The War of Attrition 1969-1970

Although the cease-fire ending the 1967 war significantly reduced the violence on the frontier of Egypt and Israel (which was demarcated by the Suez Canal at the time) the lack of a mutually agreeable settlement and the continued Israeli occupation of the Sinai resulted in Egypt initiating the so-called War of Attrition on March 6, 1969. The plan was use the Egyptian superiority in artillery to cause unacceptable casualties to Israeli forces dug in along the canal; small unit stikes were also employed. Given the wide disparity in the populations of Israel and Egypt, Israel could not long tolerate trading casualties with the Egyptians. Israel responded by constructing the Bar-Lev Line, a series of fortifications along the canal, while using its air force to silence the Egyptian artillery and execute a policy of "asymmetrical response" – retaliation on a scale far exceeding any given Egyptian attack (with reprisal air strikes and small unit raids).

In January 1970 Israeli fighter planes made their first deep penetration raid into Egypt. To remedy this politically intolerable situation, the Egyptians asked the Soviet Union for military assistance. In return for the aid, the USSR was granted operational control over a number of Egyptian airfields and some units of the Egyptian army. The Soviet Union then sent between 10,000 and 15,000 Soviet troops and advisers to Egypt. A screen of surface-to-air missiles was set up, and Soviet pilots joined Egyptians in patrolling Egyptian air space. The Soviet move increased the risk of a superpower confrontation because the United States was supplying Israel with substantial military aid by this time.

As the tension along the Egyptian border continued to rise, United States secretary of state William Rogers proposed a new peace plan on June 25, 1970. In effect, the Rogers Plan was an interpretation of UN Security Council Resolution 242; it called for the international frontier between Egypt and Israel to be the secure and recognized border between the two countries. There would be "a formal state of peace between the two, negotiations on Gaza and Sharm ash Shaykh, and demilitarized zones." Egypt surprisingly accepted the plan in July. Israel accepted the plan in August because there was uncertainty about continued American support if it rejected the plan. Egyptian-Israeli fighting halted along the Suez Canal on August 7, 1970, in accordance with the first phase of the plan, and a ninety-day truce began.

Notes

[1] Israeli battles deaths is an estimate of military and civilian killed attributable to the war. Clodfelter reports total Israeli battle deaths for the period as 641 military and 248 civilian.

[2] Bar-Joseph reports figures by Shazly (2,882 killed) Dupuy (5,000 killed), the government of Israel (15,000) and an Egyptian report (4,000 casualties in the spring of 1970). There is ambiguity since the meaning of casualties is usually more inclusive than battle deaths (i.e., counting wounded and missing). Clodfelter suggests 5,000 military and civilian battle deaths and 10,000 wounded.

References

Bar-Joseph, 15; Clodfelter, 1047; COW172; Egypt - A Country Study; Israel - A Country Study.

Uri Bar-Joseph. The Watchman Fell Asleep: The Surprise of Yom Kippur and Its Sources. SUNY Press. 2005.

Category

Inter-State War

Region

West Asia

Belligerents

Egypt, Israel

Dispute

Territory

Initiation Date

March 6, 1969

Termination Date

August 7, 1969

Duration

1 year, 5 months, 2 days
(520 days)

Outcome

Negotiated Settlement
(US intervention)

Fatalities

Total: 5,368
Israel: 368^[1]
Egypt: 5,000^[2]

Magnitude

3.7