‘Zero-Hour for the Bears’: Inquiring into the Soviet Decision to Intervene in the Egyptian–Israeli War of Attrition, 1969–70

Abstract

This paper analyses the USSR's decision to deploy Soviet military units in Egypt and to intervene against Israeli Defence Forces during the Egyptian–Israeli War of Attrition in 1969–70. Based mostly on newly revealed Russian sources, the paper illustrates (1) how Moscow, on the basis of global considerations, began to toy with the idea of introducing its military personnel to Egypt; (2) the metamorphosis of the Soviet decision from global to local considerations; and (3) concludes with a discussion of the Kremlin's decision to resume the deployment of Soviet units in Egypt, notwithstanding the cease-fire that had terminated the War of Attrition in August 1970.

Acknowledgements

I want to thank Mr. Nehemia Burgin who shared with me his knowledge, analytical capabilities and scientific enthusiasm and to express deep gratitude to Mrs. Deena Leventer for her excellent professional assistance and kind personal participation.

Notes

  [1] Soviet intervention occurred twice under the umbrella of the Warsaw Pact (Hungary in 1945 and Czechoslovakia in 1968) and three times (not including the case studied here) outside Pact territory – in Cuba in 1962, Afghanistan in 1979, and Syria in 1982. Recently it has been revealed that the Soviet Army also acted in Korea in 1950–53 (the 40,000-strong 64th Air Corps) and in the Vietnam War in 1964–73 (Soviet air-defence units numbering 20,000 men in all). Zolotarev, Rossiia (SSSR) v lokal'nykh voinakh i voennykh konfliktakh vtoroi poloviny XX veka, 481, Appendix 2.

  [2] Kissinger, White House Years, 569.

  [3] Bar-Joseph and Hannah, “Intervention Threats in Short Arab–Israeli Wars.”

  [4] Adamsky, “Disregarding the Bear”; Adamsky and Bar-Joseph, “The Russians are not Coming”; Parker, The Politics of Miscalculation, 148–64; Kissinger, White House Years, 574–89.

  [5] Heikal, The Road to Ramadan and Sphinx and Commissar; El-Gamasy, The October War; Sadat, In Search of Identity; Riad, The Struggle for Peace in the Middle East; Farid, Nasser; al–Shazli, Crossing the Canal, Fawzi, Harb al-T'lat’ Sanaut.

  [6] Schueftan, Attrition; Siman-Tov, The Israeli Egyptian War of Attrition; Korn, Stalemate; Whetten, The Canal War; O'Ballance, The Electronic War in the Middle East.

  [7] Safonov, Grif Sekretno Sniat. Kniga ob uchastii sovetskikh voennosluzhashchikh v Arabo- Izrail'skom konflikte; Pirlin, Trudnyi i dolgii put’ k miru; Zhirokhov, Kryl'ia vozmezdiia; Zolotarev and Vartanov, Rukopozhatie cherez chetvert’ veka 1973–1998; Vinogradov, Diplomatiia; Vasil'ev, Rossiia na Blizhnem i Srednem Vostoke; Egoryn, Egipet nashego vremeni; Bedoev, “Voevali tri tovarishcha”; Bulygin, “Voina v nebe Egipta”; Dokuchaev, “Tot Egipetskii god”; Elkhanin, “Dan prikaz emu v Egipet!”; Lialkina, “Dni Sadata”; Nikolaev, “Arabskii as nomer odin”; Nikolaev, “Znoinoe leto semidesiatogo”; Orestov, “Operatsiia Kavkaz”; Pochtarev, “Moskva i Kair vspominaiut”; Pochtarev, “Kak podrezali Kryl'ia Fantomam”; Pochtarev, “Blizhnevostochnii triumf letuchikh lisits”; Probilov, “My tozhe voevali”; Siniutin, “Zharkie dni v strane piramid”; Timofeev, “Voina v sudnii den”; Malashenko, “Liniia Fronta – Suetskii Kanal.”

  [8] Wehling, Irresolute Princes; Kapeliuk, “How I Downed Israeli Aircraft.”

  [9] Popov, “Osnovnie napravlenija raboti soveta veteranov voini v Egypte,” 113–14. Pochtariov, “Moskva I Kair Vspominajut”; Pochtariov, “Ot Serdca k Serdcu.”

 [10] Safonov, Grif Sekretno Sniat.

 [11] Zolotariov. Rossiia (SSSR) v lokal'nykh voinakh.

 [12] Adamsky, “The Seventh Day of the Six Day War”; Ginor: “Under the Yellow Arab Helmet Gleamed Blue Russian Eyes.”

 [13] Bar Joseph, The Watchman Fell Asleep, 53–5; Morris, Righteous Victims, 335–6.

 [14] Zolotarev, Rossiia (SSSR) v lokal'nykh voinakh, p. 188; Vinogradov, Diplomatiia, 202–3.

 [15] El–Gamasy, The October War, 93–4; Malashenko, “Liniia Fronta – Suetskii Kanal,” 36

 [16] Dawisha, Soviet Foreign Policy Towards Egypt, 46.

 [17] Heikal, The Road to Ramadan, 48; El-Gamasy, The October War, 93–4; Sadat's statement is contained in Glassman, Arms for the Arabs, 67.

 [18] Riad, The Struggle for the Peace, 43.

 [19] Kirpichenko, Is Arhiva razvedchika, 95; Kirpicheno was deputy head of KGB station in Egypt between 1954 and 1960 and the station head between 1970 and 1974.

 [20] Kirpichenko, Is Arhiva razvedchika, 95; El-Gamasy, The October War, 94.

 [21] Document No. 299, “Zapis’ besedi posla SSSR v OAR S.A.Vinogradova s prezidentom OAR G.A. Nasserom, 21 oktiabria 1967”; Naumkin, Blizhnevostochnyi konflikt 1957–1967.

 [22] Malashenko, “Liniia Fronta – Suetskii Kanal,” 38.

 [23] Malashenko, “Liniia Fronta – Suetskii Kanal,”, 39–40.

 [24] Malashenko, “Liniia Fronta – Suetskii Kanal,”, 55.

 [25] Andrew and Gordievsky, KGB: The Inside Story, 504. Sergei Mihalovich Golubev functioned as a Head of the KGB station in Cairo from 1966 to 1970.

 [26] Malaschenko declares that the role of the Soviet Defence Attaché was considerably diminished after the huge apparatus of military advisers was deployed in Egypt after 1967. The lion's share of the reports and information was dispatched to Moscow through military and not defence channels. Malaschenko, “Liniia Fronta – Suetskii Kanal,” 57–8.

 [27] Malaschenko declares that the role of the Soviet Defence Attaché was considerably diminished after the huge apparatus of military advisers was deployed in Egypt after 1967. The lion's share of the reports and information was dispatched to Moscow through military and not defence channels. Malaschenko, “Liniia Fronta – Suetskii Kanal,” 57–8

 [28] Andrew and Gordievsky, KGB: The Inside Story, 503–4.

 [29] Malaschenko, “Liniia Fronta – Suetskii Kanal,” 57–8.

 [30] Lashchenko was considered in Moscow to be a trustworthy authority. Inter alia his credibility derived from experience. During the Soviet intervention into Hungary in 1956, he headed the Special Task Force (osobyi korpus) – a joint forces military contingent that invaded Hungary to reestablish the Soviet regime. Zolotarev, Rossiia (SSSR) v lokal”nykh voinakh, p. 141.

 [31] Kornienko, Kholodnaia voina, p. 150.

 [32] Khmelnov, Rossiskii Flot – doblest’ i nishcheta, 393.

 [33] Whitten, “Soviet Sea in Retrospect.”

 [34] Brutens, Tridtsat’ let na staroi ploshchadi, 365–6.

 [35] Hussini, Soviet Egyptian Relations, 177–9.

 [36] Zolotarev, Rossiia (SSSR) v lokal'nykh voinakh, 185–6.

 [37] Vasil'ev, Rossiia na Blizhnem i Srednem Vostoke, 109.

 [38] Hussini, Soviet Egyptian Relations, 177–8.

 [39] Usikov and Iaremenko, “Flot kak instrument politiki.”

 [40] Zhirokhov, Kryl'ia vozmezdiia, 175–6.

 [41] Khmelnov, Rossiskii Flot, 395.

 [42] Malaschenko, “Liniia Fronta – Suetskii Kanal,” 58.

 [43] Zhirokhov, Kryl'ia vozmezdiia, 175–6.

 [44] Egoryn, Egipet nashego vremeni, 180–85.

 [45] Sbornik deistvuiushikh dogovorov , soglashenii i konventsii zakliuchennikh SSSR s innostranymi gosudarstvami, Vypusk XXV, no. 1621: Protokol mezhdu pravitel'stvom SSSR i pravitel'stvom OAR ob uluchshenii i rasshirenii radtiotelefonnykh i radeotelegraficheskikh sredstvv sviazi mezhdu obeimi stranami.

 [46] Vitan, Soviet Military Presence in Egypt, 107–10; The communication project's capacity resembled several used in the Military Districts of the USSR (voennye okrugi) – the highest administrative level of military units, training institutions, military establishments of the various services. Dictionary of Basic Military Terms , DGIS Translation Bureau, Secretary of State Department Ottowa, Canada. P.43 Term 318.

 [47] Hussini, Soviet Egyptian Relations, 1945–1985, 182.

 [48] Hussini, Soviet Egyptian Relations, 1945–1985, 182

 [49] Vasiliev, Rossiia na Blizhnem i Srednem Vostoke, 96; Khmelnov, Rossiskii Flot, 400; Drogovoz, Bolshoi Flot strany sovetov, 318 and 588.

 [50] Hussini, Soviet Egyptian Relations, 1945–1985, 182.

 [51] Vasil'ev, Rossiia na Blizhnem i Srednem Vostoke, 97.

 [52] “Postanovlenie Sekretariata TsK Kommunisticheskoi Partii Sovetskogo Soiuza: O napravlenii sovetskoi voennoi delegatsii v Siriiskuiu Arabskuiu Respubliku” – No. CT 241/41 gs 09.12.1980. Vladimir Bukovsky Archives. Available at http://psi.ece.jhu.edu/∼ kaplan/IRUSS/BUK/GBARC/buk.html.

 [53] Sokolovksy, Soviet Military Strategy, 295–6; Voiska protivovozdushnoi oborony straini . Istoricheskii ocherk. Gruppa Avtrov, chapter 2, part 2.

 [54] Vinogradov, “Sovetskie Voiini v Egypte,” 10. and Nastenko, “Aviatsiia v Egipte,” 58–9.

 [55] Zolotarev, Rossiia (SSSR) v lokal'nykh voinakh, 84; However the Soviet regulation should be grasped in a broader context, as exactly at the same time (1965–73) Soviet military personnel were deployed in Vietnam.

 [56] Vinogradov, “Sovetskie Voiini v Egypte,” 12.

 [57] Zolotarev, Rossiia (SSSR) v lokal'nykh voinakh, p. 188.

 [58] Kuisong, “The Sino Soviet Border Clash of 1969”; Zolotarev, Rossiia (SSSR) v lokal'nykh voinakh, 126.

 [59] Recently declassified materials reveal that the USSR anticipated the possibility of a severe escalation with the Chinese, including anticipation of a probable nuclear strike from China.

 [60] Parker, The Politics of Miscalculation in the Middle East, 136.

 [61] Shazly, The Crossing of the Suez, 12–14.

 [62] Interview with Genadii Goriachkin, in Egoryn, Egipet nashego vremeni, 195–6.

 [63] Colonel Kalchenko, Colonel Tikhonov, Colonel Korneev, Major Karas'ev, Major Ostapenko. Surkov, “V strane s zharkim i sukhim klimatom.”

 [64] Shiriaev, “Interview with Vladimir Krishtob.”

 [65] Until the arrival of the Soviet air defence division, all Soviet advisers held the rank of officer.

 [66] Kniga pamiaty : Voennaia pomoshch’ SSSR stranam Blizhnego i Srednego Vostoka. Uchastie kontingenta sovetskih voisk v Arabo-Izrail'skikh voinakh 1956–1982, 1–8.

 [67] Kirpichenko, Iz Archiva razvedchika, 91.

 [68] Smirnov explained that Moscow realized in 1969 Israel's aim to destroy the majority of Egypt's airfields (exactly where Soviet maritime aviation was deployed). Khalil, “Building a Wall of Missiles.”

 [69] Zak, 40 Years Dialogue with Moscow, 173.

 [70] Lieutenant General Haim Bar Lev, Summarizing Report, Private Collection.

 [71] Kniga pamiaty.

 [72] Interview conducted with Haim Yaabetz,the first head of the Soviet section in the Research Department of the IDF Intelligence Corps – AMAN, Kiryat Atidim, 8 February 2004.

 [73] Zak, 40 Years Dialogue with Moscow, 163.

 [74] On Israel see Prokhorov and Kolpakidi, Vse o vneshnei razvedke, 480–93; Dedulia, “Nash chelovek v Tel Avive: rabota sovetskogo rezidenta v Izraile v 60-ie gody”; Lebedev and Kirpichenko, Ocherky istorii Rossiskoi vneshnei razvedky, vol. 5, 334–47; on Egypt: Andrew and Gordievsky, KGB: The Inside Story, 500–504.

 [75] Siman-Tov, The Israeli-Egyptian War of Attrition, 122; Eban, An Autobiography, 459; Shlaim and Tanter, “Decision Process, Choice and Consequences.”

 [76] Medvedev, Politicheskii portret L.I. Brezhneva, 214–15 and 193–220; on the Brezhnev Doctrine see Loth, “Moscow, Prague and Warsaw”; Zolotarev, Rossiia (SSSR) v lokal'nykh voinakh, 148–56.

 [77] Andrianov, Kosygin, zhizn’ zamechiatelnikh liudei, 168–70.

 [78] Zolotarev, Rossiia (SSSR) v lokal'nykh voinakh, Appendix 2, Topic No. 26.

 [79] Krivosheev, Rossiia i SSSR v voinakh 20 veka. 533–34.

 [80] Rogoza and Achkasov, Zasekrechenie voiny 1950-2000 gg., 226.

 [81] Zolotarev, Rossiia (SSSR) v lokal'nykh voinakh, Appendix 2, Topic No. 14.

 [82] Malaschenko, “Liniia Fronta – Suetskii Kanal,” 60.

 [83] Karsh, The Cautious Bear, 27.

 [84] Memorandum of a conversation between A. F. Dobrynin, the Ambassador of the USSR to the US, and Henry Kissinger, Aide to President Nixon. A. Gromyko to members and candidate members of the Politburo, CC CPSU, Secret. Document #5, Cold War History Project. Available at http://cwihp.si.edu/cwihplib.nsf/4f5f68a9959c15b48525649e0083a3a6/bd00a5b4edfeae9d852564bf006878f8?OpenDocument or see excerpts from the Memorandum: http://www.turnerlearning.com/cnn/coldwar/detente/dete_re1.html.

 [85] Kissinger, White House Years, 559.

 [86] The Soviet expression “international duty” (“internatsional'nyi dolg or pomoshch”) is a euphemism for Soviet military involvement/intervention overseas. The term was applied for the first time during Spanish Civil War (1937–39) and then used in all similar occasions with reference, among others, to intervention in Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan.

 [87] Nastenko, “Aviatsiia v Egipte,” 55–8.

 [88] Riad, The Struggle for the Peace in the Middle East, 112–14.

 [89] Hussini, Soviet Egyptian Relations, 1945–1985, 182.

 [90] Nastenko, “Aviatsiia v Egipte,” 56–7.

 [91] Smirnov, “O podgotovke i provedenii operatsii Kavkaz,” 24–5; and Zhdanov, “Egipet 1969–1970,” 95.

 [92] Parker, The Politics of Miscalculation in the Middle East, 140–41.

 [93] El-Gamasy, The October War, 116–18; Heikal, The Road to Ramadan, 83–7.

 [94] Zolotarev, Rossiia (SSSR) v lokal'nykh voinakh, 188–90; Pochtarev, “Kak podrezali kryl'ia Fantomam,”; Iaremenko, “Sovetsko-Egipetskoe voennoe sotrudnichestvo nakanune i vkhode Oktiabrskoi Voini 1972,” 43–5; Vinogradov, “Sovetskie Voiini v Egypte,” 11; Lialkina, “Dni Sadata”; Drogovoz, Vozdushnii shit Strani Sovetov, 260; author's interview with Valerii Iaremenko, Moscow, April 2004.

 [95] Orestov; Ratmir, “Operatsiia Kavkaz.” Ekto planety, no 9 (1994). Smirnov, “O podgotovke i provedenii operatcii kavkaz,” 19–45 in Safanovlec Geif S'eketno Sniat. Smirnov, “Deiatelnost chastei divizii PVOSSSR po sozdanii”.

 [96] Orestov; Smirnov, “O podgotovke i provedenii operatcii Kavkaz,” 19–45; Smirnov, 27–32 in Zolotarev and Vartanov, Rukopozhatie Cherez Chetvert Veka

 [97] Zolotarev, Rossiia (SSSR) v lokal'nykh voinakh, 189; Pochtarev, interview with General. Smirnov; Iaremenko, “Sovietsko-Egipetskoe,” 44.

 [98] See note 7.

 [99] Drogovoz, Vozdushnii Shit, 260.

[100] Vasil'ev, Rossiia na Blizhnem i Srednem Vostoke, 92; Timofeev, “Voina v Sudnii Den,” 18–22.

[101] Vinogradov, “Sovetskie Voiini v Egypte,” 11; Vinogradov, Diplomatiia, 202–3.

[102] Logachev, “Eto zabyt’ ne vozmozhno,” 142–64.

[103] Smirnov, “O podgotovke i provedenii operatcii Kavkaz,” 24–5.

[104] , “How the Bears were Stopped,” 20–33.

[105] Goldstein and Zhukov, “The Tale of Two Fleets.” 27–63.

[106] “Brezhnev's report at the Crimean meeting, 30 July 1973,” Central State Archive, Sofia, Fond 1–8, Record 35, File 4300.

[107] Zolotarev, Rossiia (SSSR) v local'nykh voinakh, 190, 196–7; Bedoev, “Voevali tri tovarishcha.”