Today we’ll be looking at a little-known
episode from modern history - when Israel and the Soviet Union went to war! During the height of the Cold War in the 1960s,
the Soviet Union deliberately opposed US influence all over the globe. Perceiving Israel as an US ally in the Middle
East, the Soviets supported Arab countries that frequently clashed with Israel. It was during one of these wars that the Soviet
Union sent its own troops, planes, and air defense systems to participate in a war against
Israeli Defense Forces. In June 1967, Israel successfully launched
surprise attacks against Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. During the Six-Day War, Israeli Defense Forces
destroyed and captured hundreds of enemy airplanes, tanks, and artillery guns. By the war’s end, Israel controlled the
Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Old City of Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. In the aftermath, the president of Egypt Gamal
Abdel Nasser initially announced his resignation but backtracked after mass demonstrations
in his favor. Israel agreed to a ceasefire due to intense
pressure by the USSR. Arab states used it to regain strength for
a new war. By September, Arab states formulated the so-called
"three nos" policy that forbade peace, recognition, or negotiations with Israel. President Nasser believed only military efforts
would achieve a full Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. With Israeli forces at the eastern bank of
the Suez Canal, conflict resumed through limited artillery duels along the Canal and small-scale
commando incursions. But to push Israelis out of the Sinai, Egypt
needed to rebuild its armed forces. And this is where the Soviets came in. Between 1965 and 1970, the Soviet Union provided
Egypt with over three billion dollars in military aid. Egypt’s tanks in 1965 were Soviet T-54s
and T-55s. And they had used Soviet air defense systems
like the S-75 Dvina. Its Air Force flew old Soviet-made fighter
planes such as MiG-19’s, MiG-17’s, and Sukhoi Su-7’s. Additionally, the USSR sent its officers and
technical experts to help train Egypt’s army and air force. By 1969, just two years after the grave defeat
in the six day war, Egypt felt confident enough for large-scale military operations. While Israel Defense Forces used better equipment
and tactics, the Egyptian Army had more manpower and more artillery. It was seemingly more capable of waging a
lengthy and costly static war against Israel. On March 8th, 1969, President Nasser proclaimed
the official launch of the War of Attrition. Its goal was to force the Israelis out of
Sinai using large-scale shelling, commando raids, and aerial warfare. Battles mainly happened on the Egyptian-Israeli
front, with a lesser eastern front that included Iraqi, Jordanian, Palestinian, and Syrian
forces. Initially, Egyptians inflicted considerable
losses on the Israelis using heavy artillery as well and new fighter jets like the MiG-21. The Egyptians also had newly delivered Soviet
surface-to-air missile systems and the P-15 mobile early warning radars. Israel used US fighter jets like the A-4 Skyhawk
and the French Dassault Mirage III. By June 1969, Israeli Prime Minister Golda
Meir faced growing losses. In response, she escalated Israeli attacks
through the so-called "asymmetrical response." of disproportionately large retaliation to
every enemy attack. In late July, during Operation Boxer, Israeli
Air Force eliminated numerous Egyptian defensive positions along the western bank of the Suez
Canal. In August, their combat jets flew around a
1000 sorties against Egypt. In September, Israeli Defense Forces launched
their sole land offensive in the war called Operation Raviv. In it, Israeli troops managed to destroy twelve
enemy outposts by using previously captured Arab tanks and pretending to be Egyptian soldiers. Thanks to this tactic and newly delivered
F-4 Phantom II fighter jets, by the end of 1969 the Israelis pretty much destroyed Egypt’s
air defense systems. This allowed them to start deep-penetration
raids against enemy targets in the Nile Valley and beyond. Faced with growing opposition as well as with
the prospect of losing another war, Egyptian President Nasser secretly traveled to Moscow. It was January 1970 when he asked the Soviets
for additional help. Nasser knew that the control of the air was
crucial. He asked the Soviets not only to replace surface-to-air
missile batteries lost to Israelis but also to provide Egypt with more sophisticated SAM
systems like the S-125 Neva, self-propelled Shilkas, and the light-weight shoulder-fired
Strela-2. That way, Egypt would once again have an effective
air shield. Initially, the Soviets were hesitant about
sending additional military aid, worried this might trigger an armed response by the USA. However, Nasser threatened to resign and warned
his successor might be more pro-Western. Eventually, General-Secretary Leonid Brezhnev
obliged him. While Nasser wanted the Soviets to send their
military aid openly to intimidate the Israelis, Brezhnev refused. Instead, the Red Army launched a covert operation
code-named Caucasus. The Soviets focused on bolstering Egypt’s
defenses, expressing no interest in attacking Israel and thus provoking the US. In the following months, the Soviets sent
to Egypt their own regular military servicemen, experienced with soviet equipment. They sent the 18th Special Anti-aircraft Rocket
Division. It featured 24 anti-aircraft missile batteries
and 4 support batteries. Also sent was an aviation group consisting
of the 135th Fighter Aviation Regiment and the 35th Fighter Squadron. Between them, both units had around 70 MiG-21
fighter jets. The Soviet Union transported most of these
units by merchant ships. The ships were misleadingly listed as carrying
agriculture equipment. Weapons and vehicles were hidden in cargo
holds while soldiers were forbidden from appearing on upper decks. Once they arrived in Alexandria, the ships
were unloaded during the night. Troops traveled by road and rail to previously
scouted positions near the Suez Canal. In January 1970, there were between 25 hundred
and 4000 Soviet soldiers, officers and technicians in Egypt. By the end of June, there were at least 12
000 of them. Some estimates claim that, at one point, there
were over 20 000 Soviet personnel in Egypt. In the Soviet Union, soldiers loaded Antonov
an-12 cargo airplanes with dismantled MiG-21 planes during the winter. A couple of hours later, they landed in sunny
Egypt carrying not just MiG-21s but also snow - which delighted the Egyptians. Soviet soldiers were at first quite happy
about the change of climate. Despite being banned from doing so, they secretly
sunbathed, ending with sunburns and sunstrokes. In the desert, fleas and bed lice were the
least of the soldiers’ worries once snakes and scorpions started sneaking into their
hideouts. Soldiers stationed near the river Nile suffered
swarms of flies and mosquitoes. Dysentery and other tropical diseases were
a constant challenge. The heat was exhausting. All the while, the Soviet government hid its
involvement in the War of Attrition. Its soldiers wore standard Egyptian army uniforms
without any insignia. At least one political officer burned copies
of the newspaper meant for the troops lest they note official denials about the Soviet
engagement in a war against Israel. Despite all this subterfuge, both the US and
Israel were acutely aware of the growing Soviet forces in Egypt. However, no one wanted to reveal the exact
extent of Soviet engagement in the war. Both the US and the USSR worried this might
cause an escalation of the conflict and, eventually, an all-out nuclear war between superpowers. As long as the Soviets kept Operation Caucasus
hidden, they could pursue their limited objectives. The Americans could stay out of the crisis,
and Israel had to deal merely with a modest Soviet force instead of the entire Eastern
Bloc. As for the Israelis, the mere presence of
the Red Army served as a deterrent. Israeli Air Force stopped flying missions
deep into Egyptian air space, sticking close to the Suez Canal instead. During a scouting mission in April 1970, their
Mirage III planes encountered a Soviet air patrol for the first time. Israelis immediately turned back. Israeli Armed Forces continued their attacks
but were unwilling to start an open war with a superpower. Because of this, the Israelis scouted the
positions of Soviet manned defenses and studied the patrol routes of their airplanes. Then they deliberately avoided them, focusing
their attacks on Egyptian forces instead. But the clash was inevitable. On June 22nd, 1970, a pair of soviet piloted
MiG-21s attacked and pursued an Israeli Skyhawk fighter into the Sinai airspace. According to the Soviet pilots, the Skyhawk
went down over the Gulf of Suez. The Israelis claimed the plane was damaged
but managed to land. On June 30th, Soviet manned air defenses downed
two Israeli F-4 Phantoms, not only demonstrating that the Phantom was vulnerable but also showcased
the deadliness of SAM systems like the S-125. A couple of days later, on July 5th, Egyptian
and Soviet air defense positions withstood waves of attacks by 24 Israeli jet planes. The Egyptians and soviets claimed downing
three jets, while Israel stated that it did not lose any. The Army issued rewards for every enemy aircraft
downed: 300 Egyptian pounds for every A-4 Skyhawk, 400 for a Mirage III and 500 for
an F-4 Phantom. Additionally, troops received rewards for
capturing enemy pilots. This led to some confusion since Egyptian
soldiers at least on one occasion mistook a downed Soviet pilot for an Israeli. Very quickly, soviet pilots started displaying
an Egyptian coat of arms on their jackets. While Egyptian and Soviet soldiers celebrated
their victories, Israel’s aerial supremacy was under serious threat. Avoiding Soviet units was no longer feasible. The Israeli Air Force proposed to attack the
Soviets head-on, demonstrating its aerial superiority. The morning of july 30th saw Israeli F-4 planes
perform ground strikes near soviet controlled airspace, in an attempt to aggravate them. Shortly after, an easy prey was deliberately
presented. 4 Mirage 3s, which flew in a close formation,
in a high altitude pattern made to make them seem like a recon flight of two planes. The Soviets finally sent some Mig 21s into
the air. Overall 24 Migs took off, but not all at the
same time, and not all participated in the battle. Some were sent to intercept the unidentified
recon planes, and some were sent to block possible israeli exit routes. The israeli plan called for the decoy mirages
to lure the soviets into an area where 4 israeli phantoms would fly in low, below radar and
beneath the MiGs and then approach them from behind. Picking them off with their long ranged radar
guided sparrow missiles. Four more mirage fighters were on station
close by to aid them in a possible dogfight. But the maneuvers were wrongly timed and by
the time the Phantoms got close, the Soviets were too close to the decoy mirages. Afraid of friendly fire, the Israelis went
in for a dogfight. Besides the 4 sparrow missiles, each Phantom
also carried 4 heat seeking sidewinders. The Soviet Mig-21s had but a small radar and
typically carried 2 heat seeking missiles. Back then, heat seeking missiles were not
sensitive enough to engage targets head on, so most shots had to be taken from behind
the enemy, at distances of just a few miles. Some missiles were fired by both sides right
from the get go. With one russian atoll missile hitting a phantom,
but failing to detonate. The decoying four mirages joined in the fight,
leveling the odds and very shortly thereafter scored two kills, killing one soviet pilot. One soviet mig scored a hit on one of the
four mirages. But even though the missile detonated almost
right behind the plane’s engine, the aircraft remained controllable, even though it WAS
badly damaged. The pilot eventually managed to disengage
and land the plane safely. The four additional mirages, ones that were
on standby, were closing in as well, but two of them disengaged as one suffered engine
problems. Another pair of mirages was called in to replace
them. The phantoms continued their dogfight. One of the israeli phantom pilots got a chance
to fire on a mig. The israeli pilot later went on to claim:
“I realized the russian pilot was not experienced. He didn’t know how to handle his plane in
a dogfight. He proved it by attempting to flee in a steep
dive, from an altitude of 15 000 feet. We simply had to follow him and have our radar
lock onto him.” Another mig was downed. After several minutes of fuel guzzling dogfight,
the migs and some of the mirages were low on fuel and started to disengage. The israeli planes which had some fuel left,
pursued. By that time the additional pair of mirages
were also pursuing the same migs but were unable to quickly close in on them. They fired a short range heat seeker but the
distance was too great. In the meantime, the phantoms fired a longer
ranged radar guided sparrow missile and shot down another mig, stealing the kill away from
the mirages. Two more mirages were on the tail of one of
the remaining MIGs, that was flying away. They fired 3 heat seeking missiles at it,
with at least one direct hit. But the mig kept flying. Eventually, one of the mirages got a chance
to empty its gun into the direction of the mig. But the mig still kept flying. It was only much later that it was discovered
the mig did evidently suffer grave damage, and it crashed, with the pilot killed. Two different mirage pilots were credited
with a shared kill. Some of the Soviet MiGs that were scrambled
got to the area too late to join the fight, so it’s unclear just how many actively participated
in the battle. The engagement caused bitter joy among Egyptian
pilots, who were previously dismissed by the Soviets for failing to shoot down more Israeli
aircraft. But the soviets had not shown themselves to
be any better. Also, the loss of 3 pilots shook the soviet
leadership and their political support, for the whole operation was wavering. By late July, the Soviets started moving their
surface to air units closer to the Suez Canal and building fake defensive positions to confuse
their enemies. This culminated in the last confrontation
between Israeli and Soviet forces, on August the 3rd. In a carefully planned ambush, they deliberately
exposed one of their most battered S-75s SAM units near the Canal. With this exposed unit, they attacked enemy
reconnaissance flights on the other side of the Canal. When the Israeli Air Force tried to retaliate
several hours later, previously hidden SAMs opened fire. The Israelis attacked in two waves. First one featured 28 Skyhawks and Phantoms
while the second one had 20 strike planes. The second wave suffered losses. The Soviets claimed two F-4 Phantoms downed. The Israelis acknowledged one loss, but said
the other phantom was damaged. And its pilot managed to land the plane, even
though he lost several fingers on one of his hands due to a missile detonating close to
the plane. Egyptians claimed the israeli attack did not
cause significant damage. By this time, it was apparent to all sides
that the War of Attrition couldn’t continue. The Israeli Air Force lost some of the most
advanced fighter jets of that time. Golda Meier’s government was aware they
couldn’t win a war against a super-power. On the other side, both Soviet and Egyptian
air defense personnel were exhausted after four months of non-stop action. In early August, Soviet Air Force Marshal
Pavel Kutakhov flew to Cairo and ordered the termination of all Soviet flights over the
Suez Canal. The USSR notified Egypt it could no longer
ensure the security of Egyptian air space. Simultaneously, they increased diplomatic
pressure on Israel. Back In December 1969, the US Secretary of
State William P. Rogers proposed a framework for a potential Arab-Israeli ceasefire. After eight months, both sides finally signed
the Rogers Plan on August 7th, 1970. Even so, Egypt immediately sent its SAM units
closer to the Suez Canal Zone. The Americans chose to overlook this as Egyptian
President Nasser started opening up to the US, to avoid relying on the USSR too much. The Israelis lost between 600 and 14 hundred
soldiers during the War of Attrition. Egypt's losses were far more substantial,
losing between 28 hundred and 10 000 people, according to various sources. Also, at least 58 soviet soldiers lost their
lives. According to Israel, Egypt lost between 98
and 114 aircraft. The Soviets claimed Egypt lost 60 aircraft. The Israelis said they lost up to 26 aircraft,
while the Soviets claimed Egypt downed 40 of them. They also claimed THEIR personnel downed eight
of those. There were naval skirmishes as well. During the war, Egypt lost 6 torpedo boats,
while Israel lost one destroyer. Ultimately, the War of Attrition produced
no clear winner. Both sides ended where they began. Egypt failed in its core objective of pushing
the Israeli Defense Forces out of the Sinai. However, it also managed to organize and rebuild
its air defense shield, in no small part thanks to the assistance of the Red Army. In September 1970, Egyptian President Nasser
died. Former Vice-President Anwar Al-Sadat succeeded
him. Sadat continued the ceasefire, all the while
preparing for a full-scale attack on the Israeli forces on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal. This culminated in the Yom Kippur War, three
years later. As for the Soviet soldiers, by the end of
1970, their command started relieving them with fresh troops. While the new Egyptian President Sadat continued
working with the USSR, he was dissatisfied with what he perceived as Soviet unwillingness
to commit. Finally, in July 1972, Sadat ordered all remaining
Soviet troops to leave Egypt within a week. Back home, airmen and soldiers received awards
and commendations for their performance but couldn't talk about their assignments. The First stories about the Red Army in Egypt
were revealed only decades later, after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc.
Don’t bother clinking on a Binkov video, they are all based on shallow Google fu.