Back to the video list: Israeli History

 

After having lost the Six-Day-War against Israel the Egyptian president Nasser launched the War of Attrition. This widely ignored war only ended with the death of Nasser.

 

Video

 

 

Overview

  • Date: Jun 1968 – 07 Aug 1970
  • Location: Suez Canal zone & Egyptian heartland
  • Start: Egyptian artillery strikes on Israeli positions at the Suez Canal
  • End: Ceasefire

 

Parties & Persons Involved

  • Israel:
    • Levi Eshkol (1895 – 1969), Israeli prime minister
    • Golda Meir (1898 – 1978), Israeli prime minister
  • Egypt:
    • Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918 – 1970), Egyptian President
  • Additionally: Soviet military advisors & pilots in Egypt

 

Background

  • The Israel Defence Forces are positioned on the east bank of the Suez Canal since the Six-Day War (05 – 10 Jun 1967)
  • The Six-Day War means a heavy defeat for Egypt & her president Nasser
  • Egyptian forces are reequipped through extensive military aid from the Soviet Union
  • The Arab states deny Israel the right to exist which results in a deep Arab-Israeli enmity

 

History

  • Sep 1967: Arab states adopt the Khartoum Resolution which states “No peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it...“
  • Nasser: “What was taken by force must be regained by force.“
  • Principle of the War of Attrition:
  Egypt Israel
Population (1970) 35m 3m
Casualties of 50,000 0.14% 1.67%
Goal: Exhausting Israel’s “human reserve”

 

  • Jun – Oct 1968: Egyptian artillery fires on Israeli positions east of the Suez Canal
  • 30 Oct 1968: Sayeret Matkal destroys a main electric transformation station & other strategic targets in Egypt
  • Nov 1968 – Mar 1969: Egypt temporarily ceases hostilities
  • Nov 1968 – Mar 1969: Egypt strengthens the (air) defence of strategic targets
  • Nov 1968 – Mar 1969: The IDF fortifies the positions at the Canal by constructing the Bar Lev Line
  • 08 Mar 1969: Egypt resumes extensive artillery strikes on Israeli positions
  • Mar – Oct 1969: Extensive Israeli air strikes on Egypt enjoying nearly total air superiority
  • Negotiations of the super powers to find a solution for the conflict
  • 09 Dec 1969: Rodgers Plan (“land for peace“) is rejected by both, Egypt & Israel
  • 22 Jan 1970: The Soviet Union promises Egypt the delivery of surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) & the intervention of Soviet fighter squadrons
  • 08 Apr 1970: 47 school children die during an Israeli airstrike
    • The IDF restricts operations to the Canal zone
  • Apr – Aug 1970: More combat operations with heavy casualties on the Egyptian & Soviet side
  • 07 Aug 1970: Three months ceasefire
  • Aug – Sep 1970: Egypt prepares a new offensive, esp. by moving air defence systems closer to the Canal
  • 28 Sep 1970: Nasser dies & Egypt ceases hostilities

 

Consequences & Impact

  • Casualties
    • Israel: 1,424 dead & approx. 3,000 wounded
    • Egypt: 10,000 dead & approx. 100 aircraft
  • Nasser’s successor Sadat immediately starts preparing the Yom Kippur War (1973)
  • Both sides claim to have won the War of Attrition
  • Parts of Israel & the Israel Defense Forces underestimate Egypt & think that Israel will win any war against her Arab neighbours without any problems
    • This leads to costly mistakes before & during the first days of the Yom Kippur War (1973)