The Battle of Abu-Ageila (also known as the Battle of Umm-Qatef; ) was a military confrontation between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army in the Six-Day War of June 1967. The decisive defeat of the Egyptians was critical to the eventual loss of the entire Sinai Peninsula to Israel. Leading Israeli forces was Major General Ariel Sharon, later a prominent politician and prime minister of Israel.
Background
The Israeli attack at Abu-Ageila was part of the Israeli offensive into the Sinai Desert. Southern Command's offensive consisted of three divisions: Israel Tal's 84th Division, Avraham Yoffe's 31st Division, and Ariel Sharon's 38th Division. Sharon was tasked with the capture of the road junction at Abu-Ageila, in order to gain access to the central route into the Sinai Desert. The Egyptians had taken considerable preparations to prevent a breach there. Egyptian defences had focused on the Um-Katef (or Umm-Qatef) plateau to the east of Abu-Ageila, roughly from the Israeli border. The defences were an important part of the overall defence plan, called Qahir, in the preparations for the expected war, later known as the Six-Day War.
Opposing forces
Israeli troops numbered about 14,000. Egyptian troop strengths have been estimated at 8,000. More importantly, the Israelis had significant advantage in armour: Against 66 Egyptian World War II-era Soviet T34/85 with 85 mm guns and 22 SU-100 with 100 mm guns, the Israeli forces fielded a total of 150 modern tanks: light AMX-13s with 75 mm guns, as well as a hundred British Centurion and both M-50 and M-51 Sherman tanks, considerably upgraded from their WWII vintage and armed with French 75 mm and 105 mm tank guns. The guns used by the Centurions here were the 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 tank guns, specifically designed to defeat the Soviet T-54 (much more modern than both types of tanks used by the Egyptians in this battle). On the other side, the best tank gun available for the Egyptians was the 100 mm cannon used by the 22 SU-100 tank destroyers (a late-WWII artillery piece overmatched by Centurion's frontal armor, although it posed a threat to AMX-13s). As a result, in addition to the IDF's numerical superiority, the Israeli tanks also had a greater effective range and firepower than their Egyptian opponents.
Order of battle
Israeli forces
38th Armored Division
Divisional Mechanised Reconnaissance Battalion
14th Armored Brigade (with Super Sherman tanks) 63rd armored battalion (with Centurion tanks) 99th "Negev" Infantry Brigade 80th Paratroopers Brigade 6 artillery battalions (105 mm & 155 mm Howitzers) Divisional engineering battalion Force A-B, improvised brigade-size battle group
Egyptian forces
2nd Infantry Division
12th Infantry Brigade
37th, 38th, 39th Infantry Battalions
51st Artillery Brigade
330th, 332nd, 334th Artillery Battalions
2 Antiaircraft Companies
1 Anti-tank Rocket Company
Attached to 12th Brigade
6th Tank Regiment (66 T34/85) 288 Tank Battalion 1 Mechanised Antitank Battalion (22 SU-100) 352nd Infantry Battalion 299th Artillery Battalion 336th Medium Artillery Battalion
Egyptian defences
The Egyptian defence was constructed as follows: the 2nd infantry Division prepared defenses in the area between Abu-Ageila and Kusseima, with the center placed at the area Um-Katef Plateau – Ruafa Dam, with the 12th Infantry Brigade defending Um-Katef and the 10th Infantry Brigade Kusseima. Um-Katef made a good position, because it was bordered by an area of sand dunes to the north and rocky mountains to the south. On this plateau, the Egyptians constructed three parallel trenches of about five kilometers each, reinforced by concrete bunkers. Every trench was defended by an infantry battalion, with the forward trench reinforced by a dug-in tank squadron. To the rear were two supporting artillery battalions (330th, 334th), behind them the balance of 288th Tank Battalion ready to counterattack. To the north, blocking the Batur Track at Position 181, were 38th Infantry Battalion, 299th Artillery Battalion and an antitank company of ten SU-100. They were to protect the flank of the main position to the southeast.
Five kilometers to the west of the Um-Katef Plateau perimeter was the Ruafa Dam. Dug in here were the 352nd Infantry Battalion, and the 332nd and 336th Artillery Battalions. Five kilometers to the northwest of Abu-Ageila, at the well and logistic center at Awlad Ali, the balance of the 6th Tank Regiment (one tank battalion) was positioned to block enemy forces coming from the northeast or against the positions of the 12th Brigade to the east or southeast.