-fire for the first time in its history, but King Hussein refused that, so the enemy continued its withdrawal under the bombardment of our artillery and machine guns, leaving many of its vehicles on the battlefield, which The Jordanian people saw it and the media also showed it.

The Director General of the Economic and Social Foundation for Military Retirees and Veterans, Major General Retired Staff, Dr. Ismail Al-Shobaki, said, “The battle of dignity, during which the brave men of the Arab army fought with their pure blood and pure souls, is the brightest tournament and the most beautiful of victories on the pure soil of Jordan, thus recording the historic victory over the arrogant Israeli army. The hopes of the enemy and the myth of the indomitable army humiliated its pride and arrogance, and the eternal dignity engraved the heroics of the Arab army on the pages of bright history.
— (Petra