War of the Kippur: the Egyptian commandos

(To Tiziano Ciocchetti)
17/10/18

At 14.15 6 1973 Oct., Egyptian assault groups launch towards the west bank of the Suez Canal.

As the fighter-bomber dart on their heads, the Egyptian commandos can see, in the east, the Israeli defenses of the Bar-Lev line in a hell of explosions and clouds of smoke: the Yom Kippur war has begun.

The goal of the mission is to control the east bank of the Channel. For this purpose they have been training for months, and they know that resistance will be tenacious. The Egyptian soldiers are faced with two problems: how to overcome the Bar-Lev line defenses and how to face the armored forces that will surely come to the rescue of the Israeli garrisons.

The Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Army, General Saad el Din Shazli, devised the plan to cross the Channel, and personally supervised the training for the operation. 28 battalions of assault troops, two paratroopers brigades and a navy infantry brigade are deployed for the action.

Shazli had speculated that these units would take part in the offensive against the Israeli deployment in three ways. First, they would have carried out missions of reconnaissance of the defenses on the east bank of the Channel. Second, they would have acted as a spearhead in crossing the Canal, neutralizing the strongholds of the Bar-Lev line and ambushing the armored units sent in support. Third, they would be placed deep inside with helicopters in the Sinai, where they would interrupt communications, attacking Israeli commands and ambushing the departments sent to the front.

Once the boats touch the opposite bank, the commandos disembark quickly, dragging behind the flexible assault ladders that, placed on the high banks, must serve the infantry units, anti-tank teams and army watchers.

The commandos approach the forts firing bursts in rapid succession, and ending the assaults with the launch of grenades. With great surprise, the Egyptians discover that only 18 of the Bar-Lev stations are manned and the resistance differs deeply depending on whether the garrisons occupy the shooting areas or are holed up in the bunkers to protect themselves from the bombing.

In some cases the Israeli soldiers of the garrisons accept their destiny and let themselves be taken prisoner when it becomes evident that it is impossible to be rescued. In other cases they continue to fight until most of them are killed or injured.

When the IDF armored troops advance to the Bar-Lev line defenses, they are hit by the artillery fire and Egyptian mortars coming from the west bank of the Canal, and many fall victim to mines placed by the commandos. However, the most important factor from the moral point of view is the ambushes led by assault groups.

The Egyptians have very modern weapons to fight the armored Israeli: some are the conventional RPG-7 portable rocket launchers, but others are more unusual. The AT-3 SAGGER anti-tank missile, for example, is a remote-controlled rocket that is pointed by the operator and led to the target by means of a control bar. The whole system can enter a single container and is easily transportable by two servants. The SAGGER requires only one skilled operator, who does not panic at the sight of an approaching enemy tank. The assault teams know how effective their armament is and they can wait until the tanks are at the right distance before opening the fire.

In the watery northern sector, Israeli wagons crews must operate with limited visibility because the Egyptian torrent of fire forces them to keep the hatches closed. So some end up off the beaten track and cover up, becoming even easier prey for enemy teams. Few Israeli tank crews can see the Egyptians before the missiles hit their vehicles. Within minutes of 24 General Mandler, commander of the only Sinai armored division, lost 170 tanks.

Elsewhere, the penetration of the Egyptian commandos is inferior, and Shazli's plan to insert them deep into the Sinai causes heavy losses. A group of 30 soldiers is entered in pairs using a Mil Mi-8 HIP helicopter. The commandos are transported close to their targets, which reach as far as Sharm-el-Sheikh, at the southern tip of the peninsula. However, in most cases the reaction of the Israelis is harsher than that along the Bar-Lev line and attacks are rejected. The most massive penetration is carried out with an entire battalion, but the helicopters are intercepted by the IAF F-4 PHANTOM while flying over Ras Suda in the Gulf of Suez: 14 are shot down and 250 soldiers lose their lives or fall prisoner.

The assault troops are also employed in an operation involving the 130ᵃ naval infantry brigade, equipped with PT-76 amphibious light tanks and armored transport vehicles. It is about crossing the Great Bitter Lake, while underwater raiders hit Israeli positions on the eastern side.

As soon as they land, the Marines must overwhelm Israel's advanced defenses and join the commandos that were placed by helicopters near the strategic steps of Mitla and Gidi. The Israelis, however, sensing the danger, have guarded the steps with an armored brigade and the attempt must be abandoned by the Egyptians after having lost several light tanks.

The assault troops make their presence felt in the northern sector with greater weight, especially during the battle for the capture of the cornerstone Budapest, around which hard fights will rage for the duration of the conflict. On the 8 October date, the Israelis lost over 70 wagons in an attempt to rescue the cornerstone, mostly destroyed by SAGGER missiles and mines placed by commandos. At this point the Israeli General Staff begins to be very worried, as it seems that there is no way to repel Egyptian forces.

The subsequent developments of the war - which will end with the defeat of the Egyptians after a rapid advance in Sinai - must not make us forget the excellent evidence given by the commandos during the conflict.

The assault groups contributed decisively to the success of the Egyptian army during the crossing of the Suez Canal. Reporting heavy casualties, they blocked the ability of the Israelis to launch a counterattack with armored forces from the Sinai.

(photo: web)