There are few people in the western world who have as much experience and knowledge of the Bar Lev Line as Major Stuart Bracken USMC who served in the Sinai Desert with UNTSO. Thanks to his unrivalled access and historical curiosity, an important record of the Bar Lev Line has been preserved for posterity. Without his selfless assistance this book would never have seen the light of day. Stuart Bracken recounts below his ‘time on the line’. Created in the aftermath of the Israeli War of Independence in 1948, UNTSO was the first peacekeeping operation established by the United Nations. The main role of the military observers in the Middle East is to monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating and to assist other UN peacekeeping operations in the region. There is a complementary organization on the Golan Heights along the Purple Line known as UNDOF or the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force that continues to supervise the implementation of the disengagement agreement between the Israelis and the Syrians.
In early 2003 I was seconded from the United States Marine Corps to the United Nations as the Operations Officer for the Observer Group Egypt (OGE). After three years of dreary staff work at US Joint Forces Command at Norfolk, Virginia, serving in the Sinai with UNTSO was just the tonic I needed. I had served previously with the United Nations in Cambodia, so I was aware of the importance of preparing for the mission by researching the topic in the minutest detail. Armed with my trusty credit card and my Amazon.com account, I set out to learn about the Sinai and UNTSO.
OGE’s primary duty was to provide a UN presence throughout the Sinai, less the areas covered by the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO). Our patrols were carried out in two-vehicle teams and covered areas that had seen extensive battles between the IDF and the Egyptian army. The majority of the patrols were carried out within sight of the Suez Canal. As a result, the former positions of the Bar Lev Line were frequently visited during our duties.
Overlooking the shores of the Great Bitter Lake, Maoz Lakekan remains the best preserved of the strongpoints of the Bar Lev Line. It now incorporates a museum and after years of being an Egyptian Army facility is now open to the general public. This view illustrates one of the fundamental aspects of the strongpoints of the Bar Lev Line in that they were built upwards rather than downwards as is traditional in field fortifications because of the low water table due to the nearby Suez Canal and Bitter Lakes. (Stuart Bracken)
There is still some detritus of war along the Suez Canal such as this M48 Magach 3 that remains to this day beside the waterway that it fought to the death to defend with the 404m-wide Mubarak Peace Bridge spanning the canal some 70m above the water in the background. (Stuart Bracken)
Since the end of the 1973 Arab Israeli War several positions of the former Bar Lev Line have been preserved by the Egyptian Army as museums to document the Egyptian “victory” over the Israelis in 1973. The first of these positions I encountered was the former Maoz at Lakekan. In 2004 it was opened to the public at a charge of five Egyptian Pounds ($1.25). The position is maintained as it was supposed to have looked on 6 October 1973, right down to the dug-in tanks and the mannequin-served mortar positions. Soon after this, I became aware of the Taoz at Nozel and then the Fire Support Base at Tzeidar. Both of these positions are advertised from the road, but only Tzeidar was open to the public as of 2004 (five Egyptian Pound admission). I was soon hooked to find more of the ‘lost’ positions of the Bar Lev Line. Armed with a roadmap from Freytag & Berndt and the Osprey book The Yom Kippur War (Vol 2) by Simon Dunstan that travelled with me constantly, I made it a point to look for positions whenever my work took me in the vicinity of the Bar Lev Line. Needless to say, the Sinai was not to be as cooperative as I had hoped. The Bar Lev Line has suffered decades of abandonment, scavenging by locals and the shifting desert sands. Using my map of the Yom Kippur War and my GPS, I slowly began filling in the blanks, as I sought to find as many of the former positions as possible. Some positions, namely the Taoz at Notsa, jumped out at me from the Mitla Pass Road (Notsa was being made into a museum in 2004, and was fully operational in 2006). Other positions, such as the Taoz at Televizia did not become apparent until the week before I transferred from OGE to my new duties in Jerusalem.
Some of the biggest clues to finding the former positions of the Bar Lev Line were left by the Israelis themselves. These were the road systems built by the Israelis during their occupation of the Sinai. Especially helpful were the Lateral and Artillery roads. Although almost 40 years old, and never maintained after the Israeli withdrawal in 1982, the roads were in exceptional shape. After a period of time I could differentiate between the Israeli-made and the Egyptian-made roads. With the roads and the map from the book, I was able to identify roughly where the positions were, in relation to our patrol maps. The positions themselves also stood out, due to the unique construction techniques of the IDF. These included stone-filled gabions, long rectangular blockhouses and extensive use of pre-made metal positions for machine guns.
When someone thinks about undertaking looking for something the size of the Bar Lev Line, the mind briefly fills with romantic notions of battlefields left just the way they were after the battle. Time and other realities tend to dash these notions rather quickly. My search for the Bar Lev Line was no different. Most of the positions I found bore little resemblance to their original state. Further, the Egyptian Government has made significant efforts to ‘clean’ the Sinai of the wreckage of war. The following is what I found the conditions of the various positions to be during my searches:
Maoz Nisan: Buried by dredging.
Maoz Mafzeah: Currently within the confines of an Egyptian army unit. Unable to confirm if anything remains.
Maozim Zidon and Lituf: Utterly destroyed and highly dangerous, due to excessive UXOs (over 1,800 counted by me personally).
Maozim Botzer and Matzmed: Unable to find, believe buried as a result of dredging.
Taoz Hurva: Some remains of structures, but the area is currently used as an ammunition supply point (ASP) by the Egyptian army.
Maoz Purkan: Currently the site of Ferry Crossing 6 at Ismailiya. The area directly behind is an Egyptian army Training Camp.
Taoz Televizia: In the Egyptian Military Zone. Somewhat intact, but littered with exposed mines.
Maoz Hizayon: Mostly buried by dredging. Some small positions visible on the embankment.
Taozim Havraga and Maror: Unable to be found. The areas are now highly populated and cultivated.
Maoz Mifreket: Utterly destroyed. It can be seen while crossing the Mubarak Peace Bridge at Qantara.
Maozim Milano, Matzmed, Botzer, Ketuba, Drora, Lahtzanit and Orkal: Buried under dredging. Some twisted metal of Milano is still visible if driving along the east bank of the Suez Canal.
Maoz Budapest: Buried by time, or deliberately by the Egyptians. The area of the position has now been made into a container facility.
Taoz Traklin: Taken over by Egyptian army and used as an active base, complete with the surface laid minefield to the west of the position.
Taoz Notsa: 30:01.83N–32:41.04E. Abandoned. Two main bunkers that are accessible. Large fields of refuse, to include at least one MG. Numerous tank emplacements that have not been fully explored.
Taoz Tzeidar: 29:53.54N–32:38.10E. Currently a museum along the Sharm el Sheik Road. A tourist attraction run by a major and a squad of soldiers. LE5 entry fee. Guided tour by English speaking Egyptian Soldier. Formerly a 155mm battery position of the IDF. Five gun points destroyed, one still functional.
Taoz Nozel: 30:36.46N–32:23.49E. Currently a museum, but inaccessible to the public. Forward of the position are former trench lines of the Israeli Army, as well as three destroyed T-54 tanks. Two main bunkers, with an extensive amount of vehicles including tanks.
Maoz Masreq: 29:56.08N–32:34.14E. Across from Suez City. Blown up SU-76 nearby. Two bunkers blown professionally, lots of refuse. One bunker untouched, but surrounded by single strand and coiled concertina wire.
Maoz Lakekan: 30:23.81N–32:24.49E. Currently a museum, unavailable to the public, although well marked. One primary bunker. Two small outbuildings, that house a display of weapons and documents of the battle. The outside has a number of vehicles including tanks, jeeps and a 120mm mortar.
I was very fortunate to have served in the Sinai. The area that encompassed the Bar Lev Line is currently a closed Egyptian Military Area. Traffic is highly regulated and there are numerous checkpoints. The Egyptian Military and Police Forces were extremely kind in letting me carry out my duties as a UN Observer, while at the same time indulging in my historical hobby. The people of the Sinai, both Egyptian and Bedouin, were a constant source of information during my searches, and there was never a village where I and my teammates were not welcomed with open arms and warm hospitality.