Battle of the Sinai (1973)

Last updated

Battle of the Sinai
Part of the Yom Kippur War
1973 sinai war maps.jpg
Sinai war maps 1973
DateOctober 14, 1973
Location
Result Israeli victory
Belligerents
Flag of Israel.svg Israel Flag of Egypt (1972-1984).svg  Egypt
Commanders and leaders
Albert Mandler  
Chaim Bar-Lev
Abraham Adan
Ariel Sharon
Moshe Dayan
Saad El Shazly
Saad Mamoun
Abdul Munim Wassel [1]
Ahmad Ismail Ali
Strength
800–900 tanks
60,000 soldiers [2] [3]
400 tanks
5,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
50–150 tanks destroyed [4] [3]
60 other armored vehicles destroyed
some aircraft shot down [5]
656 killed and wounded [6]
200–264 tanks destroyed/captured [7]
~1,000 killed and wounded (Israeli estimate)

The Battle of the Sinai was one of the most consequential battles of the Yom Kippur war. An Egyptian attacking force that advanced beyond their line of defense at the Bar-Lev Line was repulsed with heavy losses by Israeli forces. This prompted the Israelis to launch Operation Abiray-Lev (Stouthearted Men) the next day, penetrating the Egyptian line of defense and crossing the Suez Canal.

Contents

Background

After Egyptian infantry had successfully crossed the canal and captured the Bar-Lev Line on October 6, Israeli forces made several counterattacks in attempts to push the Egyptians back across the Suez Canal. The Israelis suffered heavy losses in these attacks, and by October 9 Egyptian forces in the Sinai had managed to destroy 500 Israeli tanks. [8] Following this both sides dug in. The Egyptians would not attack for fear of extending their forces beyond the cover of their SAM defences.

In the Golan Heights, Israel had repelled Syrian forces and pushed into Syria itself. By the time the Syrians, now aided by Iraqi and Jordanian expeditionary forces managed to put a halt to the Israeli advance, Israeli forces were 40 km from Damascus. Syrian president Hafez Al-Assad requested his Egyptian ally, Anwar El-Sadat, order an attack in the Sinai, which would draw Israeli attention away from the Syrian front. Sadat consented and ordered the attack. His war minister, Ahmed Ismail, and his chief of staff, Saad El Shazly, opposed the idea; Shazli in particular stated that for Egyptian forces to advance outside their SAM defences would mean their exposure to the Israeli Air Force, which the Egyptian Air Force was too weak to challenge. Sadat insisted that the attack proceed, however, and both Ahmed Ismail and Shazli had no choice but to acknowledge the order. [9] [10]

Prelude

The attack was to proceed on October 13, but was postponed to October 14. Four armored brigades and one mechanized infantry brigade under the command of the Second and Third Armies were to make four independent thrusts. Awaiting for them was a dug-in force of 800 Israeli tanks supported by infantry equipped with SS.11 missiles, as well as American-made LAW and TOW anti-tank missiles. Israel had in the Sinai by October 14 around fifteen brigades totaling nearly 60,000 infantry. The Israeli air force provided intense air cover during the battle. [2] [7]

Battle and aftermath

The Egyptians launched their offensive in the early morning of October 14, at 6:30. The mechanized infantry brigade was to attack in the direction of the Gidi Pass, one armored brigade was to attack in the direction of the Mitla Pass, one brigade was to attack towards Baluza, and two brigades were to attack in the direction of Tasa. As anticipated by many Egyptian officers, the attack was a failure. Encountering stiff Israeli resistance, the Egyptian assault came to a halt after suffering heavy losses, and Egyptian troops retreated back to their lines on the Suez Canal. [11]

Egyptian losses in the battle were 200–250 tanks and up to 1,000 men killed and wounded in action. The 3rd Egyptian Armored Division was eliminated and 120 Egyptian prisoners were taken in the battle at Wadi Mab'uk. The Egyptians also lost their Second Army Commander, Saad Mamoun, who suffered a heart attack at the beginning of the day. By contrast, Israeli losses were 50–150 tanks, 60 other armored vehicles and some aircraft. The following day, the Israelis launched Operation Abiray-Lev, crossing the Suez Canal and cutting off the Egyptian Third Army's supply lines. [2] [4] [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yom Kippur War</span> 1973 war between Israel and a coalition of Arab states

The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. Most of the fighting occurred in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, territories occupied by Israel in 1967. Some combat also took place in Egypt and northern Israel. Egypt aimed to secure a foothold on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal and use it to negotiate the return of the Sinai Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War of Attrition</span> 1967–1970 war between Israel and Egypt

The War of Attrition involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970.

The history of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intertwines in its early stages with history of the Haganah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Badr (1973)</span> Egyptian military operation against Israel

Operation Badr, also known as Plan Badr, was an Egyptian military offensive and operation across the Suez Canal that destroyed the Bar-Lev Line, a chain of Israeli fortifications along the frontline of the Israeli-occupied Sinai Peninsula, on 6 October 1973. It was launched in conjunction with a Syrian military offensive against the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, triggering the Yom Kippur War. During the War of Attrition, which preceded Operation Badr, both Egypt and Syria had been seeking to recover the territories that Israel had captured from them during the 1967 Arab–Israeli War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">35th Paratroopers Brigade (Israel)</span> Elite Israel Defense Forces unit

The 35th Paratroopers Brigade is an Israeli military airborne infantry brigade. It forms a major part of the Israeli Ground Forces' Infantry Corps, and has a history of carrying out special operations from the 1950s onwards. Soldiers of the brigade wear maroon berets with the Infantry Corps pin and russet boots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bar Lev Line</span> Chain of Israeli fortifications on the Suez Canal

The Bar-Lev Line was a chain of fortifications built by Israel along the eastern bank of the Suez Canal shortly after the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, during which Egypt lost the entire Sinai Peninsula. It was considered impenetrable by the Israeli military until it was overrun in less than two hours during Egypt's Operation Badr, which sparked the 1973 Arab–Israeli War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Tal</span> Israeli general (1924–2010)

Israel Tal, also known as Talik, was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) general known for his knowledge of tank warfare and for leading the development of Israel's Merkava tank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Elazar</span> Ninth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces

David "Dado" Elazar was an Israeli senior military officer who was the ninth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), serving in that capacity from 1972 to 1974. He was forced to resign in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Chinese Farm</span> 1973 battle of the Yom Kippur War

The Battle of the Chinese Farm took place during October 15 to October 17, 1973 between the Egyptian Army and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as part of the Yom Kippur War. It was fought in the Sinai Peninsula, north of the Great Bitter Lake and just east of the Suez Canal, near an Egyptian agricultural research station. The area was known to the Israeli military as the Chinese Farm – a misnomer resulting from the research station's use of Japanese-made equipment, with Japanese writing on the machinery mistaken by Israeli observers for Chinese characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saad el-Shazly</span> Egyptian general (1922–2011)

Saad el-Din Mohamed el-Husseiny el-Shazly ‎ was an Egyptian military officer. He was Egypt's chief of staff during the Yom Kippur War. He is credited with the equipping and preparation of the Egyptian Armed Forces in the years prior to the successful capture of the Israeli Bar-Lev line at the start of the Yom Kippur War. He was dismissed from his post on 13 December 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armored Corps (Israel)</span> Corps of the Israel Defense Forces

The Israeli Armored Corps is a corps of the Israel Defense Forces that, since 1998, has been subordinate to GOC Army Headquarters. The Armored Corps is the principal maneuvering corps, and primarily bases its strength on main battle tanks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Infantry Division (Egypt)</span> Egyptian Army combat formation

The 2nd Mechanized Infantry Division of the Infantry Corps of the Egyptian Army is a heavy infantry formation created after the Second World War.

The Battle of Fort Lahtzanit took place on October 6, 1973, between the Egyptian Army and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Part of the Egyptian-initiated Operation Badr, the battle was one of the first of the Yom Kippur War, fought in and around Fort Lahtzanit, a fortification of the Bar Lev Line, located 19 kilometres (12 mi) south of Port Fouad in the Sinai Peninsula.

Events in the year 1973 in Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Ismailia</span> 1973 battle of the Yom Kippur War

The Battle of Ismailia took place between the Egyptian Army and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) during the last stages of the Yom Kippur War during October 18–22, 1973, south of the city of Ismailia, on the west bank of the Suez Canal in Egypt. The battle itself took place as part of the larger IDF-launched Operation Abiray-Lev, in an attempt to seize Ismailia and thereby sever the logistical and supply lines of most of Egypt's Second Field Army across the Suez Canal.

Egyptian 25th Brigade ambush was a battle that occurred on October 17, 1973, the eleventh day of the Yom Kippur War, east of the Great Bitter Lake, in the Sinai Peninsula. The ambush was conducted by the Israel Defense Forces' 162nd Division, against the 25th Brigade of the Egyptian army. The Israelis' goal was the destruction of the brigade, which attempted to disrupt the Israeli crossing of the Suez Canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanks of the Israel Defense Forces</span>

This article deals with the history and development of tanks of the Israeli Army, from their first use after World War II in the establishment of the State of Israel after the end of the British Mandate, and into the Cold War and what today is considered the modern era.

The Egyptian Airborne Corps are the airborne infantry units of the Egyptian Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amnon Reshef</span> Israeli general

Amnon Reshef is a retired IDF major general who served as 14th Brigade Commander in the Yom Kippur War and as Commanding General of the Armored Corps from 1979 to 1982. In 2014 he founded Commanders for Israel's Security (CIS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Abirey-Halev</span> Part of the Yom Kippur War (October 1973)

Operation Abirey-Halev or Operation Abirey-Lev also known as Operation Stouthearted Men and Operation Valiant, code-named Operation Gazelle, was an Israeli operation that took place in the center of the Suez Canal on 15–23 October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War.

References

  1. Shazly The Crossing of the Suez p.161
  2. 1 2 3 A Critical Review of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. 1 2 Shazly The Crossing of the Suez p.248
  4. 1 2 "Operational Valiant: Turning Of The Tide In The Sinai 1973 Arab-Israeli War". www.globalsecurity.org.
  5. O'Ballance, Edgar (November 1996) [1978]. No Victor, No Vanquished: the Yom Kippur War. Presidio Press.
  6. Staff, HistoryNet (August 21, 2006). "Yom Kippur War: Embattled Israeli Bridgehead at Chinese Farm". HistoryNet.
  7. 1 2 3 Dr. George W. Gawrych The 1973 Arab-Israeli War: The Albatross of Decisive Victory Archived February 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine p.56–57
  8. October 9, 1973 conversation (8:20–8:40 am) between Israeli Ambassador to the United States Simcha Dinitz, military attaché General Mordechai Gur, Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, and Peter Rodman. Transcript George Washington University National Security Archive
  9. Shazly The Crossing of the Suez p.245–248
  10. El Gammasy The October War p.264–265
  11. El Gammasy The October War p.277