page_title: Operation Badr (1973)
section_title: Planning and preparations
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Badr (1973) / Background / Planning and preparations
caption_attribution_description: Egyptian soldiers on the east bank. Visible are the four-wheeled carts widely used to transport weapons and equipment while no vehicles had crossed the canal yet.
context_page_description: Operation Badr or Plan Badr was the code name for the Egyptian military operation to cross the Suez Canal and seize the Bar-Lev Line of Israeli fortifications on October 6, 1973. Launched in conjunction with a Syrian assault on the Golan Heights, this attack marked the start of the Yom Kippur War.
  Operation Badr was preceded by training exercises starting in 1968, operational planning from 1971 onwards and a deception operation. In the opening stages of the attack, known as "the crossing", combat engineers used water cannons to rapidly clear numerous passages through the sand wall lining the east bank of the canal, laid bridges and operated ferries, allowing armor to cross. Egyptian infantry assaulted the Bar-Lev fortifications and were counterattacked by Israeli armor and infantry.
  The attack surprised the Israelis, and by October 7 the crossing was complete, and the east bank of the canal was occupied by five Egyptian infantry divisions. The infantry established defensive positions in bridgeheads spanning the 160-kilometre front. Following a lull in the fighting on October 7, Israeli armor reserves arrived at the front and launched a counterattack opposite the city of Ismailia.
context_section_description: Major General Mohammed Fawzi, who was Sadek's predecessor as defense minister, regularly held command simulations. These exercises had unrealistic objectives and operational aims that were considerably outside the capabilities of the Egyptian military. When Lieutenant General Saad El Shazly became Chief of Staff on 16 May 1971, no offensive plans yet existed. Rather, there was a defensive plan code named Operation 200, and a more aggressive alternative named Operation Granite. Although Granite incorporated raids and assaults into the Sinai, it was essentially defensive. In his assessment of the military's capabilities, he concluded the air force was the weakest arm. It was outmatched by its Israeli counterpart in various aspects, and Israeli pilots were also more experienced. A pivotal equipment advantage for the IAF was the F-4 Phantom II, a third generation fighter/bomber. By the outbreak of the war in October 1973, the IDF had 122 F-4E and 6 RF-4Es (R denotes the reconnaissance variant) in service.
  To compensate for the weaknesses of Egyptian air power, the Egyptians developed their air defenses. They fielded immobile SA-2 and SA-3 SAMs, the backbone of the air defenses, as well as mobile SA-6 SAMs and ZSU-23-4 SPAAGs (Self Propelled Anti-Air Gun), portable infantry SA-7s, in addition to thousands of conventional anti-air artillery. These air defenses would provide a protective "umbrella" over Egyptian ground forces. However, the SA-2 and SA-3 systems, being immobile, could only be moved over a nine-hour period at best, exposing the air defenses to degradation in case of a redeployment to keep up with advancing forces. On the other hand, the SA-6 systems were available in limited numbers insufficient to provide adequate protection to advancing armored forces.
  Due to these restrictions, Shazly supported a limited war to retake only the east bank of the canal, as opposed to Sadek. However, Sadek authorized the planning of two offensive plans, starting in July 1971. The first was Operation 41, which involved an offensive along the entire Suez Canal with the objective of seizing the key passes of the Sinai. The plan was developed in cooperation with Soviet advisers. As it was, the objectives of the operation were outside the capabilities of the Egyptian military and Shazly saw it only as a means of inducing the Soviets to supply more arms and equipment. The plan would also encourage the Syrians to join in an attack against Israel. Operation 41 was completed by September 1971, and the following month, Sadat and Sadek flew to Moscow to conclude Egypt's largest arms deal yet, receiving 100 MiG-21 fighters, 10 Tu-16 bombers, SA-6 anti-aircraft (AA) missiles and heavy artillery. Operation 41 was renamed Operation Granite Two.
  The second plan—codenamed the "High Minarets"—called for a crossing at five separate areas along the length of the canal. The Egyptians would advance 10–15 kilometers (6.2–9.3 mi), then establish defensive positions. By restricting their advance, Egyptian ground forces would remain within range of their own SAM defences, which would provide a protective "umbrella", negating the Israeli advantage in the air. In this way the High Minarets was planned in accordance with the capabilities of the Egyptian Army. The plan's outline was completed by September 1971 in absolute secrecy.
  As Sadek continued to refuse the concept of a limited war, tensions rose between him and Sadat. Following a heated meeting of senior commanders, the Minister of War was sacked. His replacement, Major General Ahmed Ismail, was in favor of a limited offensive. The High Minarets continued to be developed as the only viable offensive plan, with the spring of 1973 being a possible launch date. Based on intelligence estimates, the main Israeli counterattacks would take place 6–8 hours after the assault began by three armored divisions, while armored support for the crossing would not be available before at least 12 hours. To deal with this, Egyptian infantry would be supplied with large numbers of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) and rocke
caption: Egyptian soldiers on the east bank. Notice the carts. Pulled by two men, these transports greatly assisted in the movement of weapons and matériel on the east bank, while no vehicles had yet crossed.
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