The Closest Israel Ever Came To Destruction

The precarious Yom Kippur War

(By Sherif9282 at en.wikipedia — Military Battles on the Egyptian Front by Gammal Hammad, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16842691)

The Yom Kippur War engulfed Israel, Egypt, and Syria in 1973. Looking back, most people see the conflict as another stunning Israeli victory over their hapless Cold War enemies. However, upon closer examination, you can clearly see that the Yom Kippur War was the closest that the modern state of Israel ever came to complete collapse and destruction. Israel had won a series of stunning tactical victories during the war, but by the end, their strategic position was highly compromised. The Yom Kippur War only lasted for two weeks, but if it had gone on longer, there is a good chance that Israel could have been grievously wounded.

The war came to a speedy end because of jostling by the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as heavy resupply efforts on both sides. The United States and USSR had no appetite for a long regional war in the Middle East, so they pumped the breaks. Without this intervention, the war could have dragged on for far longer, and Israel was not in a great position to pursue a long conflict.

The Yom Kippur War was fought on two fronts. The first front was the northern theater, which was fought against Syria in the Golan Heights. The second front was the southern theater, which was fought around the Suez Canal against Egypt. Israel’s dangers came from both fronts. In the north, Syria had initially forced a huge breakthrough that had deeply shaken Israel’s confidence. In the south Israel had advanced into a tenuous position deep inside Egypt.

In both cases, Israel found itself overstretched and lacking supplies. On paper, they had made tactical gains, but in reality, the position was much more unstable than most modern people realize.

Syrian Breakthrough

(By Department of History, U.S. Military Academy. See Department Maps page. — Department of History, U.S. Military Academy, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=114728)

Syria stunned the Israelis first by launching a massive attack into the Golan Heights. This attack featured 30,000 Syrian troops and 800 tanks. At the outset of the fighting, Syria outnumbered the Israelis by 10:1 in men and 18:1 in tanks. They used their numbers to great effect by quickly overrunning the Israeli defenses…