Deception in Ramadan War, October 1973

Abstract

Deception has been employed throughout the history of warfare, and many successful commanders have found it to be one of their most effective weapons. It is so vital that some commentators have elevated it the status of a principle of war. It is a key principle as it enables the attacking force not only to catch the enemy unawares and thus retain the initiative for a longer period; but it also multiplies the effect of force and saves casualties, time, effort and resources. Strategic deception can only succeed if it is encouraged and supported by the top political and military leadership. Using the Ramadan War as a case study, this paper will illustrate how that most powerful principle of war "Deception and Surprise" was planned, and executed using the tenets of military deception. This paper highlights the importance of this significant factor giving recommendations to be applied for future warfare.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 07, 1999
Accession Number
ADA382499

Entities

People

  • Ossama El-sawah

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Defense
  • Agreements
  • Air Defense
  • Air Force
  • Camouflage
  • Construction
  • Middle East
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Resilience
  • Second World War
  • Security
  • Suez Canal
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Strategic Security Studies