Photo By Lori Stewart | Elements of the 1st Infantry Division (Blue Forces) launch an attack against the 3d...... read more read more
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by COL (Ret.) Jerry Jones and Lori S. Stewart, USAICoE Command Historian
25 OCTOBER 1973
On 25 October 1973, the United Nations negotiated a cease fire in the Yom Kippur War, bringing to a tenuous end the twenty-day war. During this period, the 1st Infantry Division was deployed to Germany from Fort Riley, Kansas, for the REFORGER V exercise. While in Germany, the division’s G-2 section found itself supporting one of the Army’s largest exercises while unexpectedly also monitoring developments of the Yom Kippur War. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of that war.
The 1st Infantry Division had returned from REFORGER IV in March and, almost immediately, the division’s commander, Maj. Gen. G. J. Duquemin, began preparing his unit for the next iteration. The division G-2, Lt. Col. J. Barrie Williams, also began preparing his section, the strength of which was substantially increased with the end of American combat involvement in Vietnam. The division’s 337th Army Security Agency Company initiated coordination with its counterparts in Germany. The 1st MI Company began creating the needed intelligence products. The Imagery Interpretation Platoon developed imagery of the exercise area, including 1:50,000-scale map books for senior division leaders. The Analysis and Production Section produced documents describing the terrain and Orange Forces’ potential courses of action during the field portion of REFORGER. Finally, in coordination with the division’s military police unit, the Interrogation Platoon trained to establish prisoner-of-war cages, while the Counterintelligence Section coordinated with the 66th MI Group.
Phase I of REFORGER V ran from 29 September through 9 October. During this time, 11,125 individuals from the 1st Infantry Division, eight non-divisional units, and a brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood flew into airfields at Rhein Main, Ramstein, and Stuttgart-Echterdingen in Germany. The force then moved to assembly areas southwest of Nuremberg. From 10-19 October, Phase II—Exercise Certain Charge—involved extensive offensive and defensive maneuvers for U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR), Canadian, and West German units. The final phase was to begin on 20 October, when the U.S.-based units moved to the major training area at Grafenwoehr for final maintenance activities and test-firing of all major weapons systems.
Before Phase I concluded, war broke out in the Middle East. On 6 October 1973, the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack against Israel. Seizing a foothold on the eastern bank of the Israeli-occupied Sinai Peninsula, Egypt attempted to negotiate the return of territory Israel had held since 1967. When Israel crossed the Suez Canal and cut off the Egyptian 3rd Army, Egypt requested military support from the Soviet Union. In response, the Soviets placed several airborne divisions and air force units on alert and deployed warships into the Mediterranean.
While the war continued in the Sinai, the 1st Infantry Division (Blue Force) was engaging the 3d Infantry Division (Orange Force) in Exercise Certain Charge. Throughout the exercise, Colonel Williams’ G-2 section maintained a running estimate of the exercise in Germany while simultaneously keeping senior leaders current on the situation in the Middle East. Even after moving to Grafenwoehr, the G-2 continued reporting on the war’s developments while also preparing its after action report on the exercise. When the Soviet Union’s actions led the United States to put the 82d Airborne Division on alert, the USAREUR commanding general halted the redeployment of REFORGER units and directed General Duquemin to plan for deployment to Israel instead. The 1st Infantry Division’s G-2 pivoted to this new directive, increasing its development of intelligence products for its leaders and developing plans for movement.
Fortunately, by 25 October, a United Nations Security Council cease fire had been negotiated. The 1st Infantry Division’s movement to the Middle East was canceled, and it was finally able to redeploy to Fort Riley beginning 30 October. To wrap up the G-2’s activities over the previous two months, Colonel Williams directed his section to produce a review of the Yom Kippur War, which was disseminated throughout the division. Concurrently, he began preparing for REFORGER 74, scheduled to begin the following September.
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| Date Taken: | 10.20.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 10.20.2023 16:15 |
| Story ID: | 456244 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 345 |
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