War of Attrition

The Israeli-Egyptian war of Attrition was centered largely on the Suez Canal

Date	July 1967 – August 7, 1970 (ceasefire)
Location	Sinai Peninsula (Israeli control)
Result	Both Egypt and Israel claimed victory, continued Israeli occupation of Sinai

Belligerents

Israel

Egypt

Soviet Union

PLO

Jordan

Commanders and leaders

Levi Eshkol

Yigal Allon

Zalman Shazar

Haim Bar-Lev

Mordechai Hod

Uzi Narkiss

Gamal Abdel Nasser

Ahmad Ismail Ali

Anwar El Sadat

Saad El Shazly

Strength

275,000

Egyptian: 200,000
Soviet advisors: 10,700–15,000^[1]
Jordanian: 15,000^[2]
PLO: 900-1,000^[3]^[4]

Casualties and losses

(From 1969-1970)
594 soldiers killed
127 civilians killed
^[5]^[6]
3000+ wounded
^[7]
30—40 aircraft lost^[8]
1 destroyer
4 tanks
2 half-tracks
2 armored cars

Egypt:
10,000+ killed
6,285 wounded^[9]^[10]
~60 aircraft lost^[8]
Soviet Union: 4 pilots killed
5 aircraft
Jordan:
87 soldiers killed
108-250 soldiers wounded
4 captured
30 tanks
2 aircraft
PLO:
100-200 killed
~100 wounded
120-150 captured

War of Attrition

Karameh – Bulmus 6 – Boxer – Raviv – Rooster 53 – Priha – Rimon 20

The War of Attrition (Arabic: حرب الاستنزاف‎ Ḥarb al-Istinzāf, Hebrew: מלחמת ההתשה‎ Milhemet haHatashah) was a limited war fought between Israel and Egypt from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six Day War, there were no serious diplomatic efforts to resolve the issues at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict. In September 1967 Arab states formulated the "Three Nos" policy, barring peace, recognition or negotiations with Israel. Egyptian President Gamel Abdel Nasser believed only military initiative would compel Israel or the international community to force a full Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai,^[11]^[12] and hostilities soon resumed along the Suez Canal. These initially took the form of limited artillery duels and small scale incursions into the Sinai, but by 1969 the Egyptian Army was prepared for larger scaled operations. On March 8, 1969, Nasser proclaimed the official launch of the War of Attrition, characterized by large scale shelling along the Canal, extensive aerial warfare and commando raids.^[11]^[13] Hostilities continued until August 1970 and ended with a ceasefire, the frontiers remaining the same as when the war began, with no real commitment to serious peace negotiations.

1 Egyptian Front
2 Timeline
3 Casualties
4 See also
- 4.1 People
5 Bibliography
6 References
7 External links

Egyptian Front

Israel's victory in the Six-Day War left the entirety of the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula up to the eastern bank of the Suez Canal under Israeli occupation. Egypt was determined to regain Sinai, and also sought to mitigate the severity of its defeat. Sporadic clashes were taking place along the cease-fire line, and Egyptian missile boats sank the Israeli destroyer INS Eilat on October 21 of the same year.

Egypt began shelling Israeli positions along the Bar Lev Line, using heavy artillery, deep-penetration raids into the Sinai, MiG aircraft and various other forms of Soviet assistance with the hope of forcing a war-weary Israeli government into concessions.^[14] Israel responded with aerial bombardments, airborne raids on Egyptian military positions, and aerial strikes against strategic facilities in Egypt.

The rationale of the Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, was explained by journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal:

"If the enemy succeeds in inflicting three-thousand casualties in this campaign, we can go on fighting nevertheless, because we have manpower reserves. If we succeed in inflicting ten-thousand casualties, he will unavoidably find himself compelled to stop fighting, because he has no manpower reserves."

The international community and both countries attempted to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. The Jarring Mission of the United Nations was supposed to ensure that the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 242 would be observed, by late 1970, it was clear that this mission had been a failure. Fearing the escalation of the conflict into an "East vs. West" confrontation during the tensions of the mid-Cold War, the American President, Richard Nixon, sent his Secretary of State, William Rogers, to formulate the Rogers Plan in view of obtaining a ceasefire.

In August 1970, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt agreed to an "in place" ceasefire under the terms proposed by the Rogers Plan. The plan contained restrictions on missile deployment by both sides, and required the cessation of raids as a precondition for peace. The Egyptians and their Soviet allies rekindled the conflict by violating the agreement shortly thereafter, moving their missiles near to the Suez Canal, and constructing the largest anti-aircraft system yet implemented at that point in history.^[5]^[14]

The Israelis responded with a policy which their Prime Minister, Golda Meir, dubbed “asymmetrical response,” wherein Israeli retaliation was disproportionately large in comparison to any Egyptian attacks.^[14] Following Nasser’s death in September 1970, his successor, Anwar Al-Sadat, ceased current hostilities with Israel, focusing instead on rebuilding the Egyptian army and planning a full-scale attack on the Israeli forces occupying the eastern bank of the Suez Canal. These plans would come to fruition three years later in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Ultimately, the Sinai would return to Egypt four years further, after the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty.

Timeline

July 1, 1967: Egyptian Army artillery fires on an Israeli armored infantry company near the Suez Canal. The Israeli unit commander is killed and thirteen Israeli troops are wounded.^[15] An Egyptian force of around thirty commandos supported by artillery defeated a mixed Israeli force of ten tanks and mechanized infantry in repeated attacks at Ras Al-'Ish, south of Port Fouad. The victory was a significant morale booster for the Egyptians in the aftermath of defeat. Port Fouad and its vicinity is the only part of the Sinai to remain in Egyptian hands.^[16]^[17]^[11]

July 2, 1967: The Israeli Air Force conduct an air strike against Egyptian artillery that had supported the commandos at Ras Al-'Ish.^[17]

July 14–15 , 1967: Following the Israeli air strike, the Egyptian General Command in Cairo began planning for a retaliatory air strike; a risky move since the Egyptian Air Force had very few aircraft remaining. On July 14, ten MiG-17 fighter bombers, escorted by ten MiG-21 fighters, attacked Israeli tank and armored concentrations in the southern sector of the canal. The air strike was a success with no losses, whilst two Israeli aircraft were downed. The air strike was repeated again the following day, with a successful outcome.^[18]

August, 1967: Another Israeli attempt to occupy Port Fouad is stopped again at Ras Al-'Ish by Egyptian commandos.^[16]

October 21, 1967: Egyptian naval forces sink the Israeli destroyer INS Eilat, killing forty-seven.^[5]

October, 1967: In retaliation to the sinking of the Eilat, Israeli artillery bombards the oil refineries and depots near Suez. In a series of artillery strikes between both sides throughout October, the towns of Ismailia and Suez are shelled by Israeli artillery. With civilian losses mounting, Egypt evacuates a large number of the civilian population in the canal region.^[19]

March 21, 1968: In response to persistent PLO attacks, Israel attacks the town of Karameh in Jordan, leading to heavy fighting with Jordanian and PLO forces. Both sides take heavy losses, and Israel withdraws after destroying a PLO camp and taking 120-150 prisoners.

June 1968: The war "officially" begins, with sparse Egyptian artillery bombardment of the Israeli front line on the east bank of the Suez Canal. More artillery bombardments in the following months kill Israeli soldiers.^[14]

October 30, 1968: Israeli heli-borne commandos ("Sayeret Matkal") destroy Egypt's main electricity supply. The blackout causes Nasser to cease hostilities for a few months while fortifications around hundreds of important targets are built. Simultaneously, Israel reinforces its position on the east bank of the Suez Canal by construction of "the Bar Lev Line".^[20]

March 3, 1969: Nasser officially voids the ceasefire of October 1968.

March 8, 1969: Egyptian artillery begins massive shelling of the Bar Lev Line resulting in many Israeli casualties. MiG-21 fighters are employed in the attack. The IDF retaliates with deep raids into Egyptian territory, causing severe damage.^[14]

March 9, 1969: The Egyptian Chief of Staff Abdul Munim Riad was killed in Israeli mortar attack whilst visiting the Egyptian frontline at the Suez Canal.

May-July 1969: Forty-seven IDF soldiers are killed and one-hundred and fifty-seven wounded. Although Egypt suffers many times more casualties than Israel, it continues its aggressive stance. Israel manages to sustain the high casualty rate but is hard-pressed to find a definite solution to the conflict.

July 19-20, 1969: Operation Bulmus 6 - Also known as Green Island raid. A Commando raid by Israeli special operation units Shayetet 13 and Sayeret Matkal, resulting a total destruction of the Egyptian facility. Six Israeli soldiers and 60-70 Egyptians were killed.

July 20–28, 1969: Operation Boxer - Nearly the entire Israeli Air Force (IAF) bombs the northern sector of the Canal, destroying anti-aircraft positions, tanks and artillery. The aerial offensive continues until December and reduces Egyptian anti-aircraft defenses to almost nothing. It also manages to reduce the artillery bombardment somewhat. However, shelling with lighter weapons, particularly mortars, continues.

September 9, 1969: Operation Raviv - Israeli troops employ captured Arab armor to raid Egypt's Red Sea coast. The raid is preceded by Operation Escort, with Shayetet 13 sinking a pair of Egyptian torpedo boats that could have threatened the Israeli raiding party.

October 17, 1969: The USA and USSR begin diplomatic talks to end the conflict.

December 9, 1969: The Rogers Plan is publicized. It calls for Egyptian "commitment to peace" in exchange for the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai. Both parties strongly reject the plan. President Nasser instead opts to plead for more sophisticated weaponry from the Soviet Union to withstand the IAF bombings. The Soviets initially refuse to deliver the requested weapons.^[21] In an engagement that day, the Egyptians, supplied with newly delivered P-15 radars, hold technological superiority to some degrees over the Israelis for once. Two Mirages were spotted by one such radar, and the Mirages promptly turned off their airborne radars to remain electronically invisible. A pair of MiG-21s arriving to intercept came up against the Mirages head-on, and opened fire with their 23 mm cannons. The Mirages made a climbing turn and lost sight of the MiGs, who were in fact below them. The MiG-21s fired their missiles and shot down both Mirages. Later in the evening, EAF Lt. Ahmed Atef shot down an Israeli F-4 Phantom II, making him the first Egyptian pilot to shoot down an F-4 in combat.^[22]

26-27 December, 1969: Operation Rooster 53, Israeli operation launched by a Paratroopers transported by Sikorsky CH-53E and Super Frelon helicopters, capturing an Egyptian P-12 radar at Ras Gharib and carrying it to Israel by 2 CH-53 Sea Stallion Helicopters. The operation enabled Israeli (and American) learning of the latest radar technology of the Soviets, and caused a huge morale impact on the Egyptians.

January 22, 1970: President Nasser secretly flies to Moscow to discuss the situation. His request for new SAM batteries (including the 3M9 Kub and Strela-2) is approved. Their deployment requires qualified personnel along with squadrons of aircraft to protect them. In effect, he needs Soviet troops in large numbers, something the Kremlin did not want to provide. Nasser then threatens to resign, implying that Egypt might turn to Washington for help in the future. The Soviets had Invested heavily in President Nasser's regime, and so, the Soviet leader, General Secretary Brezhnev, finally obliged. The Soviet presence was to increase from 2,500–4,000 in January to 10,600–12,150 (plus 100–150 Soviet pilots) by June 30.

March 15, 1970: The first fully-operational Soviet SAM site in Egypt is completed. It is part of three brigades which the USSR sends to Egypt.^[23]

April 8, 1970: Israeli Air Force F4 Phantom II fighter bombers kill forty-seven Egyptian schoolchildren at an elementary school in what is known as Bahr el-Baqar massacre. The single-floor school was hit by five bombs and two air-to-ground missiles.^[24]. This put a definite end to the campaign, and the Israelis instead then concentrate upon Canal-side installations. The respite gives the Egyptians time to reconstruct its SAM batteries closer to the canal. Soviet flown MiG fighters provide the necessary air cover. Soviet pilots also begin approaching IAF aircraft during April 1970, but Israeli pilots have orders not to engage these aircraft, and break off whenever Soviet-piloted MiGs appear.

May, 1970: During the final days of the month, the IAF launched major air raids against Port Said, believing a large amphibious force was assembling in the town. On the 16th an Israeli aircraft was shot down in air combat, probably by a MiG-21.^[25]

June 25, 1970: An Israeli A-4 "Skyhawk", in an attack sortie against Egyptian forces on the Canal, is pursued by a pair of Soviet-piloted MiG-21s into the Sinai. The "Skyhawk" is shot down or, according to the Israelis, hit and forced to land at a nearby air base. In response, Israel plans and executes an ambush of Soviet-piloted MiGs.^[23]

June 27, 1970: The EAF continued to launch air raids across the canal. On June 27 around eight Egyptian Su-7s and MiG-21s attacked Israeli rear areas in the Sinai, shooting down a Mirage and capturing its pilot. The Israelis claimed to have shot down two aircraft.^[26]

July 30, 1970: - A large-scale dogfight codenamed Rimon 20, involving twelve to twenty-four MiG-21s (besides the initial twelve, other MiGs are "scrambled", but it is unclear if they reach the battle in time), twelve Mirage III and four F-4 Phantom II jets, takes place west of the Suez Canal. Ambushing their opponents, the Israelis down four Soviet-piloted MiGs, and, according to some sources, a fifth is hit and crashes en route back to its base. Three Soviet pilots are killed, while the IAF suffers no casualties except a damaged Mirage.^[23] Following the Soviets' direct intervention, known as "Operation Kavkaz"^[23], Washington fears an escalation and redoubles efforts toward a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Early August, 1970: Despite their losses the Soviets and Egyptians manage to press the air defenses closer and closer to the canal. The Soviet operated SAMs shoot down a number of Israeli aircraft. Israelis do not respond effectively. The SAM batteries allow the Egyptians to move in artillery which in turn threatens the Bar Lev Line.

August 7, 1970: A cease-fire agreement is reached, forbidding either side from changing "the military status quo within zones extending 50 kilometers to the east and west of the cease-fire line." Minutes after the cease-fire, Egypt begins moving SAM batteries into the zone even though the agreement explicitly forbids new military installations. By October there are approximately one-hundred SAM sites in the zone.

September 28, 1970: President Nasser dies of a heart attack, and his Vice President, Anwar al-Sadat, takes the reins. Sadat agrees to end the War of Attrition and almost immediately begins planning the Yom Kippur War, which would take place three years later.

Casualties

Egyptian casualties estimated in a few thousands soldiers and civilians. Israeli losses totalled 594 soldiers and 127 civilians killed, with 2,000 soldiers and 700 civilians wounded. The Arabs and Soviets lost 60 aircraft, while the Israelis lost 30-40.

Bibliography

Benny Morris. (1999). Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881–1999. Knopf. ISBN 0-679-42120-3.
Bar-Simon Tov, Yaacov. The Israeli-Egyptian War of Attrition, 1969–70. New York: Columbia University Press, 1980.
Chaim Herzog and Shlomo Gazit. The Arab-Israeli Wars: War and Peace in the Middle East. New York: Vintage Books, 2004.
Whetten, Lawrence L. (1974). The Canal War: Four-Power Conflict in the Middle East. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-23069-0.
Rabinovitch. (2004). The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East.. ISBN 0-8052-4176-0.
Nicolle, David; Cooper, Tom (2004). Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 Units in Combat (First ed.). Osprey Publishing. pp. 96. ISBN 1841766550.