“Not anymore. They are well-armed with Soviet weapons and they intend to use them.”
“If you have some intelligence about an impending Egyptian attack that you would like to share, I am all ears.”
“It’s common knowledge that the Egyptians, and especially Nasser, hate the Israelis and want them wiped off the map. Nasser is giving the Fedayeen free rein to attack the Israeli settlements along the border. The Israelis have a right to defend themselves.”
“Again, old news. Besides, the Israelis have dropped paratroopers at the Mitla Pass. That’s an awful long way from the border.”
“Britain cannot side with Nasser. It would destroy our relationship with Iraq, Jordan and Syria. Please tell Eisenhower to refrain from labeling the Israelis an aggressor.”
“First of all, I don’t tell President Eisenhower anything. I inform him when he asks my opinion. Second, my opinion is that you are barking up the wrong tree. I believe the Israelis are an aggressor and should be labeled as such.”
“Alright. Then ask him to hold for one day. France and Britain are working on a solution that we think might be equitable to all parties involved.”
“Really? What might that be?”
“I don’t have time to go into the details. But Prime Minister Mollet and his Foreign Minister Pineau are on their way to 10 Downing Street as we speak. I would ask that America take pause for the sake of the alliance.”
Aldrich held his tongue. Lloyd was playing the good ole’ boy card and America was just supposed to follow along like an ox pulling a cart. He didn’t like it one bit. “I will speak with the President but I cannot be sure what he will say.”
“Thank, Mr. Ambassador. That is all I ask.”
“I expect you will keep us well informed?”
“Of course. I hope you have a pleasant evening. My aide will show you out,” said Lloyd, dismissing Aldrich in typical British fashion.
October 29, 1956 - Alexandria, Egypt
The crew of the ENS Ibrahim el-Awal, an Egyptian hunt-class destroyer, loaded supplies and ammunition from the dock. There wasn’t much time before they were due to sail. Many of the young crew members had never been in battle and were noticeably nervous. The officers did their best to keep them busy and focused on the task at hand.
The Ibrahim was originally named the HMS Mendip. It was a British Royal Navy vessel that had been decommissioned after World War II because the ship’s hull was considered unstable in the open ocean. The British sold it to China Nationalists but reneged on the deal when it became clear that the Maoists were overrunning the mainland and the civil war in China would soon draw to an end with the communists winning. The British saw no value in turning over a destroyer to the Chinese Communists which they one day may need to fight. They canceled the deal while the destroyer was en route up the Yangtze river and sent another destroyer to reclaim it. The Chinese objected but they didn’t want to start a war with the British over a well-used naval vessel… at least not yet.
The destroyer was on its way back to London when the Egyptians offered to purchase it. The British were only too happy to rid themselves of the obsolete vessel and gave the Egyptians a good price based on the ship’s scrap-value. When the destroyer traveled through the Suez Canal, the British captain docked the vessel as it approached the northern end. He and his crew stepped off the ship. The Egyptian captain and his crew stepped on and the deal was done. The British even left the Egyptians two months of rations in the ship’s galley.
The Egyptians had one hundred and forty-six officers and enlisted men manning the vessel. The British Navy had taken good care of the Ibrahim as they did with all their vessels. It was a point of pride for the world-class British navy. However, the ship was lightly armored and its weapons were smaller than most of the newer ships in its class. The Ibrahim’s main armament consisted of two twin 4-inch gun turrets operated remotely. The main guns fired thirty-five pound shells accurately up to seven miles. Its radar was based on older technology and was only capable of spotting surface vessels six to eight miles out and aircraft twelve miles out. In an age of warfare where jets traveled at almost six hundred miles per hour that gave the ship’s defenses too little warning before they were attacked. It was an obsolete hand-me-down but the Egyptians made the most of it.
On the bridge of the Ibrahim, Major Rushdie Tamsyn stood across the navigational table from Lieutenant Ali Ganim. Tamsyn was twenty-seven years old, young for a commander of one of Egypt’s most powerful warships. A nautical map was spread out and held down with a coffee cup and several lengths of lead weights to keep it from rolling up. The map showed the northern coastline of Egypt and western Israel along with the shipping lanes of the Mediterranean Sea. “We make our way along the coast. We stay out of the shipping lanes and avoid any patrol boats. Hopefully, no one will spot us. We should reach Haifa tomorrow morning. With luck, the Israelis won’t know we are coming.”
“And if we are discovered?” said Ganim.
“Maybe we fight. It doesn’t matter. Once we start bombarding the oil refineries and the harbor, the Israelis will send their destroyers to stop us.”
“How many do you expect?”
“I don’t know. The Israeli ships tend to be kept in groups and attack as a pack.”
“Like wolves?”
“Yes. Like wolves. Once we have inflicted damage to their facilities and destroyed their ships, we break off the engagement and head for Lebanon.”
“Why Lebanon?”
“It’s neutral. The Israeli’s won’t attack us once we reach their harbor in Beirut.”
“So, when do we go back to Egypt?”
“When it’s over. President Nasser doesn’t want to lose our vessel. We strike and then run for safety. Those are our orders and we will carry them out.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“We sail in one hour. Make sure the ship and men are ready,” said Tamsyn as he moved off. He was confident and surprisingly serious for such a young man. He loved the navy and his country. He was proud of his crew and drilled them to sharpen their skills in battle whenever possible. The Egyptian navy was notoriously stingy about expending ammunition during training. They believed the expensive shells were better used killing Israelis.
October 29, 1956 – London, England
It was late in the evening when Mollet and Pineau met with Eden at 10 Downing Street. There was very little to discuss. Everything had already been decided. The meeting was a façade for the Americans and the U.N. The French and British needed to look like they were working feverously to come up with a solution to the Israeli invasion. Instead, they drank scotch. “I am concerned that we are lying to the Americans. If Eisenhower finds out what we are doing—” said Mollet.
“He won’t find out as long as we stick to the plan and keep our heads cool,” said Eden.
“And if he does?”
“So, what if he does? What is he going to do? Side with Egypt against his greatest allies? Trust me, Eisenhower is far more concerned about the Soviets then he is about the Egyptians or the Israelis. He needs Britain and France to help check Soviet aggression. Besides, it is in America’s interests to have the Suez Canal secured and functioning properly. They need oil too. If we hand him a done deal, Eisenhower will do nothing,” said Eden followed by a long sip of his scotch.
October 29, 1956 – Eilat, Israel
The Israeli 9th Infantry Brigade waited until the last of Sharon’s convoy had left Eilat so as not to confuse the different units. The commander of the 9th, Colonel Abraham Yoffe, had learnt the hard way to avoid confusion when it came to the men under his command. He was a serious man.
Once clear, the convoy of jeeps and trucks of the 9th headed south on the coastal highway paralleling the Gulf of Aqaba and crossed the Egyptian border. They were a ragtag group of soldiers mostly made up of home guard and other reservists. They were supplied by the leftovers from the other brigades in the Israeli Defense Forces. Their weapons were obsolete and many needed r
epair. Some of the older weapons only had a few rounds of ammunition and were intended to be discarded when the last round was fired. The 9th didn’t have any tanks. It had its own artillery but most of the rifling inside the barrels had been ground smooth from too much use. There was some question as to their accuracy but nobody wanted to test them because they had so few shells. The artillery specialists were sure that the weapons would make a lot of noise during a firefight and could be used to discourage the enemy. Besides… they could get lucky and hit something important.
The Israeli generals liked to use the 9th as a diversionary force and to hold installations already captured. It was felt they would be nothing more than cannon fodder in a real battle. They may not have been the best soldiers and their uniforms didn’t match, but they were brave and they had families and employers back home that depended on them.
Their mission was to capture Ras al-Naqb, a coastal town on the shores of the Straits of Tiran. It would be used as a staging area for an assault on Sharm el-Sheikh - a key strategic port and Egyptian naval base on the Red Sea. It was the ships from the Sharm el-Sheikh naval base and the 6-inch guns at nearby Ras Nasrani that enforced the blockade that kept Israeli ships from passing through the Straits of Tiran.
Yoffe and Major Heman Rocker, his Executive Officer, rode in the lead vehicle as the column approached a low rise in the mostly flat terrain. Lieutenant Lemuel Bloom, a recon platoon commander, stood at the base of the rise and waved with both his arms. Yoffe ordered the convoy to stop, climbed out of the vehicle and approached Bloom. “How does it look, Lieutenant?” said Yoffe.
“Not good. You can see for yourself. It’s just over that rise,” said Bloom.
With Bloom in the lead, Yoffe, and Rocker climbed a small rise that shielded the convoy from view. They laid flat on their bellies and crawled to the top. One mile in the distance was Ras al-Naqb. They took out their binoculars to study the town’s layout and defenses. “As you can see, the northern edge of the town is defended with artillery and heavy machineguns. The Egyptians are well dug in,” said Bloom.
“You’d think they were expecting us,” said Rocker.
“A frontal assault would be suicidal. They would rip us to shreds. Is there another way?” said Yoffe.
“The eastern side is flanked by the Gulf of Aqaba. There are several patrol boats armed with 50-cals that patrol the coast.”
“That’s not a concern. I wasn’t planning on getting wet anyway,” said Yoffe.
“Right,” said Bloom. “The western side is flat and gives their guns a clear field of fire. The southern side of the town is the least protected and is surrounded by low hills. They keep it well patrolled but there are only a few machinegun emplacements and no artillery.”
“I like that. Let’s do that,” said Rocker.
“So how do we get there without being detected?” said Yoffe.
“I found a wadi.”
“A wadi?” said Rocker.
“Yeah. You know… a dried-up riverbed,” said Bloom.
“I know what a wadi is. I just don’t know why it helps us,” said Rocker.
“I was getting to that part,” said Bloom showing them the wadi’s path on a small map he retrieved from his pocket. “It leads right into the hills behind the town. We can use the hills to the west to cover our approach then duck down into the wadi.”
“Can our vehicles traverse it?” said Yoffe.
“I doubt it. The ground is very uneven. Besides the engine noise might tip them off.”
“So, we go on foot and hope to god they don’t discover us?”
“That’s what I would suggest,” said Bloom.
“Well done, Lieutenant,” said Yoffe.
“Yeah, ya sneaky bastard,” said Rocker playfully slugging Bloom in the shoulder.
It was approaching midnight when Bloom took the lead with Yoffe right behind him. They were followed by six hundred riflemen as they made their way through the hills to the west of the town. Yoffe had decided to lead the raid himself. He was a veteran fighter. He knew how to keep a level head and not panic no matter how bad things seemed at the time. If anything went wrong, he was the battalion’s best chance of survival.
Bloom asked Yoffe to keep the battalion hidden in the hills while he alone went in to the wadi to ensure they were indeed alone. He disappeared into the darkness and slipped into the dry riverbed.
He moved quietly for about three hundred yards before he heard something up ahead in the darkness. He slowed and chambered a round into his Uzi submachinegun. He didn’t dare use his flashlight. He moved forward, his eyes trying to catch a glimpse of whoever was in front of him before they got a glimpse of him. He heard something moving through the scrub brush to his left. He whipped the barrel of his gun around. Whatever was out there was moving closer. He slipped his finger into the trigger-guard and onto the trigger. He lined up his shot to where he thought the intruder would appear. And then he saw… a goat walking toward him. He relaxed and had the sudden urge to pee. The goat was followed by several more. It was a small herd. The goat’s herder must have been using the wadi to keep the goats from wandering too far off during the night. But where was the herder? Had he seen Bloom and gone back to the town to warn the Egyptian soldiers stationed there?
Bloom heard another noise. This time he was sure it was human. It was voices whispering in Arabic. The voices were young, like that of teenagers. He moved toward a small rise where several bushes were growing. He used the barrel of his Uzi to push back the branches of one of the bushes. A teenage boy and girl were in the throes of passion, lying on a blanket. They didn’t notice him standing above them until he said in Arabic, “Either of you lose a goat?”
They both snapped around, startled. The girl grabbed for her blouse and covered herself. The boy just stared at the gun barrel wide-eyed. Bloom shushed them with a finger to his lips.
Bloom returned to retrieve his commander and the battalion. They slipped into the wadi and moved along the riverbed. They came up to the goats and moved through the herd. Bloom explained about the young goat herder and his girlfriend. They were both from the town. Bloom had tied them up. He didn’t have a gag, so he told them he would shoot them if they made any noise. They believed him and stayed as quiet as synagogue mice.
Yoffe signaled for his men to stop near the end of the wadi. He and Bloom moved to the edge of the riverbed and peered over the embankment.
They were about fifty feet from the closest hill behind the town. There was a patrol of six Egyptian soldiers keeping an eye on the hills. “Shit,” said Yoffe quietly.
“They weren’t here a few hours ago,” said Bloom.
“They must’ve gotten the news that we crossed into the Sinai and they aren’t taking any chances.”
“There are only six of them. Maybe we can overpower them before they can warn the others.”
“We’d have to be pretty lucky to get all six without one shouting out and I’m not feeling very lucky at the moment,” said Yoffe considering. “Wait a minute… I’ve got an idea.”
Twelve Israeli soldiers lifted the goat herd up the embankment. Bloom grabbed a bush branch and used it to herd the goats toward the Egyptian patrol. He moved up as far as he dared to ensure the goats were heading in the right direction. Then he ducked down and crawled back into the wadi on his belly.
The goats could not find anything to eat on the barren desert floor and wandered toward the hills. The Egyptians heard and then saw them coming. “Where’s their owner?” said one of the soldiers.
“Maybe they’re lost,” said another.
“Anybody up for some roast goat?” said a third.
“I could eat,” said the corporal leading the patrol.
The patrol moved toward the goats into the darkness of the desert and away from the back of the town.
Yoffe and his men slipped over the embankment and into the cover of the hills behind the town without being seen. They laid down an ambush for the patrol in case they returned.
The battalion formed a skirmish line along the hillside. On Yoffe’s signal, the battalion moved in unison toward the town. Yoffe had no real idea what he and his men would find in the town, but he knew they needed to move fast if they were going to keep the element of surprise. It worked.
The Israelis moved through the streets and alleys of the town like a virus invading a body. Most of the Egyptian soldiers were asleep and easily overpowered. The fortified outposts at the front of the town were caught completely by surprise and never got their guns turned in the right direction before they were overrun.
Yoffe and the 9th Brigade had accomplished the impossible. They had captured a well-fortified position around a key strategic point and captured over six hundred enemy soldiers without firing one shot and without the loss of life on either side; Israeli or Egyptian. And the best trophy of all was the capture of the Egyptian artillery that they would use to replace their own. His men celebrated. Yoffe couldn’t help but smile a little.
October 29, 1956 – Cairo, Egypt
The British embassy in Cairo was a beehive of activity. Eight trashcan incinerators had been set up on the lawn and one staffer was given the job of stirring the ashes as they were created, allowing oxygen to reach the fire. There was no time to separate the top-secret cables and documents from everyday paperwork. Everything within the embassy was burned. It was a long night.
October 30, 1956 - Al-Qusaymah, Egypt
It was still dark when the Israeli 4th Infantry brigade, under the command of Colonel Josef Harpaz, approached the town of al-Qusaymah in northern Sinai. Al-Qusaymah was important to the Israelis for three reasons. First, it was the geographical center for any military force entering the Sinai from the north, and therefore strategically important. Second, the Israelis planned on using the town as a jumping off point for their attack on Abu Ageila. Third, Al-Qusaymah protected Sharon’s 202nd Airborne Brigade’s northern flank as it advanced toward the Mitla Pass.
Sèvres Protocol Page 9
