Vandals desecrated the grave of Israeli military leader Moshe Dayan overnight Tuesday, on the 31st anniversary of his death, and the 39th anniversary of the 1973 war.

In an overnight attack at the northern Nahalal farming community where Dayan was born, the vandals sprayed graffiti on his tombstone, calling him the "minister of failure", signing the deed in the name of "the fallen".

Tuesday morning, police opened an investigation to track down the unidentified vandals, Army radio reported.

Dayan served as the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff between 1953 and 1958, and was defense minister during the 1967 and 1973 wars.

Yael, Dayan's daughter and a former parliamentarian said " loners" were the most likely culprits.

The Israeli Defense Ministry condemned the event and sent workers to fix the damage, and said it would submit a formal complaint.

The Israeli public hailed Dayan as one of the heroes of the '67 conflict in which Israel, facing down several Arab armies in a six- day-long battle, came into control of the West Bank, Golan Heights, and Sinai Peninsula.

Dayan, however, later drew fierce criticism after the near- catastrophic 1973 war, in which surprise Syrian and Egyptian attacks on Yom Kippur almost overwhelmed Israeli forces and saw thousands of casualties, and many Israeli troops taken prisoners.

He disagreed with then prime minister Golda Meir on the need for a preemptive strike and early mobilization of troops, despite intelligence tips warning of the approaching attacks, according to recently published army archives of the lead-up to the debacle.