Arab Armies of the Middle East Wars 1948-1973

Osprey Men at Arms #128

by John Laffin, Mike Chappell (Illustrator)

The modern wars of the Middle East began in 1947, when the Syrians, Egyptians, Jordanians and Lebanese were unofficially at war with the Jewish settlers of Palestine. On May 15th, the day afer Israel was declared a sovreign state, the Arab invasion began. Between then and 1973 five wars occurred: those of 1948; the Sinai War; the Six-Day War; the 1968–1970 War of Attrition and the 1973 October War. This book examines the organization, training and equipment of the key Arab armies during these conflicts and the variey of uniforms are illustrated by a number of contemporary photographs and full colour artwork.

Genres: History, Middle East, War, Nonfiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 1982

About the author

John Laffin was a prolific author with nearly 130 books to his name. Many of his books concerned military history.

Laffin's parents both served in WWI, his father in the 20th Battalion and his mother as a nurse. In 1940, aged 24, having worked with Smith's Weekly and The Wagga Advertiser, he enlisted in the 2nd AIF. He trained as an infantryman and later completed an officer course before serving in New Guinea. While convalescing in Sydney in 1943 he met his wife Hazelle.

After the war Laffin worked for a number of newspapers and magazines, wrote short novels and began his own feature service and editing unit. With his family he left for England in 1956 where he resided for nearly 40 years. He wrote articles for Australian newspapers and taught English, history and geography in secondary colleges.

Laffin traveled extensively in Europe, especially the Western Front areas of WWI and in the Middle East. He returned to Australia in 1995 but Hazelle developed heart problems and died in early 1997. He is survived by his two daughters, Bronwen and Pirenne, and a son, Craig.

Reviews

[Filipe Amaral · Rating 4 out of 5]

In "Arab Armies of the Middle East Wars, 1948-73", author John Laffin provides a well-rounded primer on the three Arab armies fighting Israel from its independence in 1948 to the Yom Kippur War in 1973: Egypt, Syria and Jordan. In typical Men-at-Arms fashion, the book is short (48 pages) but densely packed with information about the combat history, equipment and uniforms of the combatants. One great addition is the presence of tables of organization and some brief discussion of unit organization and equipment. The author is correct in pointing the extreme bravery of the Arab forces, especially the Syrians and the Jordanians, with the corresponding problems of underdevelopment and social taboos that kept hindering Arab operations.

This book's main appeal is its rich iconography. The author's photographic collection is of particular interest, as it shows the actual troops in different points in time, highlighting their uniforms and weapons very well; which, in the case of the Arabs, was extremely varied. There are many photos of tanks and tank crews, as that was the main weapon on the deserts, and also many photos of the Jordanian Arab Legion with their traditional shemags. On page 21 one photo shows Syrians with FN FAL rifles, also with shemags. The plates are done by the now late Osprey master Mike Chappell and carry his usual high standards. Of particular interest is the pictures of Egyptian assault and commando units of the crossing of the Suez Canal in 1973, discussed in detail on plate B. They carried Sagger missiles and RPG-7 launchers, being instrumental in blocking Israeli counterattacks in the Sinai. One of the best plates is G2, depicting a Jordanian mascot handler carrying a falcon.

The narrative is a basic overview and competently done; it contains some inaccuracies, though. First and foremost, the author considers the main Arab combatants to be Egypt, Syria and Jordan - putting Iraq as a minor player. Iraq is only mentioned twice, and in passing; however, the country was always a heavy weight participant in this period. It contributed an expeditionary force of 5,000 men in 1948, eventually reinforced to 15-18,000 men. They occupied Samaria and liberated more Jordanian legionaries to fight in Latrun and Jerusalem; diverting more Israeli troops out of the Legion's back. They fought a tough - albeit unskillful - defensive battle in Janin against the Haganah, forcing a Phyrric victory that although meaningless was used for Iraqi propaganda until the end of the Baath regime. Israel always had to include Iraq in its strategic thinking, as the Mesopotamian country could always produce a huge volume of forces. Baghdad always proclaimed to be a paladin of the Palestinian cause and remained a devout advocate for the destruction of Israel until the fall of Saddam Hussein. When Jordan was fighting the OLP and the Syrians in 1970, they had to keep a brigade watching Iraq's 3rd Armoured Division that was stationed in Jordanian territory as their potential support to the Palestinians was a threat. The original problem itself was rooted in Iraqi support, as the PLA's Qadisiyyah Brigade was based there before moving to Jordan in 1967.

The author also claims the Syrian were trained and remodelled in British lines but I never heard anything of the sort and cannot find a single trace of it; he probably wanted to take a little credit for the Syrian performance in 1948.

One curiosity of this book is the portrayal of the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA), an inconsequental military force of the OLP that never achieved anything of relevance and is all but forgotten today. They were equipped by the Arab states, dressing and behaving as a regular army; wearing berets with eagles and uniformed in fatigues. One of the plates shows a PLA soldier playing a bagpipe, based on a photo in an Italian publication. Plate F2 portrays an OLP guerrilla cleaning his AK according to several photos, and even the pressure on the return spring is depicted incredibly well. Plates F3 and F4 show PLA soldiers with French Patauga-style jungle boots and F4 uses a French-style ténue léopard camouflage uniform. Not a single tanker in Soviet uniform is portrayed in the plates. There is very little on the Syrians up to 1967 and all their plates are from the early 1970's. They were advised by the Soviets but still retained many traces of French influence, which can be seen in the book in the attire of the PLA - which was incorporated into the Syrian army. Page 28 shows Syrian young women going through a basic commando training wearing the French-style camouflage while carrying AK rifles.

The Jordanian Arab Legion is an interesting case: a colonial army commanded and trained by British officers. They were superb in 1948-49, but Laffin oversells them. The Legion's standards faded away after the British left in 1956, and they got routed in merely 3 days in 1967. While some troops fought stubbornly, the officers simply abandoned their men and fled; the Israelis didn't find any dead or captured above the rank of sergeant in the battles along the Jerusalem corridor. Only the élite 40th Armoured fought well. The Israelis noticed the Jordanians couldn't mount operations even at platoon level. The Jordanians would then fight the OLP and what was supposed to be a 48h Blitzkrieg turned into a siege of 10 months. The Syrian T-55s bludgeoned the Jordanian Centurions, even though they were on defensive positions. Jordanian skill was good on small arms and mortars, but appalling in artillery and tank gunnery. In 1973, the Jordanian 40th Armoured Brigade would attack the Israelis under Iraqi command on 12 October and got butchered. They attacked again on the 19, now under the Syrian 5th Infantry Division they fought against in 1970, and got bled again.

The Arabs tried to remedy their teething problems through foreign advisory. The Egyptians first hired a German military mission on the eve of the Sinai war of 1956. Laffin says they were never more than 60, but Dr. Kenneth Pollack's more in-depth work precises 80 ex-Wehrmacht officers, and they were attached as advisers to major combat units aside from overseeing training. The effect was only marginal, nonetheless. Laffin is very careful to portray the war ending by pressure of the "United States and the UN", omitting Soviet overt treats to Britain that caused panic in London. The Soviet advisors in Egypt and Syria played major roles in their development prior to 1973. Soviet pilots serving in Egypt were shot down by the Israelis during the War of Attrition, and Soviet advisors in Syria would be forced to shoulder the training of the troops altogether because the Syrian officers would not bother.

The book ends with the description of the plates and the last plate is a hodgepodge of insignias and badges without a proper logic to it. I guess the author was just tired and wanted to finish the book already; the helmet is good looking, though. This plate could have been better used by showing Iraqis, foreign advisors and a tanker in Soviet attire. Regardless of these minor problems, by its size this book does what it tries to do and gives a visual reference and basic overview of the Arab forces, opening the way for more in-depth study elsewhere. John Laffin also wrote the book of Israeli forces in the corresponding period and both should be read in conjunction.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

World War II spilled over into the Middle East when Allied forces defeated the Vichy forces to take control of Lebanon and Syria. The destruction of Jews in Europe led to the movement for a Jewish state in Palestine, which was established in 1948. It took only a short time before the armies of the Arab nations attacked the new state in an attempt to destroy it. From that date until the publication of this book in 1982, there has been almost a constant state of war between Israel and the Arab states.
This book is a synopsis of those wars with an emphasis on the performance of the Arab armies. Fraught with organizational deficiencies and incompetence, from the information in this book, it is easy to understand why the Arabs were consistently defeated. Officers were assigned on the basis of privilege rather than talent and almost never led from the front. One of the most telling facts was that when the Israelis overran Syrian positions, they found some of the artillery gunners chained to their guns.
Vastly outnumbered since 1948, Israel has managed to retain military superiority over her Arab enemies. This book does a great deal in explaining why. Furthermore, the authors also point out the times when an Arab unit performed exceptionally well. This even balance is key in establishing credibility.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well detailed, informative account of modern history. I recommend this if you are searching for a concise account of the ME Wars of the last century.