At 14:15 (UTC+2) on Saturday 6th of October 1973, over the 1 main circuit (1-MC) aboard the US Navy’s Amphibious Command Ship LCC-20 Mount Whitney the ships bell sounds clang, clang, clang, clang clang, as the Bos’n watch on duty announces in a booming voice, " General Quarters, General Quarters! This is not s drill, This is not a drill, General Quarters, General Quarters All hands man your battle stations. clang, clang, clang, clang. https://archive.org/details/GeneralQuartersBattleStations
There are a few times in your life where you have to react and not think. Your training has to overcome your fear. We had many drills for battle stations, but this was the first, “Not a drill”. My first action was to put on my pants and shirts, slip on my boots and race to the photo lab. I kept repeating to myself, up the starboard then across the amidships and down the port to the photo lab. The photographers mate on duty will have gathered up the necessary camera and film that would be needed at my General Quarters station, the bridge.
The bridge is nine decks above the photo lab. Up the starboard side, ladder and ladder crowed with others scrambling to their duty station. Other sailors and officers are swearing on their way to their General Quarters and saying, “What the F&^% is it this time”….a fire in the incinerator or has the ship lost main power again. It was not a fire, this was General Quarter for battle stations, not a fire. “This is not a drill.” The ship was underway and you could feel the speed pick up from the normal 10 knots to a faster speed, maybe 15 knots and we were listing to port.
The Mount Whitney was in the Mediterranean on a three-month deployment, leaving Norfolk homeport on August 31. “Fat Albert” as some of the crew refers to our ship, was participating a NATO exercise Deep Furrow 73 at Antalya, Turkey from September 20 to 29 and arrived in Istanbul, Turkey on 30 September for a five-day port visit.
My general quarters' station on the bridge which was on the third deck above the main deck. My workstation was on the sixth deck below the main deck. I had 2 minutes to climb 9 decks to reach the bridge carrying my photo equipment. If I was in our sleeping quarters on the fifth deck below the main deck, I would have to go up to the 4th deck to find the ladder down to the sixth deck and the photo lab, grab my ready bag of camera equipment, film, flashes, and extra lenses. This adds three more decks to travel to the 9 decks from the photo lab. Once on the bridge, my job was to take pictures of all the battle station action; firing of the Phalanx close in weapons support, or the M 242 bushmaster 25mm auto cannon or the 50 cals machine guns
Sailors from every department rush to put on their flash gear to assume their respective stations. Every crew member has a GQ where he reports when the GQ is called. It is also called “Beating too quarters,” gets ready for combat. This was the general quarter for a battle station and it was not a drill. Crew members wear their battle gear, ready the guns, and are ready to engage in combat.
During GQ, and life aboard ship becomes restricted. Crewmembers who were off-duty when GQ was sounded have to go their general quarters' station. Foodservice and water supply were suspended, including water for cooking, showers, and flushing toilets. In some instances, even drinking water was unavailable. Other life-support systems, such as air-circulation and air conditioning, was be scaled back or suspended completely to save energy or fuel for combat systems or emergency-response systems.
All hatches between a compartment and between decks are dogged down to make that compartment watertight. No person may enter a battle station unless they are assigned there. During GQ, no watertight hatch, fireproof hatch or any other secured entry-point may be opened without express permission from the senior crewman responsible for that area or from the ship's captain/bridge. Because of that, normal movement throughout the ship is usually not allowed at all, and when it is allowed, there must be a valid reason or purpose for such movement.
I was out of breath when I arrived on the bridge but I arrived in less than two minutes. The CO Robert F. Dunn was on the bridge talking to his staff. Five minutes after GQ sounded the CO makes the following announcement, “All hands, at 1400 this afternoon a superior military force attracted Israel. The Egyptians attacked across the Sinai and the Syrians attacked across the Golan Height. At this time our mission is the evacuation of Americans from any of the Arab Country in necessary. We will remain at General Quarters until the situation changes. That is all.”
On the 6th of October the land war continued unabated, nerves in both fleets frayed. The Sinai was once again the arena of conflict between the Israelis and the Egyptians, the fifth] such occasion. The Egyptians had prepared to across the Suez Canal and deployed five divisions totaling 100,000 soldiers, 1,350 tanks and 2,000 guns and heavy mortars for the onslaught. Facing them on the Israel side were 450 soldiers of the Jerusalem Brigade, spread out in 16 forts along the length of the Canal. There were 290 Israeli tanks in all of Sinai divided into three armored brigades, and only one of these was deployed near the Canal when hostilities commenced.
Yom Kippur War started Saturday 6 October 1973 14:00 hr.(UTC +2) Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated surprise attack on Israeli forces in the Sinai and the Golan Heights. Fifteen minutes later the 6th Fleet was called to General Quarters for battle stations. The United States was at DEFCON 5, no imminent nuclear threats against the United States at this time. At 14:15 the DEFCON level changed to DEFCON 4 (Increased intelligence watch and strengthened security measures. Above normal readiness is required.
At the onset of war, the Soviet Fifth Squadron, known as Eskadra numbered 52 ships (some reports 58 surface ships), including 11 submarines – some carrying cruise missiles with nuclear warheads. At this time, the Fifth Eskadra consisted of fifty-two ships, even submarines, one SSM cruiser (Kynda class/pr. 58), one gun cruiser (Sverdlov class), five SAM destroyers (three Kashin class and two converted Kotlin class), two gun destroyers (Kotlin class), nine frigates and corvettes, two medium landing ships (Polnocny B class/pr. 771), two minesweepers, and several auxiliary vessels. Altogether, the Soviet forces were then capable of launching twenty SSMs in their first salvo.
The Sixth Fleet, commanded by Vice-Admiral Daniel Murphy, consisted of 48 vessels including the carriers Independence, then in port in Greece, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt, in Spain, each accompanied by escorts. There were also a helicopter carrier and amphibious vessels carrying 2,000 marines. On 6 October, there were forty-eight U.S. warships in the Mediterranean. The force consisted of its flagship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20), at sea south of Crete, four SSNs on patrol in the Mediterranean, and Task Forces (TFs) 60 and 61.105 Task Group (TG) 60.1 consisted of the Independence and its group, then in Athens; the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA 42) group, then in various Spanish ports, made up TG 60.2. TF 61, the amphibious force, at this point included the helicopter carrier USS Guadalcanal (LPH 7) and nine other amphibious ships, carrying a Marine battalion landing team (about three thousand men).
The Russian squadron and the US Sixth Fleet circled each other hundreds of miles out to sea in a bizarre dance, looking into the other’s eyes for the first hint of hostile intent. More than 150 vessels, including three carrier task forces and more than 30 submarines, some with nuclear warheads, maneuvered around each other, their commanders’ fingers on the button. It was the largest naval confrontation of the Cold War, much larger than the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. But with the world’s attention focused on the fierce, two-front land war, the US-Soviet encounter at sea would go virtually unnoticed.
The Mount Whitney orders were the planning for the evacuation of American citizens from the war zone. There were an estimated 60,000 Americans in the area, 45,000 of them in Israel. The Mount Whitney planning focused on the evacuation of those in Arab countries.
Like most of the aircraft carrier fleet, the Mount Whitney had a JIC (Joint Intel Center) to support the mission. The intelligent center of the combatant command headquarters, like most of the aircraft carrier fleet, the Mount Whitney had a JIC (Joint Intel Center ) to support the mission. The joint intelligent center is responsible for providing and producing the intelligence required to support the combatant commander and staff, components, subordinate joint forces and elements, and the national intelligence community. The ship’s intelligence work centers coordinate to provide the commanding officer or higher embarked authority with the most up-to-date tactical picture. Most ships will have some kind of intelligence coordination center and personnel assigned to it in either a primary or collateral duty. The current C2 systems and C5I capabilities (HF/UHF/VHF/SHF /EHF) that are resident and afloat MOUNT WHITNEY are the best the Navy had. superior command and control (C2) systems, C5I capabilities and operational and planning spaces that are second to none; no other ship in the US Navy inventory even comes close to their current capabilities. They can transmit and receive large chunks of data and information unlike any other ship out there. The Joint Operations Center (JOC) and Joint Intelligence Center (JIC) that are on board these ships are simply the best the Navy has to offer.
Alleged to be the most sophisticated Command, Control, Communications, Computer, and Intelligence (C4I) ship ever commissioned, Mount Whitney incorporates various elements of the most advanced C4I equipment and gives the embarked Joint Task Force Commander the capability to effectively command all units under his or her command.
It is interesting to look back in history and see what Paul Harvey would say is the “Rest of the story”.
Oct. 6, 1973 – Egypt and Syria launch a coordinated attack on Israeli positions along the Suez Canal and in the Golan Heights. Egyptian troops cross the canal, secure a beachhead in the eastern portion of the Sinai Desert, breaching Israel’s Bar-Lev line. Syrian troops defeat Israeli forces on Mt. Hermon in northern Israel. Suddenly, at exactly 2 p.m., this hushed stillness erupted as 2,000 Egyptian artillery pieces, Katyusha rockets, howitzers, and surface-to-surface missiles blasted the canal’s eastern bank, throwing tremendous plumes of sand into the air. Israeli defensive positions years in the making were pulverized in minutes. Without warning, 222 Egyptian MiG and Sukhoi fighters came screaming out of the sky and bombed command posts, surface-to-air batteries, air bases, supply dumps, and radar installations. Simultaneously, a few hundred miles to the north, the rugged hills of the Golan Heights shook with massive explosions as 100 Syrian MiGs attacked Israeli positions and an assault force of as many as 900 tanks and 40,000 infantry crossed into Israeli territory.
The Egyptians and Syrians designed a two-front operation, coordinated from Cairo. As the Egyptians stormed across the Suez Canal and occupied part of the Sinai, Syrian forces would move to retake the Golan Heights. Military leaders for the two countries tapped the Soviet Union for help constructing the world’s most formidable surface-to-air defense systems, with SAM-2, -3, -6, and -7 missile batteries.
They bought thousands of rocket-propelled grenade launchers and AT-3 Saggers, wire-guided anti-tank missiles. Soviet T-55s and T-62s were added to the tank battalions, while air power was bolstered by MiG-17, -21, and -23 fighters and Su-7 and -20 fighter-bombers, as well as Scud surface-to-surface missiles.
At 3 p.m., Syrian commandos land on Mount Hermon dropped in by helicopters. IDF soldiers are quickly forced to move into the army post and hide. Some of the soldiers locked in to try to escape, but with no success. Over 10 soldiers are killed and more than 30 are taken as prisoners of war.
Soon after the start of the war, Israeli naval forces send five missile boats to attack Syrian boats near the Latakia coast at night. The first Syrian boat is taken down by 76 mm cannon fire. Two IDF ships are in pursuit of the second Syrian boat. Once they reach the correct range, they fire two missiles and hit the boat. The Israelis use electronic warfare techniques to evade Syrian missiles, and sink three Syrian missile boats, a torpedo boat and a mine-layer.
* Oct. 7, 1973 – Syria captures most of the southern portion of the Golan Heights.
* Oct. 8, 1973 – Israel launches its first counterattack against Egypt, which is unsuccessful. The Soviet Union supplies additional arms to Syria and Egypt.
* Oct. 9, 1973 – Against orders, reserve Maj. Gen. Ariel Sharon launches a counterattack against Egyptian forces in the canal area. Sharon’s actions lead to moves for his dismissal. The situation quickly became critical for Israel. In the first four days of the fighting, it lost 49 warplanes and almost 500 tanks. Panic swept through the Israeli government; unless the Egyptians could be turned, the entire country was at risk. In an October 9 meeting with Prime Minister Meir, Dayan discussed using the country’s nuclear arsenal—at least 13 bombs deliverable via Jericho missiles. Unwilling to deploy this ultimate weapon, Meir demanded American help. President Richard Nixon was sympathetic—his national security adviser and secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, believed that the defeat of Israel by a Soviet-armed Syria would be a geopolitical disaster—and approved $2.2 billion in supplementary military aid. The U.S. Air Force launched Operation Nickel Grass, which would airlift some 22,000 tons of jet aircraft, tanks, ammunition, and other equipment to Israel. Another 33,000 pounds of material arrived by sea. This was more than military aid; it was life support.
* Oct. 9, 1973 – U.S. Jewish leader Max Fisher urges President Richard Nixon in a meeting at the White House to “please send the Israelis what they need.” That night, Nixon tells Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir that “all your aircraft and tank losses will be replaced.” * Oct. 10, 1973 – Washington authorizes an airlift of military supplies to Israel after the Soviet Union sends additional arms to Egypt. Israel successfully attacks Egyptian troops that had moved out of range of their protective surface- to-air-missile umbrella. Israel has recaptured most of the territory in the southern Golan. By October 10, four days into the fighting, the Golan Heights was a graveyard of steel. Some 870 Syrian tanks, hundreds of artillery pieces, and thousands of other vehicles smoldered across the rocky ravines strewn with corpses. Sensing that the Syrian offensive had lost steam, the Israelis counterattacked on the 11th. Brigadier General Moshe Peled, the commander of the 146th Reserve Armored Division, struck from the south with about 110 tanks and a mechanized infantry brigade, while the 240th Reserve Division under Brigadier General Dan Laner attacked in the center. The Israelis punched a hole in the Syrian line and roared east, taking the Syrians from behind and effectively wiping out an infantry and armored brigade.
* Oct. 11, 1973 – Israel attacks Syria from its positions on the Golan Heights. The Soviet Union’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Dobrynin, tells U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger that Soviet airborne forces are on the alert to defend Damascus. Kissinger warns Dobrynin that if the Soviet forces sent troops to the Middle East, the United States would as well.
* Oct. 12-13, 1973 – The United States sends additional arms shipments to Israel.
* Oct. 14, 1973 – In one of the largest tank-to-tank battles ever fought, Israel is estimated to have lost 10 tanks, the Egyptians anywhere from 250 to 300. Iraq and Jordan send troops to the Golan, in response to appeals for assistance from Syria.
* Oct. 16, 1973 – The first Israeli troops cross the Suez Canal. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat asks the Soviet Union to convene the United Nations and seek a cease-fire. October 15 and 16, Sharon’s 143rd Reserve Armored Division crossed the canal on pontoon bridges and established a bridgehead. The Israelis also raced southeast on the Sinai, slamming into the Egyptians concentrated in an area known as the Chinese Farm.* Oct. 17, 1973 – Ten Arab member-nations of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announce they will cut oil production until Israel withdraws from Arab territory captured during the 1967 Six-Day War and the rights of the Palestinian people were “restored.” The embargo was not completely lifted until March 1974. On
* Oct. 20, 1973 – Israeli forces reach within 10 miles of Damascus.
* Oct. 21, 1973 – Israeli forces, led by reserve Maj. Gen. Avraham Adan, encircle the Egyptian Third Army. Forces led by Sharon take up positions less than 40 miles from Cairo., with the Israeli threat deepening, Sadat finally pushed for an end to the war. “I knew my capabilities,” he said later, noting the American aid to Israel. “I did not intend to fight the entire United States of America.” Kissinger flew to Moscow, where he and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev drafted a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire.
* Oct. 22, 1973 – Israel overtakes all Syrian positions on Mt. Hermon. The United Nations adopts Security Council Resolution 338, which calls for an immediate cease-fire, the implementation of Security Resolution 242, which called for an exchange of land for peace and negotiations between the “parties concerned” aimed at establishing a “just and durable peace.”
* Oct. 23, 1973 –Fighting continues despite the cease-fire. The United Nations Security Council passes Resolution 339, which restated the group’s call an immediate cease-fire and called for the dispatch of U.N. observers to the area. * Oct. 24, 1973– A second cease-fire is put into effect, but fighting continues between Egypt and Israel. As a result, the Soviet Union threatens the United States that it will send troops to support the Egyptians. The United States puts its nuclear forces on a higher alert. The Soviet Union withdraws its threat the following day.
* Oct. 28, 1973– Israeli and Egyptian military leaders meet to implement the cease-fire at Kilometer 101 marker in the Sinai. It is the first meeting between military representatives of the two countries in 25 years.
Israel has lost roughly 2,500 soldiers, Syria 3,500. Egyptian casualties are unknown. IT WAS A MESSY END to a savage war. The armor clashes had been the largest since World War II and remain some of history’s costliest. The casualty counts for Egypt and Syria topped 60,000, with more than 2,000 tanks destroyed. Though Israel saw losses of fewer than 12,000 men, the Arab attacks had delivered a body blow to its military might. By one estimate, the war cost Israel the equivalent of its gross national product for a year. In the Sinai alone, the Egyptians had destroyed 110 helicopters and aircraft, about a quarter of Israel’s air power.
The fighting here was fierce. For four days the Egyptians fought the Israelis off from behind well-prepared defenses but Adan crushed their counterattacks. The Egyptian 25th Armored Brigade, for instance, lost its entire force of armored personnel carriers and 85 of its 96 T-62s while destroying only three IDF tanks.
On October 17 or 18, Soviet officials showed Sadat and General Ahmad Ismail Ali, his war minister, satellite pictures of the expanding bridgehead that Sharon had established on the west bank of the Suez. General Shazly recommended pulling back four armored units from the Sinai to counter the threat. But Sadat, calculating the political need to hang on to Egyptian gains, ruled against a withdrawal.
