Operation Badr (Arabic: عملية بدر ʻAmaliyat Badr), also known as Plan Badr (خطة بدر Khitat 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 (previously constituents of the United Arab Republic) had been seeking to recover the territories that Israel had captured from them during the 1967 Arab–Israeli War.
The Egyptians had begun preparing for the offensive with training exercises in 1968, followed by operational planning from 1971 onward, including a deceptive operation. In the opening stages of the attack, known as "the crossing" (العبور al-'obour), Egyptian combat engineers utilized water cannons to rapidly clear numerous passages through the sand wall lining the eastern bank of the Suez Canal, simultaneously laying bridges and operating ferries that allowed armoured vehicles to cross into Israeli-controlled territory.
Israel's military was surprised by the scale of the attack, and by 7 October, the Egyptians had completed their crossing; the Israelis' eastern bank was captured and occupied by five Egyptian infantry divisions, which subsequently established defensive positions on bridgeheads spanning the 160-kilometre (99 mi) frontline. Following a lull in the fighting on 7 October, Israeli armour reserves arrived at the Suez Canal and launched a counterattack against the Egyptians opposite to the city of Ismailia. However, Egypt's military was successful in employing anti-tank weapons to repel the Israeli assault and advanced once more. By the end of 8 October, Egypt had occupied a strip of territory along the entire eastern bank of the Suez Canal to a depth of approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi).
In addition to the crossing, Egypt had successfully implemented a naval blockade against Israel in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Though Israel ultimately was able to halt the Egyptian advance and begin a counterattack in the southern Suez Canal, the sweeping success of Egyptian troops in the initial stages of the conflict, including Operation Badr, is specially commemorated by the 6th of October Panorama in Egypt's Cairo and by the October War Panorama in Syria's Damascus. In Cairo, the 6th of October Bridge is named for the date on which Operation Badr commenced.
Prelude: 1967–1970
Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula
At the end of the Six-Day War, Israel held the entire Sinai Peninsula, with the exception of Port Fouad. Israel's victory in the Six-Day War brought about a sense of security within Israel; the occupied territory added strategic depth to the country's defense. Consequently, Israel and Egypt ignored United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 242, which called for withdrawal from occupied territories in return for Arab recognition, and negotiations between the countries ceased. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir aimed to maintain the status quo and believed that her country's military strength would secure peace with Arab nations on their terms. Egypt, following the "three nos" policy, refused to recognize Israel or even negotiate with Israel directly, preferring talks via third parties.
Soviet aid for Egypt's military
The 1967 war had severely depleted Egypt's military strength, as most of their air force and a large quantity of equipment was destroyed. Soviet assistance helped the Egyptian military to start the rebuilding of their armed forces shortly after the war, and by September 1968, Egyptian ground forces had sufficiently recovered to challenge the Israeli presence east of the Suez canal. The War of Attrition began with Egyptian artillery barrages and commando raids into the Sinai, which were countered by deep-striking Israeli airstrikes and heli-borne raids into Egypt. Egypt's inability to challenge Israeli air superiority led to the deployment of Soviet-operated air-defense assets to protect parts of Egypt's interior, deterring the Israelis from launching their deep penetration raids and allowing the Egyptians to rebuild their air defenses. The defensive upgrades incurred increasing Israeli air losses, leading to an August 1970 ceasefire that lasted until 1973. Nasser died in September 1970 and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat.
Egyptian strategy
Exploiting the Cold War détente
President Sadat believed that Egypt's economic, political, social and military problems were a result of the Six-Day War. He believed the solution to these problems lay with erasing the humiliation of the 1967 defeat, which required regaining the Sinai. In 1971, Sadat began the coordinated political and military groundwork to achieve this. In February, he proposed a phased Israel withdrawal from the Sinai, which would involve a reopening of the Suez Canal, and Israeli fulfillment of the UNSCR 242, including resolving the Palestinian refugee problem. In return, Egypt would sign a peace treaty with Israel and re-establish relations with the United States. However, Israeli insistence on retention of territory necessary for its security ended diplomatic efforts.
Simultaneously, Sadat sought to improve Egypt's military capabilities, and in March began the first of four trips to the Soviet Union to obtain arms and munitions to cover those expended in the War of Attrition. He publicly stated his desire to go to war and marked 1971 the "year of decision". However, the Soviets failed to deliver the promised supplies, and Sadat ruled out an offensive that year. As 1971 drew to a close, Sadat's threats were dismissed as hollow Arab rhetoric. Added to their already weak political position, Arab leaders reached a consensus in 1972 that a diplomatic solution to the conflict was hopeless. American mediation steadily declined, ceasing entirely by mid-1973.
By 1972, the United States and the Soviet Union were focused on détente. The Arabs were worried, as it meant their military situation in regards to Israel would remain at a disadvantage. Believing diplomatic avenues had reached a dead end, Sadat focused on taking decisive military action. A renewed conflict with Israel would disrupt Soviet-American détente, force superpower intervention and make the solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict a center-stage issue to Israel, the US and the USSR.
A number of Egyptian commanders wanted to carry out a general war to regain at least a significant part of the Sinai. This view was notably held by the Minister of War, General Mohammed Ahmed Sadek. However, in January 1972 Sadek acknowledged that Egypt's Armed Forces were not ready for a land reclamation war before some five to ten years. Sadek cited studies in opposition of a limited offensive; Egyptian analyses estimated 17,000 casualties in a canal crossing, while Soviet estimates placed casualty figures at 35,000 troops. Sadek stressed the immense losses that would be sustained would overshadow any military and political gains from a limited offensive, which required following up by liberating all or most of the Sinai.
For political reasons, Sadat dismissed Sadek's arguments. The government's political position was perilous as the Egyptian public, angered by the "No War, No Peace" situation with Israel, demanded action. The economy, already suffering from the loss of the Suez Canal revenues and the Sinai oil fields, could not cope with the country being on a war footing for an extended period. War was a desperate option, and a limited offensive under the current circumstances was the only solution.
Assistance from the Arab League
At a session of the Arab League's Joint Defence Council on 27–30 January 1973, Egypt presented a report stressing that an attack against Israel would have to be carried out simultaneously from Egypt, Syria and Jordan because of the Israeli air superiority. According to the report, Egypt and Syria's air forces, if reinforced with 16 air squadrons from other Arab countries would achieve numerical superiority. However, the Israelis offset this by superior training, avionics, aircraft payload and weaponry. A simultaneous Arab attack could dilute the effectiveness of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), and would force Israeli ground forces to fight a two-front war.
Egyptian–Syrian offensive
During that month, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad indicated his intentions of going to war against Israel. Egypt and Syria agreed to coordinate military action via negotiations, and the respective Ministers of War formulated a common military strategy. Egypt enlisted the political support of several more Arab countries, some producers of oil. Sadat discussed the possibility of using oil as an economic weapon to pressure Western governments into adopting more pro-Arab policies. During the war, oil-producing Arab nations, primarily Libya and Saudi Arabia, initiated an oil embargo, and several sent token forces to the front lines.
Sadat bred caution into his commanders, even warning his later Minister of War, Ahmed Ismail Ali, "not to lose the army as had happened in 1967." On 3 June 1971 he outlined his vision of a limited war:
I want us to plan [the offensive] within our capabilities, nothing more. Cross the canal and hold even ten centimeters of the Sinai. I'm exaggerating, of course, but that will help me greatly and alter completely the political situation internationally and within Arab ranks.
Sadat's strategy was designed to achieve political success without needing a comprehensive military victory, and hence, and in view of the Egyptian military's marked inferiority to the Israel Defense Forces, this required only a limited war.
A limited operation was supported by Egyptian armed forces Chief of Staff Saad El Shazly. He argued that Israel has two fatal weaknesses. The first of which is inability to sustain high human casualties due to limited available manpower. The second is inability to sustain a prolonged war for it mobilizes around 18% of the Jewish population. A prolonged limited defensive war can best capitalize both weaknesses.
Background
Planning and preparations
Major General Mohammed Fawzi, who was Sadek's predecessor as defense minister, regularly held command simulations. These exercises had unrealistic objectives and operational aims that were considerably outside the capabilities of the Egyptian military. When Lieutenant General Saad El Shazly became Chief of Staff on 16 May 1971, no offensive plans yet existed. Rather, there was a defensive plan code named Operation 200, and a more aggressive alternative named Operation Granite. Although Granite incorporated raids and assaults into the Sinai, it was essentially defensive. In his assessment of the military's capabilities, he concluded the air force was the weakest arm. It was outmatched by its Israeli counterpart in various aspects, and Israeli pilots were also more experienced. A pivotal equipment advantage for the IAF was the F-4 Phantom II, a third generation fighter/bomber. By the outbreak of the war in October 1973, the IDF had 122 F-4Es and 6 RF-4Es (R denotes the reconnaissance variant) in service.
To compensate for the weaknesses of Egyptian air power, the Egyptians developed their air defenses. They fielded immobile SA-2 and SA-3 SAMs, the backbone of the air defenses, as well as mobile SA-6 SAMs and ZSU-23-4 SPAAGs (Self Propelled Anti-Air Gun), portable infantry SA-7s, in addition to thousands of conventional anti-air artillery. These air defenses would provide a protective "umbrella" over Egyptian ground forces. However, the SA-2 and SA-3 systems, being immobile, could only be moved over a nine-hour period at best, exposing the air defenses to degradation in case of a redeployment to keep up with advancing forces. On the other hand, the SA-6 systems were available in limited numbers insufficient to provide adequate protection to advancing armored forces.
Due to these restrictions, Shazly supported a limited war to retake only the east bank of the canal, as opposed to Sadek. However, Sadek authorized the planning of two offensive plans, starting in July 1971. The first was Operation 41, which involved an offensive along the entire Suez Canal with the objective of seizing the key passes of the Sinai. The plan was developed in cooperation with Soviet advisers. As it was, the objectives of the operation were outside the capabilities of the Egyptian military and Shazly saw it only as a means of inducing the Soviets to supply more arms and equipment. The plan would also encourage the Syrians to join in an attack against Israel. Operation 41 was completed by September 1971, and the following month, Sadat and Sadek flew to Moscow to conclude Egypt's largest arms deal yet, receiving 100 MiG-21 fighters, 10 Tu-16 bombers, SA-6 anti-aircraft (AA) missiles and heavy artillery. Operation 41 was renamed Operation Granite Two.
The second plan—codenamed the "High Minarets"—called for a crossing at five separate areas along the length of the canal. The Egyptians would advance 10–15 kilometers (6.2–9.3 mi), then establish defensive positions. By restricting their advance, Egyptian ground forces would remain within range of their own SAM defences, which would provide a protective "umbrella", negating the Israeli advantage in the air. In this way the High Minarets was planned in accordance with the capabilities of the Egyptian Army. The plan's outline was completed by September 1971 in absolute secrecy.