March 8, 1969
Egyptian forces launch a major offensive against Israeli positions on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal, starting the War of Attrition, which lasts until August 1970.
Egypt and Israel had reached a ceasefire after the Six-Day War on June 11, 1967. But Egypt sank an Israeli destroyer off the coast of Sinai in October 1967 and, beginning in October 1968, launched commando attacks and shelled Israeli positions along the canal. Israel responded with retaliatory raids. As Egyptian attacks increased, Israel constructed a defense fortification known as the Bar-Lev Line, a string of 35 forts along 100-plus miles of canal bank, named for Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff General Haim Bar-Lev.
On February 16, 1969, Egyptian President Gamel Abdel Nasser told his government ministers that by launching an escalated war of attrition against Israeli positions in Sinai, Egypt could strain Israel’s military capability. Nasser also believed that if Israel were forced to station its reserve forces in Sinai for prolonged periods, the Israeli economy would suffer. Nasser thought these limited goals could influence the United States to rethink its Middle East policy, especially with President Richard Nixon having just taken office. Nasser wanted Nixon to pressure Israel into negotiating for a peace that was favorable to Egypt. He also hoped that the escalation along the canal would boost Egyptian morale, which was badly damaged by the defeat in June 1967.
Israel responds to the March 8 attack with heavy fire, killing Egyptian Chief of Staff General Abdul Munin Riad. Both sides escalate the hostilities throughout March and April. Israeli raids penetrate deep into Egypt.
Nasser turns to the Soviet Union for increased military support, which he receives in the form of surface-to-air missiles in early 1970. The United States offers a plan to end the fighting. Prepared by Secretary of State William Rogers, the plan calls for a virtually full Israeli withdrawal, Egyptian recognition of Israel, freedom of navigation for Israeli ships and a resolution to the refugee problem.
A ceasefire is agreed upon in August 1970, but negotiations do not ensue.
