The Egyptian-Yemen War

[Sarajevo071]

The Egyptian-Yemen War (1962-67): Egyptian Perspectives on Guerrilla Warfare (html)

Infantry Magazine, Jan-Feb 2004 (pdf - AKO log-in required)

Egyptian military historians refer to their war in Yemen as their Vietnam. President Nasser began by sending a battalion of Special Forces and in the end committed 55,000 troops--all in an effort to sustain a revolution of Yemeni officers who brought an end to a tyrannical and medieval Hamiduddin dynasty. This five-year conflict offers many lessons from the Yemeni officers, who were sent to Egypt and Iraq for military training only to return with Nasserist, nationalist and Baathist ideas, to the underestimation of Egyptian Field Marshal Amer and his general staff, who felt that a battalion of Special Forces combined with airpower could score a quick and decisive victory.

As the United States undertakes the crucial task of rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan, it is imperative that this new generation of American military planners gain an appreciation for the history, strategy and tactics of wars not usually studied in today's western war colleges. Despite massive manpower, airpower, armor and artillery, the Egyptian expeditionary forces could only hold onto a triangle of land from the capital Sana'a to the port of Hodeida to Taiz.

An analysis of this conflict may help U.S. military planners as they cooperate with Yemeni authorities to hunt down Al-Qaeda. Studying the Yemen War is also a vital step towards a real appreciation of the combat techniques and terrain of the area in which Osama bin Laden's family originated. The Hardamaut region of Yemen provides Al-Qaeda with a strong base of support among a few of its tribes. Egyptian military planners attempted to pacify the region with the help of Yemeni Republican forces; however, their task was made even more complex when royalist forces were backed by Saudi, Jordanian, Iranian, and British support....

[shfranke]

Greetings to ALCON.

Some additional references about the civil war in Yemen and the role of the Egyptian expeditionary force and significant Soviet logistical support [mostly airlift by Soviet Air Force military transports of materiel, supplies, and Egyptian troop from air bases in Egypt]:

1. "The Military History of Yemen 1839-1967" (paperback, in Arabic), by Sultan Naji, co-published in Beirut & Sana'a', 1988

2. "Memoirs of a Military Advisor" (in Russian, online post) - Author is a retired Soviet Army officer [armor corps] who was senior advisor for equipping and training of the land forces of People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [PDRY, aka South Yemen] after independence

3. [Exact title unavailable](translated into Arabic edition)- Memoirs of a Soviet diplomat posted to the Embassy of the then-USSR in Sana'a

4. Dissertation, "Egypt, the Cold War, and the Civil War in Yemen, 1962-1966", by Jesse Ferris, PhD, Princeton U, NJ 2008

5. [Exact title unavailable for the moment](paperback, in Arabic) - Memoirs of the former commander of an Egyptian Army mechanized infantry battalion deployed and employed in Yemen 1966-1967

Other materials are available about Yemen and "things Yemeni" such as advising, training, equipping, sustaining, coaching, influencing, and interacting otherwise with military-age Yemeni counterparts and trainees. While some items are dated, they contain "oldie goldie" nuggets of LLs, TTPs, and working/operating with counterparts inside a profoundly-different "operational culture" [here borrowing a good a USMC term].

Hope these citations help.

Regards,

Stephen H. Franke
LTC, FAO/MI [48G "Gulfie" &
Yemen-watcher]
USAR (Retired)
San Pedro, California
[Advisor/SME on content of pending "Tactical Yemeni" Arabic
language & culture software for interactive self-training of
DOD and other USG personnel outbound to or near Yemen]
Today is 14 April 2010