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SITU/SOC60/05/SC

GENERAL BAR LEV

References:

A. Malaysian Armed Forces Staff Manual (PPB (Manual) 100), Volume 1, Service

Writing.

B. http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/people/BIOS/barlev.html surfed on 01 Oct 05.

C. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim_Bar Lev surfed on 01 Oct 05.

D. http://www1.idf.il/DOVER/site/mainpage.asp surfed on 01 Oct 05.

E. http://www.country-studies.com/egypt/war-of-attrition-and-the-october-1973-

war.html surfed on 02 Oct 05.

F. http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/ mk_eng surfed on 24 Sept 05.

G. http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_263.shtml surfed on 24 Sept 05.

H. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Lev_Line surfed on 25 Sept 05.

"Will screw them hard, fast, and in an elegant manner"1

1. http://www.military-quotes.com/database/b.htm

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Major General Haim Bar Lev prior to the 1967 war.

INTRODUCTION

1. General Haim Bar Lev, also known as Chaim "Kidoni" Bar Lev was borned in

Vienna, Austria on November 16, 1924, his birth name was Haim Brotzlewsky. Haim

Bar Lev rose from the rank of private to become Eighth Chief Of Staff of the Israeli

Defense Force (IDF). Bar Lev arrived in Palestine from Yugoslavia in 1939. In 1942 he

completed the course at the Mikveh Israel Agricultural School, and began his military

career. Twenty six years later he served as IDF's Chief of General Staff, which made

him the highest-ranking military officer untill he retired in 1972. Throughout his military

service, he had no doubt contribute greatly to his nation, make his nation proud by

being the inspiration behind the existence of the famous Bar-Lev line. It is essential for

future leaders of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) to study and analyse the

colourful and successful life of the Israeli hero, General Haim Bar Lev.

AIM

2. To study and analyze the relationship between leadership, command and

management of General Haim Bar Lev.

SCOPE

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3. In discussing the leadership style of General Bar Lev, we will highlight the

following aspects:

a. Objective

b. Historical Background and Career.

c. The War of Attrition.

d. Traits and Qualities.

OBJECTIVE

4. The objective of this paper is to highlight Bar-Lev’s tour throughout his military

career, with specific attention focused to his most recognized campaign during the War

of Attrition as IDF’s Chief of General Staff.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CAREER

5. Chaim "Kidoni" Bar Lev (Haim Brotzlewsky) was an Army officer during Israel's

early statehood. Born in Vienna, Austria on November 16, 1924, his birth name was

Haim Brotzlewsky. Bar Lev arrived in Palestine from Yugoslavia in 1939.

6. In 1942 he completed the course at the Mikveh Israel agricultural school, and

began his military career, enlisted in the Palmah During the struggle against the British

Mandate regime, he served with the underground commandos. In 1946 Bar Lev as the

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Commander of “D” Company in the Palmah blew up the Allenby bridge near Jericho to

prevent Arab militiamen in Jordan from entering Jewish towns west of the Jordan River2.

He also became both a pilot and a parachutist between 1942 through 1948, which

would later serve him in developing both of these military branches in the young Israeli

army.

7. During Israel's "War of Independence" in 1948, Bar Lev was a colonel and

commander of the Eighth Battalion (Mechanized) in the Negev Brigade, which fought in

the northern Sinai. During the 1956 Suez War, Col. Bar Lev commanded the 27th

Armoured Brigade, which captured the Gaza Strip, before turning southwest and

reaching the Suez Canal. By 1962 he was the commanding officer of the Northern

Command. Later, he became of Director of Operations within the IDF.

8. During the June 1967 "Six Day War" he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff in

the IDF. In late 1968 his proposal that a high sand-dune wall be built along the east

bank of the Suez Canal to prevent the Egyptian military from observing Israeli defenses

along the Suez Canal was accepted. This became known as the Bar Lev Line.

9. Between 1968-1971, Bar Lev served as IDF's Chief of General Staff, which made

him the highest-ranking military officer. During the October 1973 Yom Kippur War,

although serving as the Israeli Minister of Trade & Industry, he was recalled into military

service to take command of the Southern Command, which defended the Sinai. Bar Lev

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim Bar-Lev

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directed Maj Gen Adan to initiate Adan's plan for a invasion into Egyptian territory just

north of the Great Bitter Lake.

10. Between 1992-1994, Bar Lev served in Moscow as Israel's Ambassador to

Russia. On May 7, 1994, he died from a serious illness in Tel Aviv.

THE WAR OF ATTRITION

11. The War of Attrition took place between March 1969 and August 1970.The war is

called after a quotation by the Egyptian President, Nasser: "I cannot conquer Sinai, but I

can attrite Israel's force and break its spirit".

12. The beginning of the War of Attrition commonly dates back to March 1969, when

the conflict at the bank of the Suez cannel turned into a daily exhausting struggle, until 7

August 1970, when the cease-fire agreement came into force.

13. However, the war was in fact waged for 38 continuous months, and the burden

was mostly around Suez, the Jordan Valley and the Golan Heights. The war was

different from previous wars, being mostly static. This introduced new problems for the

IDF. Moreover, the soviet intervention peaked during this war.3

THE EGYPTIAN FRONT

3 http://www1.idf.ill/DOVER/site/mainpage.asp

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14. Nasser declared a war comprised of three phases:

a. Solid resistance.

b.  Active deterrence.

c.  Liberation of West Bank and Gaza Strip.

15. The Egyptians bombarded the entire length of the cannel for many days. An

enormous effort was put into strengthening the fortifications, which were later to become

the Bar Lev Line.

THE SYRIAN-LEBANESE FRONT

16. The cease-fire line in the Golan Heights was relatively calm. Israeli forces were

deployed 60 km from Damascus, costing the Syrians their tactical advantage and

deterring them from rash activities. The war involved several days of air combat. There

were several incidents at the Lebanese front: mortars were shot, and a water pipe was

exploded to the east of Rosh Hanikra. Since 25 May 1970, the IDF started patrolling

deep within Lebanese territory instead of at the cease-fire line. This helped decrease

the number of attacks.

THE BAR LEV LINE

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17. During the War of Attrition, Chief of Staff Bar Lev ordered the construction of a

defence line across the cannel. Bar Lev Line was the longest and strongest forward

defense line in the history of warfare. It consisted of earthen rampart and a series of

concrete observation posts positioned every 10-12 kilometers along the cannel with

extra fortifications at the more likely crossing points.

18. The earthen rampart was constructed over a unique water barrier and had an

average height of 20 to 22 meters and a 45 degree incline on the side facing the cannel.

Each post held about 15 man, their primary task was to give warning of an Egyptian

attempt to cross the cannel and direct artillery fire on them from batteries well in the

rear.

19. Behind the cannel the Israelis held small armored and artillery units, and further

back there were bases at which were stockpiled the weapons and equipment for

reserve brigades, which could be mobilized within 24 hours of any attempt to cross the

cannel.

20. The Israelis expected their artillery and air force to keep any cannel crossing

force busy until the reserve brigades could get moving towards the cannel. The line

was divided into 20 strongholds. Some of the names of the strongholds were Tasa,

Maftzach, Milano, Mezach, Chizayon, Mifreket, Orcal, Budapest (the largest), Nisan,

Lituf, Chashiva.

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21. Nasser's strategy to inflict a level of casualties that would be unacceptable to the

Israeli people appeared sound, but it did not work. Thousands of Egypt's artillery shells

impacted Israeli positions on the Bar Lev Line, but even as Israeli casualties mounted,

no general cry for an end to the war went up in Israel. Nasser had underestimated

Israel's will to fight.

22. Israeli positions along the Bar Lev Line survived the attack but suffered heavy

damage. Egypt followed the attack with commando raids on the line itself and against

Israeli patrols and rear installations. Israel launched a severe reprisal that included

bombing raids against military and strategic targets deep in the interior of Egypt.

23. In August 1970, a cease-fire negotiated by the United States with Soviet support

ended the fighting between Israel and Egypt.

TRAITS AND QUALITIES

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

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24. In 1942 he completed the course at the Mikveh Israel Agricultural School, and

began his military career.

25. In 1956, after attending Senior Officers' School in England, Bar Lev became

director of training at General Headquarters.

26. Bar Lev studied administration and economics at Columbia University in New

York, and continued his studies in Paris in 1966 in Political Science.

27. However, he was recalled a year later and appointed Deputy Chief Of Staff just

before the Six Day War (1967). On January 1, 1968, he became Chief Of Staff.

28. After retiring from the army, Bar Lev served as Minister of Commerce from 1972

to 1977.

29. Recalled to active duty in the Yom Kippur War (1973), he served as special

adviser to Chief of Staff David Elazar. In 1992 he became Israel Ambassador to Russia.

STRATEGIC ABILITY

30. Offered immense amounts of remarkable intelligence that was badly needed by

the USA against USSR in exchange of USA’s new combat aircraft (F-4 Phantom).

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31. Launched a severe reprisal that included bombing raids against military and

strategic targets deep in the interior of Egypt.

32. Ordered the construction of a series of fortifications along the Suez, which

became known as the Bar Lev Line. This Line was actually established foremost to

delay any Egyptian attempt to swiftly cross the Cannel and break deeper into Sinai

before the Israeli Army could be mobilized, but not to completely prevent or stop any

such efforts.

TACTICAL ABILITY

33. In 1946 Bar Lev blew up the Allenby Bridge near Jericho to prevent Arab

militiamen in Jordan from entering Jewish towns west of the Jordan River. During the

1956 Suez War, Col. Bar Lev commanded the 27th Armoured Brigade, which captured

the Gaza Strip, before turning southwest and reaching the Suez Cannel.

34. During The War of Attrition he deployed several long-range radar stations on

mountain peaks of Sinai, as well as a number of MIM-23 HAWK SAM-sites, while

IDF/AF interceptors were permanently based at several local airfields, foremost Bir al-

Jifjafa (now renamed into Refidim), from where they were able to swiftly react to every

Egyptian attack. 4

4 http:/www.acig.org/artman/publish/article263.shtml

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LOGISTIC ABILITY

35. Established excellent relations with the USA, that resulted in important

reinforcements for the IDF Air Force (IDF/AF).

36. Knows the important of supplies in battle. All his supplies were put far inside and

behind the Bar Lev Line. He had the skills in determining the useable supply routes.

Only the safest routes were chose for mean of transporting his supplies.

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

37. With only limited manpower he managed to give Egypt a massive blow. By the

end of the war of attrition Egypt suffered a loss of between 101 and 113 aircraft and

human losses were at least ten times higher and including up to 4000 civilian engineers

and workers. The Israelis suffered only 594 dead (including 33 IDF/AF personnel) in

addition to 15 or 16 aircraft. This fact showed Bar-Lev’s ability to manage a relatively

small force in effective and efficient manner.

LEADERSHIP STYLE

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38. General Bar Lev was a disciplined, visionary and firm leader and does not seek

fame or recognition when going to war. As a leader General Bar Lev had set a clear

and realistic goal. This goal must be clearly communicated to his men without any

misinterpretation or misjudgement. He delegates the duty. At certain condition General

Bar Lev shows a very firm type of leadership. He is also a courageous and responsible

leader in leading his men to the field of battle and it shows in the way his men are willing

to die in battle as they are inspired by him.

39. General Bar Lev very fare to his man, he did not impose any unnecessary

hardship to his men without any clear reasons. His consideration before engages with

enemy shows that he is flexible leader. General Bar Lev took all consideration before

come to a conclusion or making a decision. He gathers sufficient information and

analyses the information before making final decision.

LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

40. Ability to Think Ahead. His ability to think ahead is considerably good and

sound. In The War of Attrition he reinforced the defence of Sinai near the Suez Cannel

by constructing the Bar Lev Line. He anticipated Egypt will commence their massive

offensives from this particular area. This anticipation have made Egypt Army faced

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great difficulty to cross the Suez Cannel and failed to recapture Sinai during that

particular war.

41. Character, Behaviour, Morale and Ethics. The leadership qualities of Bar

Lev can be classified into three major principles of leadership that is most commonly

observed by modern military leaders. All leadership principles can be summarised into

three principles are namely know yourself and seek self improvement, be technically

and tactically proficient and lastly know your men and seek out for their welfare.

a. Know Yourself and Seek Self Improvement. This is the first

requirement of good leadership because a leader must know himself, assess his

capabilities and weaknesses and do something for his personal improvement.

(1) Before his military career.

(a) Borne in Vienna, Austria on November 16, 1924. He came to

Palestine from Yugoslavia in 1939.

(b) In 1942 he completed the course at the Mikveh Israel

Agricultural School.

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(2) During his military career.

(a) He began his military career immediately after he finished his

study and he served with the underground commandos with rank of

private.

(b) After 25 years in service, from rank of private he come up to

the highest rank in Armed Forces as Chief Of Staff Israel then after

retiring from the Army, Bar Lev served as Minister Of Commerce in

Israel Government.

b. Be Technically and Tactically Proficient. All other principles of

leadership are useless if the leader himself is not capable of performing the

functions that they are mandated to do.

(1) Shlomo Lahat (former mayor of Tel Aviv) praised Haim Bar Lev’s

qualities as a military commander and stressed the role of his intelligence

and capabilities in enabling Israel to survive.

(2) Minister Perez did mention that investment in war no longer pays

off and results in reduced standard of living and that what is needed is a

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country in the image of Haim Bar Lev, combining science and technology

with accountability and good manners.

c. Know Your Men and Seek Out for Their Welfare. Good leadership

dictates that a leader should know his men by heart and do whatever he can to

take care of them.

(1) Knowing that his citizen soldiers lack or do not have military

experience, Bar Lev simplified the doctrines for the execution of the said

soldiers.

(2) Knowing the low standard of physical fitness of his people who are

performing sensitive jobs he designed a systematic training and intense

physical conditioning which are necessary.

(3) Though he was commanding large troops, his humanitarian

consideration for his people were always there because he too had been

from a very lowly family.

RELATIONSHIP WITH SUPERIORS, SUBORDINATE, COMMANDERS AND TROPS

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42. Even though Bar-Lev was firmed and regimental in style but he had a good

relation with staffs and never had conflict.

43. During the construction of Bar-Lev Line he personally motivated the Engineering

soldiers and commanders while working on the line since their work demanded them to

constantly stay outside the bunkers and ditches.

44. Troops respected him. His considerably in any plan he has made is very good.

This is due to the fact that he has no hesitant to lead from the front pack. This boosted

their morale considerably.

45. We believed that his subordinated are loyal and have full confidence in him.

OTHERS QUALITIES

46. Below are some of the qualities we observed throughout his service:

a. As a good leader Bar Lev proved to the world although with limited

resource he still managed to utilized that source to achieved what ever goal are

been set by the nation.

b. Love by Israel citizen as a hero and humanism soldier.

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c. Good in his duty as Israel Ambassador to Moscow.

WEAKNESSES

47. It was observed that General Bar-Lev is often over confidence with his ability and

sometime seems to be oblivious to the time and technology changes. That is why he

never or did not think it necessary to create contingency plans incase of any

unexpected condition. Take for example, the Bar-Lev Line finally failed to stop Egyptian

invasion over Sinai during The Yom Kippur War.

CONCLUSION

48. General Bar Lev was a man of integrity and was highly respected by

subordinates and his superior. He was a military icon whose high standards set him

apart from those who claimed to be his equals. Although some said that Bar Lev

(Israel) actually has been defeated toward the end of The War of Attrition, one should

not interpret him as a bad leader. Consideration should be made on how he could

sustain and also be transformational throughout his military years. To conclude, it is

appropriate to mention that he was an exemplary genuine leader with principle. His

leadership has contributed to:

a. Strengthen his strategic revolutionary warfare which successfully driven

off his enemies.

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b. He trained and educated his subordinate to be tenacious or persistent with

the objective of war.

c Driven his man to be a capable army in confronting a larger force of

adversary even subject to human wave tactic and heavy bombardment.

RECOMMENDATION

49. It is recommended that General Bar Lev leadership and the principal of war

should be continually studied in the Squadron Officer Course. If we were to study

leadership in our future classes, it would do well to take a good look at this man, his

strengths and weaknesses and the reason why he was so admired during his time. We

have to study his style of leadership with honour and mercy that points to the need for a

greater humility on both sides if true conflict resolution is to be established.

50. It’s imperative that RMAF officer built their cognitive ability as shown by General

Bar Lev. Understanding of an art of war should be broadening by studying all history,

biography, modern warfare and record of successful leaders. In would be a big help to

shape up our officer’s way of thinking. (3,096 words)

Oct 05

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DAVID KALISVARAN

Major RMAF

SYNDICATE CHARLIE SOC 60/05

Annex:

A. Qualities Military Commander of General Bar Lev.

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