How Israel Built the World's Most Advanced Military
by Dismantling Its Own Ground Forces
The book written as a warning-and confirmed by reality. An Israeli bestseller that became required reading for generals and analysts worldwide, and inspired the hit documentary series "What Happened to the IDF?"
The Israeli Defense Forces are always evolving. Always innovating. But at what cost?
The IDF is undoubtedly hailed as the greatest military force in the Middle East. Its existence is entrenched in the very fabric of life in Israel and beyond; its legacy of historical victories stands at the heart of the Israeli ethos, from the Six-Day War to the Yom Kippur War. But over the past thirty years, the Israeli Defense Forces have been split into two unequivocal forces right under the nose of the Israeli people, its allies, and its enemies. The first is the glamorous, technologically advanced "New Guard." The second is the outdated, irrelevant, eroded ground forces. The same ground forces that, ultimately, left Israel with no guard at all on October 7th.
During his 34-year tenure in the commanding bracket, Brigadier General (ret.) Guy Hazoot has fought on every IDF front, served as commanding officer of the Paratroopers brigade and division commander, and saw firsthand the changes to the IDF up to the horrific October 7th Hamas attack. In his seminal work, Brig. Gen. Hazoot tracks the evolution of the IDF and its two emerging factions. From the disappearance of the fearless "bandit" commanding officers to the emergent targeted assassinations policy, all the way to October 7th and beyond, Hazoot sheds light on the decisions that made Israel abandon its boots-on-the-ground defenses for a hi-tech reconnaissance strike complex.
With a refreshing, firsthand perspective derived by an extensive military education, New Guard, No Guard is a must-read, one of a kind strategic masterpiece demonstrating the IDF's strategy's dire repercussions to the security of the only Jewish state in the world, the disasters that followed, and the necessary corrections in leadership and strategy needed to rebuild Israel's national security-and the most powerful military in the region.
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Some books begin as warnings. Very few survive long enough to become road maps. This book does both. This is not theory written at a distance. It is theory forged in friction.
John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies
Modern War Institute, West Point
"Much of the conventional thinking about future war is superficial and flawed. In New Guard No Guard, Brigadier General Guy Hazoot provides a corrective to that thinking. Drawing on personal experience and understanding of history. The implication for the United States and other nations is that the pursuit of technological advantage in long range capabilities should not come at the expense of ensuring that ground forces can conduct combined arms maneuver; secure territory, populations, and resources; and consolidate military gains to achieve sustainable political outcomes."H.R. McMaster, Lieut. Gen. (USA, ret.) Former U.S. National Security Advisor | Author of Dereliction of Duty, Battlegrounds, and At War with Ourselves
"Hazoot reminds me of Carl von Clausewitz in the way that matters most-he writes from defeat, with the conviction that institutions can recover. This is essential reading for anyone who thinks seriously about war."John Spencer Chair of Urban Warfare Studies, Modern War Institute, West Point
The most shattering document on the state of the IDF and the failures that enabled the Hamas attack on October 7th-is not classified, and can be bought at any bookstore. Hazoot wrote a precise guide to the IDF's ailments.
Read Full Article →A stream of books on the war is appearing these days. But if there is one book that must be read-it is New Guard, No Guard by Brigadier General Hazoot.
The book predicted, with terrifying accuracy, the catastrophic price of prioritizing technological supremacy over ground-force capability. After October 7th it became the bible of generals and military commentators.
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