Bar Lev Defense Line (Journalist Micha Bar's website in general)
A fixed military defense system, consisting of a series of impregnable military fortifications, supported by natural obstacles, was built by the Israeli occupation along the eastern coast of the Suez Canal in 1969, with the aim of permanently remaining in Sinai and preventing its recapture by Egyptian forces.
It was described as the strongest military defense line at the time. However, the Egyptian army was able to penetrate its defenses and destroy its fortresses within a few hours during the October 1973 War, thus recording the first Arab victory over Israel, with which the myth of the “invincible army” collapsed.
Date created
Throughout its wars, Israel has relied in its defenses on the strategy of the mobile defense line, and adopted the principle of keeping a few forces on the defense lines during normal times and comprehensive mobilization only during wars. As for the fixed defense line, it requires the permanent stability of large numbers of soldiers and equipment, which contradicts the doctrine Military Israel.
In the wake of the victory achieved by the Israeli occupation forces in the June 1967 war, which among its results was the occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, one of Israel’s priorities was to preserve the lands it had seized, which forced it to change the strategy towards fixed defense - which was imposed by the reality of the region. - Preventing Egyptian crossing into Sinai again.
The Egyptian army carried out a group of attacks on Sinai in July of the same year, inflicting heavy losses on the occupation army, and then work began in earnest on establishing permanent fortifications. Trenches were constructed and surrounded with bags of sand, then shelters were established at observation points, but these strategies were... Primitive, and resulted in nothing but disastrous failure.
Later, the occupation forces used the sand resulting from the digging of the Suez Canal and the sand dunes in Sinai to create sand barriers and raise them, with the aim of blocking the movements of the Israeli army from the Egyptian observation points on the western bank of the canal, and this attempt was somewhat successful.
At the end of 1967, the occupation forces decided to establish a fixed defense line west of the Sinai Peninsula, including fortifications and defensive barriers, based on the proposal of the Israeli Army Chief of Staff at the time, Haim Barlev, whose name that defense line later bore.
Bar Lev assigned the commander of the armored units, Avraham Adan, and the commander of the southern region, General Yeshayahu Gavitch, to work on the project. Experts from Germany, Belgium, and America participated in planning the project, which began in mid-March 1968, lasted a full year, and its construction cost amounted to about 500 million dollars.
The project was distinguished by the fact that, upon construction, it included the entire front line with Egypt, and then the process of its fortifications continued, as Ariel Sharon, who was at that time the commander of the southern front, later worked to increase and strengthen the fortifications.
The objectives of establishing the “Bar Lev Line” included:
Israel's permanent presence in Sinai.
Securing Israeli forces in the area.
Preventing Egyptian forces from crossing the east of the canal and destroying them if they attempt to cross.
Military fortifications and facilities.
From left, Haim Bar-Lev, Yitzhak Rabin, and Ezer Weizman in a meeting during the 1967 war (French)
The "Bar Lev Line" was built along the eastern Suez Canal with a length of 170 kilometers, starting from the Mediterranean Sea in the north, until the Gulf of Suez in the south, and its width within the Sinai Peninsula reached about 12 kilometers.
The forefront of the fortifications was an earthen berm, with a height of between 20 and 22 meters, erected directly on the edge of the canal, and sloping towards it at an angle of inclination of no less than 45 degrees, and in places it reached about 80 degrees. It was planted with mines and decoys were set up in it, which constituted an obstacle. It is difficult for vehicles and armored vehicles to pass, and increases the risk of attempts to pass it.
Behind the earthen barrier are the main fortifications of the line. They consist of two chains of demolition, and from their base are connected pipes to project “napalm” directly into the channel, which leads to the formation of a layer of flame one meter high, and raises the temperature of the water to the boiling point, to deter any attempt at sea or sea landing. Crossing of Egyptian army forces.
20 observation posts were distributed along the line, each containing 15 soldiers, whose mission was to report penetration attempts and direct artillery towards them. Special platforms were also prepared for tanks as fixed points for bombing in emergency situations.
The fortifications accommodated 22 defensive sites and 36 fortified points, which were armed with cement, concrete blocks, and iron bars, to resist different types of bombing. Each point is a complex facility consisting of several floors, with an underground depth estimated at 4,000 square metres.
Each fortified point includes 26 places for machine guns and tanks, connected to each other by deep trenches, in addition to tank and artillery hangars, in which armor, anti-tank and artillery units are mobilized, and ammunition and weapon stores.
Each point is surrounded by bands of barbed wire and mines. The line is guarded by a division consisting of 3 armored brigades and two infantry brigades, which includes about 260 tanks, 70 artillery pieces, and more than 400 soldiers.
The location of the Bar Lev Line later turned into a tourist attraction (Associated Press)
The “Bar Lev Line” provided shelters for soldiers protected from chemical weapons and gases, equipped with ventilation and lighting, and containing medical services, kitchens, entertainment halls, and stores for supplies.
Each point was provided with a wired and wireless communications network for internal communication between the different points, as well as communication with the local leadership. On the other hand, the terrestrial communications network was linked to the civilian network in Israel, so that the soldiers could stay in touch with their families there.
Natural fortifications
When it was established, the “Bar Lev Line” was described as the strongest line of defense in modern history. In addition to the military fortifications that the occupation established, the “Bar Lev Line” was distinguished by a number of natural defenses, which formed barriers that were not easy to penetrate, especially the Suez Canal, which was classified before. Military experts call it the strongest natural water barrier in the world, because its waters are characterized by currents in multiple directions and varying speeds.
The southern and northern ends of the fortifications were surrounded by water obstacles, with the White Sea to the north and the Gulf of Aqaba to the south, and therefore the defenses could not be penetrated by them, especially since the Egyptian forces did not possess at that time the military ability to launch a sea landing that would allow the two sides to be encircled.
With these features, the “Bar Lev Line” was considered stronger than the French “Maginot” and the German “Siegfried” lines, and military personnel described it as one of the largest defensive military fortresses in the history of military battles, and Israel was proud of it being the impenetrable line.
Egyptian forces succeeded in controlling the eastern bank of the Suez Canal in less than 6 hours (Associated Press)
Preparation for battle
The berm was the first obstacle to the liberation of Sinai, so the Egyptian army began thinking about the best way to penetrate it, and after a number of suggestions, the proposal of the engineer, Major General Baqi Zaki Youssef, which he presented to his division commander, Major General Saad Zaghloul Abdel Karim, was approved.
The idea of the proposal revolves around the use of high-pressure water pumps, with the aim of opening gaps inside the earthen barrier, forming corridors that allow tanks to pass through. The idea was inspired by what was done during the construction of the High Dam, as pressurized water was used to bulldoze mountains of sand, and then exploit it in work. Building.
After approving the proposal, Baqi Zaki designed a super-powerful water pump to destroy sand and dirt obstacles and remove them within a short time. He assigned the manufacture of the pumps to a German company, under the pretext of using them in the field of fire extinguishing.
Between the years 1969 and 1972, the Department of Engineers subjected the pumps to more than 300 experiments on “Al-Balah” Island in Ismailia, and the results revealed their efficiency and suitability for the mission, and accordingly their use in battle was approved and soldiers were trained to use them.
Penetrating the “Bar Lev Line” and destroying its defenses
The Egyptian army suddenly attacked the “Bar Lev Line” on October 6, 1973, taking advantage of the elements of military surprise and camouflage that preceded the clash, as Egypt did not express any intention to carry out a military move, which made the attack unexpected, and also constituted the element of choosing the time. The occasion was an effective factor in the success of the attack, as the army launched it at a time when Israeli soldiers were enjoying Yom Kippur.
The battle was on three fronts: sea, air, and land at the same time. The fortifications were bombed with more than two thousand heavy artillery, while 280 military aircraft flew over the canal, then headed deep into Sinai, striking the main Israeli forces and command and control centers.
At the same time, artillery units amounting to about a thousand artillery pieces launched heavy bombardment on the “Bar Lev” forts and minefields, while about a thousand rubber attack boats transported about 8 thousand Egyptian commandos, infantry soldiers, artillery observers, and anti-tank missile units to the West Bank. East of the canal.
During the battles, more than 30,000 Egyptian soldiers were able to cross the canal, and they used high-pressure water cannons to penetrate the berm. They were operated on giant diesel engines in order to reach high pressure rates, and created more than 80 breaches in various locations. The forces were The Egyptian private company carried out an operation through which it was able to block the "napalm" pipelines in preparation for crossing.
The Egyptian forces succeeded in controlling the eastern bank of the Suez Canal, with its points and forts, in less than 6 hours. The Egyptian flag was raised over the “Bar Lev Line,” bridges were erected over the canal by the Corps of Engineers, and armored teams began crossing the canal into Sinai.
The crossing battle resulted in the killing of 126 Israeli soldiers and the capture of 161 others out of 441 Israeli soldiers stationed in the fortifications, while the Egyptian losses were 64 fighters martyred, 420 soldiers wounded, 17 tanks were damaged, and 26 vehicles were disabled.
The destruction of the defenses of the “Bar Lev Line” and the invasion of its fortified points was the first military defeat for Israel at the hands of the Arabs, which worked to bring down Israel’s prestige and led to the collapse of the myth of the “invincible army.”
Source: Al Jazeera + websites