Syria had hundreds of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of tanks. • The Egyptian army sailed with enormous force.
Tanks in the Yom Kippur War
Photography:
Mickey Estelle, in the camp, courtesy of the IDF Archives at the Ministry of Defense
Two huge countries that wanted to destroy us on two fronts, a series of Arab countries that donated soldiers and weapons for the mission, and even an oil check from the UAE.
During the Yom Kippur War, Israel had to deal with challenges and obstacles that cost it quite a bit of human life, but in the end it could.
47 years later, we have examined the state of the major armies that took part in that traumatic war in 1973.
According to a variety of books written about the war, on the eve of the outbreak of hostilities on the southern and northern fronts, about 350,000 soldiers served in the IDF, including the reserve force, with the prevailing assumption that includes most organized armies, about a tenth of them served in the combat unit, under 6 armored divisions And another single number of infantry brigades.
The soldiers were used by about 2,100 tanks, 358 fighter jets, 800 guns, 39 ships and 50 anti-tank launchers.
"Even in full enlistment data," Dr. Edo Hecht, an expert in military theory and history and a lecturer at the POM (IDF College of Command and Staff), told Israel Today, "Before the war, IDF forces constituted only about half of the enemy forces that stood. Opposite them on both fronts. "
The northern front
The Syrian army that fought against the IDF in the Golan Heights at that time contained 150,000 soldiers who enjoyed 280 fighter jets, 1,650 tanks, 1,250 cannons, hundreds of anti-tank launchers and a total of two armored divisions and three infantry divisions alongside an infantry brigade and an armored brigade.
Apart from them, there were tens of thousands more soldiers in the northern sector who came from the various Arab armies.
"Throughout the war, Iraq sent two armored divisions (divisions) and three other infantry brigades, one of which is special forces," said Col. (Res.) Pesach Lubani, who previously served in the Armed Forces and the Mossad and now serves as a historian and researcher. Military history.
His main area of expertise is in the study of Arab armies and their wars.
He said Iraqi forces mobilized to help the Syrians included about 60,000 fighters and more than 700 tanks, artillery shells, vehicles, as well as several combat squadrons.
"They traveled 1,200 kilometers to get to Syria and help it."
Additional forces that thickened the sector in the Golan from the Syrian side arrived from Jordan in the form of a combat brigade.
Towards the end of the war, Jordan sent another brigade to the front, as well as an artillery unit.
Other countries that sent troops to the region were Morocco, which sent a reinforced infantry brigade in an armored battalion, Saudi Arabia, which sent a brigade of fighters, and Kuwait, which donated a similar force. "Other countries helped with the purchase of weapons and ammunition.
For example, the UAE sent President Assad a check for $ 100 million and a similar amount to Sadat in Egypt.
In addition, for the benefit of the Syrians, there were also Russian advisers who trained them, took part in some of the battles and some were even killed. "
Despite the many forces, the Syrians were eventually discriminated against and Lubny has an explanation for this.
"The Syrian army planned a lot of plans but in the end failed to carry out anything. This happened mainly due to the heroism of our fighters, but also thanks to the wrong working assumption of the Syrians. They were sure that the reserve forces would take at least 24 hours to reach the fighting zone." "Unfortunately, the reserve forces arrived on the first night, managed to surprise the Syrian army and cancel the invasion to the level they achieved in the first hours within four days."
In the summary of the fighting in the north, the IDF lost 872 fighters, 3,007 were wounded and 65 were taken prisoner. In addition, 430 tanks, 45 aircraft and 50 anti-RPG weapons were destroyed for the Israeli army.
The Syrian army had 4,300 casualties, 10,000 wounded and 400 prisoners.
Alongside them, 1,300 tanks, 135 aircraft, and 400 APCs were neutralized.
The southern arena
In the southern sector, the reality was even more difficult and complex, as the IDF fighters in Sinai faced a much larger force than the Syrian. Egypt had 650,000 troops, 2,200 tanks, 400 fighter jets, 2,200 cannons, 560 anti-tank launchers and 82 warships.
In total, nine infantry divisions, armored and mechanized, faced the IDF, in addition to a number of brigades, including commando brigades, which threatened to eliminate the Israeli army force that was on the opposite side. Quite a few Arab forces joined them, as in the north.
"Even before the war, there were two Iraqi squadrons in Egypt that took part in the war," Malvani explains.
"Apart from them, Libya sent about two brigades and two squadrons of Mirage on which the Egyptians flew. Algeria, Morocco and Sudan sent one brigade each, Tunisia sent a battalion into battle and according to various reports, several pilots from North Korea also participated in the war."
At the end of the southern campaign, 1,630 casualties fell to the IDF, 4,244 were wounded and 232 were captured. On the Egyptian side, 11,000 were killed, 25,000 wounded and 8,350 captured. In Israel, 260 tanks were destroyed, 57 planes and 50 APCs were counted.
In Egypt, 1,000 tanks, 235 fighter jets and 450 APCs were lost.
what's happening today?
47 years after the severe war, the Egyptian army and the Syrian army are in opposite directions.
According to data compiled by Dr. Hecht, who serves as a researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center belonging to Bar Ilan University, the manpower in the Egyptian army includes 800,000 soldiers along with 500 fighter jets, 100 fighter helicopters, 3,600 tanks, 8,000 APCs, 3,100 TAMs Cannons, mortars and rockets), 54 missiles, 4-8 submarines and a total of 17 divisions.
"Although after the war the Egyptian army moved from the Soviet side to the American side," he says, "it was difficult for it to intensify because the Americans were not as free as the Russians were. Although they were very technologically advanced but quantitatively it proceeded at a slower pace."
However, he emphasizes that during the reign of Hosni Mubarak and especially since al-Sisi was elected president, "Egypt has embarked on an accelerated path of empowerment because they see themselves as a regional power and because they have quite a few internal and external challenges unrelated to Israel."
At the same time, he emphasizes that "a change of government in Egypt may change the attitude toward Israel."
According to Malubani, despite the strong and powerful army of the Egyptians, they also have quite a few problems.
"The peace agreement with Israel has only done Egypt good militarily. They invest a lot in strengthening the army and advanced weapons and have a large and serious army. Still, they do not get along so well with ISIS in Sinai. There are quite a few attacks in which soldiers and policemen are killed. He is the one who determines. "
Compared to Egypt, Syria is in a major crisis that is also reflected in the quantity and quality of its army.
From data collected in 2016, and apparently changed only slightly, the Syrian army serves 250,000 soldiers and includes 200 fighter jets, 400 fighter helicopters, 370 tanks, 2,100 APCs, 400 TAMs and 3 divisions.
"The large Syrian army that we always feared disintegrated against the rebel forces," Malubani explains. "There was not much lack of the rebels tossing Assad Jr. and taking power from him, but then Hezbollah, the Iranians and the Russians came and saved the situation."
Dr. Hecht agrees with the analysis of the situation but notes that “until 2010 Syria had a large, strong and powerful army.
For example, the amount of their tanks was greater than several European countries combined.
In addition, we often talk about Hezbollah's rocket capability.
In the 1990s, Syria had several times better capabilities than Nasrallah.
"Although they have since done a sharp 'self-cutting' job and are busy with their internal problems, but based on the assumption that the revolt is fading this situation will not last much longer."
"The Russians are rehabilitating the Syrian army. It is difficult to predict, but I estimated that within five years Syria will have a restored and strong army, which may not be able to occupy and destroy the State of Israel, but will certainly cause a great deal of damage."
Regarding two other armies that were active participants in the war, Jordan and Iraq, the Jordanian army currently serves about 175,000 soldiers in 7 divisions and has 70 fighter jets, about 50 fighter helicopters, 650 tanks, 2,600 anti-tank vehicles and 600 TAMs. .
In Iraq, the situation is more complicated because the official army is tied to the United States in the navel and employs about a quarter of a million soldiers, who enjoy 200 planes, 40 helicopters, 1,500 tanks, 2,000 anti-aircraft guns, 2,500 Sqm and 7 divisions. Iran is controlled by about 100,000 troops. "Iraq today is mainly occupied Iranian territory," said Col. Malovny.
And what is the state of the IDF today compared to the war on Yom Kippur? According to various estimates, including a report by the Global Power website, the IDF serves 400,000 soldiers and has 300 fighter jets, 45 fighter helicopters, 1,500 tanks and 7,000 anti-aircraft guns. "Shim, 500 Tamar, 10 stilts, 6 submarines and a total of 9 divisions.
"In the years after the war, the IDF doubled in size and even more," notes Dr. Hecht.
From 85,000 regular soldiers in 1973, the number jumped to 185,000 in less than a decade.
"The main lesson from the trauma of the war was that Israel needed a large regular army. The problem is that we reached larger numbers than Britain and France combined. These dimensions were large for us and Israel failed to fund it which was a significant factor in the economic crisis in the 1980s."
"Therefore, since the 1990s, the IDF has been striving for a trend of reducing and streamlining manpower and maneuvering field units, along with armament with advanced technology, extensive intelligence and accurate measures for the long term.
"What contributed to this process is also the assumption that the following systems will not necessarily be in front of the classic armies to which we are accustomed, but more in front of small forces with other capabilities, such as Hezbollah."
According to him, this process reached its peak during the Second Lebanon War and failed, so in recent years there has been a correction and the army has returned to training more on the outline of readiness for wars against large state armies.
Dr. Hecht suggests not looking at the forces threatening us today as mere terrorist forces, and properly preparing for a full-scale war as well, even if Hezbollah is not a state force. "The enemy has stepped up.
It is no longer guerrilla terrorism but real military forces.
"Hezbollah has an army for all intents and purposes, with five infantry divisions, more than the Jordanian army."
"It is true that Hezbollah does not have tanks and combat helicopters but it has other things. It cannot conquer the Galilee as Nasrallah boasted, but it can certainly reach the dozens of settlements that are on and near the border fence, not just by firing but physically. Chief of Staff Kochavi defined them as 'Terrorist armies'.
"Hezbollah and the other organizations that threaten Israel are an army, and that is how they should be treated."