 During the night , something unexpected happened : a roadblock on the road that had to be used by the brigade had to be dismantled . Zero hour was once more modified and set at midnight . At last , the troops fought battle between 2 am and 5 am but with no benefit of cover . The attackers were rapidly discovered , depriving the Israelis of the surprise effect . The battle started at 4am . The Israeli forces were submitted to a strong fire . The artillery tried to intervene but felt rapidly out of ammunition or was not within range to provide a counter @-@ battery fire . 
