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The Six day War and The Yom Kippur War
The Six day War and The Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War (1973)
Why war broke out
Sadat became leader of Egypt, and wanted peace and reform to gain support from both superpowers. The US was busy with 'Nam and the Jewish Lobby was reluctant to have relations. The USSR offered support, but Sadat refused to let them interfere with internal affairs. He ordered
15,000
advisors to leave in
1972
Sadat realised that Israel would come to the negotiating table if he provoked them, and the only way of doing so was through war. Through the
Defence Pact
with Syria, Israeli was attacked on 2 fronts on
6 Oct (Yom Kippur) 1973
Key events
Both super powers sent arms to the factions, and fear arose that they may become involved. By the
13 Oct
, a settlement was being looked into
15-17 Oct:
Israel won a tank battle at
The Chinese Farm
and could cross the Suez and encircle the Egyptian
Third Army
. Doing so allowed them to threaten SAM bases, Egypt's main defence
6 Oct: Egyptian airforce attacked Israeli defences on the Suez, and tanks were sent across into the Sinai. Many Israeli aircraft that were scrambled were shot down by
SAMs
, Russian ground defence missiles that kept the Israelis form gaining air superiority. Portable
Saggar
misses also destroyed many Israeli tanks.
The Israelis were taken by surprise, however Egypt tried to take this to their advantage, and advanced too quickly, allowing Israeli counter-attacks to stop them in the Sinai
In the Golan,
500
Syrian tanks gained much ground and shot down 30 Israeli aircraft with
SAMs
and
Strella
. Despite this, Israel push back the Syrians and captured
1,500 square kilometres
of Syrian territory
A cease fire was called on
22 Oct
, but fighting didn't stop until
24 Oct
. Little territorial changes occurred, but heavy casualties were sustained
Stats
Israel
2,800 dead
250 Tanks destroyed
Arabs
16,000 dead
1,850 Tanks destroyed
How Israel won
It still had it's technological advantage and military expertise. This was why they were quick to respond, despite being on a national holiday
The impact on Israel
Israel now became more concerned about it's vulnerability.
Israel had been proved not to be invincible
Peace was now necessary
Sadat also achieved his goal of getting Israel on the negotiating table
The impact on Arab States
Sadat, despite the defeat, became an Arab hero.
The US even re-considered it's relations with them
The Arab states in the
OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
placed an embargo on oil, raising prices by 70% and cutting production by 10%
This caused the
Oil Crisis of 1973.
It lead to not only shortages in fuel, but economic turmoil for years. Many western countries began to side with Palestine in vein in order to stop the embargo.
The superpowers
Both superpowers accepted the fact that a solution had to be found in Palestine. US secretary of state
Henry Kissinger
began his famous
'Shuttle Diplomacy'
The Six Day War (1967)
Why war broke out
The UN peacekeeping force was unable to stop border skirmishes between the Israelis and
Fatah and PLO terrorists
during the later part of 1966 and early 1967. This gave Nasser confidence to invade, especially now as Egypt and Syria signed a
defence pact
in
Nov 1966
. He ordered UN forces to leave and closed the
Gulf of Aqaba
and blockaded the
Port of Eilat
Nasser made a series of threatening and aggressive speeches, suggesting that Israel was stockpiling for war. In doing so, he hoped that this would encourage other Arab nations to become more aggressive towards Israel. There were also several
Fatah
attacks on Israeli soil from Syrian bases
How Israel won
They were the best equipped in the region. They also adopted new military tactics, prioritising
mobility and hitting-power
Israel had
300,000
trained troops (inc. reserve). The Arabs had a
combined
force of
180,000
Air superiority was paramount to their victory
The impact on Israel
Israel now had fixed,
geographical
boundaries that were easy to defend
With it's newly acquired territories, Israel now had
1 million
Arabs to govern and a large number of refugees. They were crammed in squalid camps, and Israels international image began to decline
The impact on Arab States
Suadi Arabia, Kuwait and Libya agreed to give Egypt and Jordan
£135 million annually
700,000
refugees fled the West Bank and Gaza strip. The Egyptians and Syrians forced the
PLO
out, causing them to set up bases in Jordan. Actions like ethical increased after Nasser's death in 1970. It lead to civi war in Jordan as guerrillas tried to take over the country
Some Arab states now though it was impossible to defeat Israel through militant actions, and decided to loo for negotiated peace. However, some met in
Khartoum
in
Aug 1967
and decided that there would be
'no peace, no recognition and no negotiation'
with Israel
Some Arabs believed only
international terrorism
would defeat Israel
The superpowers
They became even more involved: the Soviets sent
$2,600,000,000
in aid to the Arabs, and the US sent
$2,000,000,000
to Israel (both between
1968
and
1973
)
Nov 1967
,
UN resolution 242
called for Israeli withdraw form it's newly occupied territories. It wasn't specific however, allowing for boarders o be changed slightly from their original positions. Arabs refused to accept
242
however, and terror attacks incurred, like the assault on Israel athletes at the
Munich Olympics in 1972
Key events
Before the war
12 May:
'There will be no immunity for any state which aids terrorist attacks' - a statement from the Israelis
16 May:
UN forces withdraw
22 May:
Gulf of Aqaba closed
3 June:
100,000 Egyptians moved into the Sinai
4 June:
Iraqi soldiers moved through Jordan on the West Bank. Forces from the
Arab legion
(including Algeria and Kuwait) ranged against Israel
5 June:
Israel begin pre-empitve strikes
The Egyptian airforce was wiped out on the ground, and later Syrian, Iraqi and Jordanian airforces were in a similar condition.
Israel now had absolute air superiority
28 May:
New Israeli government formed;
Moshe Dayan
appointed
Minister of Defence
He (and the rest of Israel) was confident and saw the aggressions as an opportunity to strike a blow at the Arabs. Israel had prepared for an attack, and wanted to catch the Arabs unprepared. They also used Nasser's accusations to their advantage, such as the laying of mines in waterways.
During the war
The Jordanian army was pushed back over the River Jordan and Israel occupied the West Bank, including eastern Jerusalem by
7 June
. Jordan accepted a UN ceasefire. Egypt followed suit
Syrian forces were fierce in the Golan Heights, however all 100,000 began to flee once Israel seized them. If Syria didn't call for a ceasefire,
Israel could of captured Damascus
. The fighting ended by
10 June
Now helpless, the Egyptian army at the Sinai were surrounded by Israeli tanks within three days.
Israel now occupied the Sinai
Stats
Israel
750 Killed
2,500 wounded
35
Aircraft lost
Arabs
15,000 Killed
27,000 Wounded
450
Aircraft lost