Having assumed office in 1970 the new Egyptian strongman President Anwar Sadat wanted to restore his country's stature in the region. When his overtures for a peace treaty with Israel were rebuffed he settled on the catchphrase "No War, No Peace" to encapsulate his own policy toward Jerusalem. Still confident about Egypt's role in the Arab world he made plans for assembling a pan-Arab coalition and tried to build a separate alliance with the United States. In 1972 he went as far as sending thousands of Soviet advisors and engineers home knowing full well their work was essential to the Egyptian armed forces and other endeavours, such as the prestigious Aswan High Dam.
In 1972, however, the mood in Cairo was tense. The War of Attrition in the Sinai Peninsula, where Israeli and Egyptian forces skirmished regularly, had resulted in no gains after several years. With the Soviets back in the fold preparations were made for a settling of accounts with Israel. To prepare for the war Egypt fielded the latest weapons delivered to its armed forces. This time, a combination of hubris and flawed decision-making by Israel's defence ministry blinded its government to the looming threat. The spirit of 1967 and the heroic generals who had achieved its spectacular victories was alive and well, for better or worse.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 118-utgaven av History of War.
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COUPS & CHAOS
How the French armed forces lost the war in Algeria and almost destroyed French democracy in the process
BATTLE OF ALGIERS
When the Front de libération nationale FLN) took its war to the streets of the capital, France’s military responded with merciless wrath
THE RISE OF ALGERIAN RESISTANCE
How the anti-colonialist struggle around the globe helped inspire Algeria’s liberation movement to organise and fight back
ROOTS OF REVOLUTION
A century of French occupation led to a genocide in Algeria that provoked one of the bloodiest showdowns of the modern age
DWIGHT W BIRDWELL
In the opening hours of the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive, this Specialist Five led his armoured cavalry detachment in repulsing a fierce communist assault against Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon
THE FIVE STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP
Phillips O’Brien discusses how this quintet of national leaders impacted the course of the Second World War
Great Battles FLODDEN
On the morning of 9 September 1513, King James lV of Scotland stood atop Flodden Hill with what seemed an insurmountable advantage over the English. Yet by the day's end he would lay slain and his army shattered
FERDINAND 'THE BLOODY'
Known for his brutal martial punishment and execution of his own men, Ferdinand Schérner’s ruthlessness was matched only by his devotion to Nazi ideology
AIRBORNE UNDER SIEGE ARNHEM
For nine days the heroic 1st Airborne fought desperately, waiting vainly for relief that never came
SCANDINAVIA UNDER ATTACK
Hitler’s forces smash through Denmark and Norway ina grim foretaste of the terrible fate awaiting the rest of Western Europe
