Page 70 - History of War - Issue 25-16

BRIEFING

that this impeded progress would allow the “It was clear to
Israelis time to reinforce their lines. Finally, one Israeli artillery units i re a i eld gun among mountains
of spent rounds in the Valley of Tears in the Golan. The
of his men suggested blasting the walls with the Israelis that Syrian Army bore the brunt of the Israeli army’s force as
high-pressure water from hoses directly from Egyptian movements stagnated in Sinai
started to erode into passages for machinery these were not the
the canal. The idea worked, and the defences
and infantry to move through. Later that day, ragtag armies who
the Egyptians broke through.
Meanwhile, huge numbers of Syrian tanks had fought them
poured across the Purple Line, supported by
infantry and preceded by air strikes and artillery in the past”
barrages. It was far from a blitzkrieg, however.
The Israelis were extremely well entrenched,
but were overwhelmed by numbers, especially It was clear that Israel had air superiority, but
in the southern portion of the Golan, near the Egypt and Syria attempted to level the playing
village of Rai d. Syrian tanks even caused a ield through a heavy reliance on their surface-
trafi c jam, as engineers had failed to build to-air missiles (SAM), which were advanced
bridges or mechanisms for overcoming anti- anti-aircraft rocket systems.
tank trenches. On the day, persistence and In Sinai, Egypt’s reliance on its SAM
numbers compensated. rocket batteries hindered its troops’ forward
At some points, the Syrians didn’t even movement. They hesitated to leave the cover of
bother attempting to clear out tunnels or their air defences and effectively halted just a
trenches, simply choosing to bypass them. few kilometres from the east bank of Suez – at
They met slowly withering resistance and took the edge of their range. Similarly, they inlicted
heavy casualties, but pressed on to the Israeli heavy losses on Israeli tanks with guided
command at Nafah and the Sea of Galilee. Sagger anti-tank missiles.
Syrian helicopters next dropped commando Eventually, when Sadat commanded his
units to take the Mount Hermon (Jabal al troops to advance in a bid to relieve pressure
Shaykh) stronghold, which included a listening on the Syrian front, his troops left the range of
post with surveillance and intelligence their protective canopy and Israel was able to
equipment. Once it was clear they had force them on the defensive, with Ariel Sharon’s
created a gain, however, the Arab armies salient inally destroying some of the batteries
suddenly stopped and tried to hold the lines, on the west bank of Suez at the war’s end.
which allowed for the Israeli forces to launch Just like in Sinai, the Syrian positions in
devastating counterattacks. Golan were initially dificult for the Israeli Air
It was clear to the Israelis that these were Force (IAF) to hit. In one exchange, an operation
An Egyptian soldier
not the ragtag armies who had fought them in codenamed Doogman 5, six Israeli planes were
raises a portrait of
the past. Nonetheless, the Syrian and Egyptian downed in exchange for taking out one SAM President Anwar Sadat
armies, apart from their initial cohesion at the battery. Once Israel had recalibrated and found
onset, were still largely unco-ordinated and an alternate route, the air force was able to
inefi cient. The two allies traded accusations of bypass the defences and even hit the General
betrayal for allowing the Israelis to prepare, and Command Headquarters of the Syrian Army.
not relieving pressure off the other’s front. This forced the Syrians to withdraw some air
defences to the heartland and allowed the
Technological showdown IAF greater freedom of movement to destroy
Superior military technology was a deciding positions in Golan.
factor in the initial Arab successes, but also Israel’s counterattacks were not only
their Achilles’ heel, as it drove the US towards guaranteed by superior airpower, but the
more signii cant rearmament and attempts fact that their Centurion tanks were more
to shift allegiances following the war. For the heavily armoured than either Arab army’s
superpowers – the US and USSR – it provided largely outdated Soviet armour. Although Syria
an opportunity to have their clients test their and Egypt had superiority in numbers, their
latest toys in full combat. tank units were largely comprised of T-55s,
At the outset of the war, Israel never supplemented by newer units, but also by a
expected an attack from either Syria or Egypt, number of extremely outdated World War II-
as it had devastatingly reduced their military vintage self-propelled guns. The Israeli tanks’
capacity in 1967. Unknown to either the turrets could also outmanoeuvre, out-aim and
CIA or Mossad, by October 1973, the USSR out-rotate the Soviet equipment, which proved
had rearmed both states with the latest decisive, especially in the mountainous Golan.
technologically advanced weapons systems. The end result was that Israeli tanks could
These included, among other things, air take more damage, and took out Arab tanks on
defence missile systems, infrared technology, both fronts in disproportionate numbers. This
guided anti-tank missiles and night-vision. meant they held strong enough defensive lines

7 October 8 October 9 October 12 October 13 October
100,000 Egyptian soldiers, more Israel counterattacks Egypt and Israel destroys hundreds of Syrian Israel moves 12 miles past the Purple The British ambassador tries
than 1,000 tanks and 10,000 fails. The Syrian army continues to tanks in the Valley of Tears in Golan Line, capturing territories inside Syria, to propose a UN ceasei re
others cross the Suez Canal with make gains and re-occupies the Heights. The First Syrian Armoured but do not achieve breakthrough on the resolution. Anwar Sadat
minimal losses. Syrian forces regional capital, Quneitra, which had Division tries to capture the regional road to Damascus as entrenched Syrian refuses the offer and claims
capture most of the southern been occupied in the 1967 war. After Israeli HQ at Nafah and fails. Israel reserves provide stiff resistance. Later, to only accept a ceasei re if
portion of the Golan Heights with this, the Israeli cabinet decides to regains its lost territories, but does they are reinforced by modest units from Israel completely withdraws
forces of about 1,200 tanks. focus its attacks in the Golan. so at great cost. Jordan and Iraq. from the entirety of Sinai.

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