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Subject:
RE:Saudi/Egyptian army - sharp_shooter
swhitebull
1/19/2004 6:37:41 PM
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..One of the most successful breeches in Military history was performed by the Egyptians. They breeched the "impregnable" Bar Lev line. ..
Have to disagree with you on this on , GF.
THe "impregnable" Bar Leve line was a series of relatively non-supported outposts, hardly a greatly fortified line akin to the Maginot or the Mareth line, and only manned by 456 men of one scattered IDF infantyr brigade, in poor readiness due to the Yom Kippur Holy Day. There were 3 armored brigades in the Sinai, 2 understrength, and only one near the canal in any kind of strength. Only this one infantry brigade opposed the initial commando crossings. The IDF contingency plans were to send the tank brigades to occupy the forward canal positions, but the orders were cancelled 45 minutes prior to the commencement of the Egyptian artillery bombardments. Within 3 hours of the initial crossings, 15 of the "lines" outposts had been captured, but some positions were actually holding out 1 week after the initial crossings.
That is NOT to denigrate the engineering feat necessary for the Egyptian Army to make the crossing. They used high-pressure water cannons and earth movers to blast holes in the earthern embankments that the Israelis had built since 1967, hit the positions with over 3000 TONS of artillery explosives, and expected 1000s of casualties in the crossings. It was a test of courage, planning and execution on the part of the Egytian commando teams. And was successful everywhere. WHere it broke down was in the failure of the Egyptian staff to think outside of the objective of the initial crossings and penetration up to 10 Km inland, when the IDF was most disorganized and unable to effectively respond. Typical SOVIET planning.
And this lack of initiative, planning and follow-through allowed for the SMASHING IDF victory that led to the countercrossing by Sharon's forces to the West Bank, and the near annihilation of the surrounded 3rd Army.
My VOTE? Egypt beats the camel dung out of the Saudi in ANY conceivable war, assuming either country has the wherewithal to actually get their respective forces to physically meet each other..
swhitebull |
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