Bill Cameron
Banned
Again, do you think the Syrian high command was gripped with insanity, completely ignorant of the situation, or did they actually know what they were doing?
Joseph,
Insane? No.
Incompetent? Definitely.
As has already been explained, replacing new tanks is no the same as replacing crews. Most of the Syrians with the most experience operating Soviet tanks are dead on the Golan.
Syria is going to be attacking with fewer forces overall, attacking with greener forces overall, attacking with "allies" who've they've never trained with, and attacking without the benefit of surprise. It would have been a massacre.
Syria's performance in 1973 was so horrific that they lost the war for Egypt. Amazingly, Egypt had actually managed to plan, practice, and carry out a successful operation along the banks of the canal. They'd won their part of the war and were dug in under SAM coverage presenting Israel with the prospect of a rather daunting attack.
Then Syria got its ass kicked.
Egypt had to leave that SAM umbrella, those fortifications, and those pre-war plans to move out into the Sinai to try and relieve the pressure on Syria. The Israeli commanders most have danced with joy when the Egyptians left their defenses and put themselves in a position where they could be smashed.
New tanks shipped fresh from the USSR isn't going to replace the dead crews trained to operate them and isn't going to provide the skills needed to lead them in battle.
Bill