Mitla pass
| Mitla pass | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Compass direction | west | east | |
| Pass height | 400 m | ||
| region | Egypt | ||
| Watershed | Suez Canal | Wadi al-Arish | |
| Valley locations | Sue | Nekhelo | |
| expansion | Pass road | ||
| Map (Egypt) | |||
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| Coordinates | 30 ° 0 ′ 52 ″ N , 32 ° 53 ′ 0 ″ E | ||
The Mitla Pass ( Arabic ممر متلة, DMG Mamarr Mitla ; Hebrew מיתלה) is a 32 km long pass on the Sinai Peninsula , which played a military role in the Suez Crisis and the Six Day War .
Mitla incident
During the Suez Crisis , the Israeli 202nd Paratrooper Brigade under Ariel Sharon fought its way to the pass after the 890th Paratrooper Battalion had secured the eastern exit of the strategically important Mitla Pass after an air landing . Sharon asked the military leadership several times to be allowed to attack the pass, but was only given permission to clear it up, so that if it should be vacant, it could be captured later. In a generous interpretation of his instructions, Sharon sent a very strong scouting party for purely reconnaissance purposes, which got caught in a heavy fire in the middle of the pass and got stuck. Sharon then sent the rest of his brigade to assist. In the now developing battle, the Israelis were able to capture the pass, but 38 Israeli soldiers were killed.