Yom Kippur War

Yom Kippur War
Part of the Arab–Israeli conflict and the Cold War

Clockwise from top-left:
  • Israeli tanks crossing the Suez Canal
  • Israeli Nesher variant of the Mirage V fighter jet flying over the Golan Heights
  • Israeli soldier praying in the Sinai Peninsula
  • Israeli troops evacuating wounded personnel
  • Egyptian troops raising the flag of Egypt at a former Israeli position in the Sinai Peninsula
  • Israeli soldiers with a portrait of Anwar Sadat
Date6–25 October 1973
(2 weeks and 5 days)
Location
Golan Heights, Sinai Peninsula, Suez Canal (both banks) and surrounding regions
Result See § Aftermath
Territorial
changes
  • At the final ceasefire:
  • Egyptian forces held 1,200 km2 (460 sq mi) on the eastern bank of the canal.[9]
  • Israeli forces held 1,600 km2 (620 sq mi) on the western bank of the canal.[10]
  • Israeli forces held 500 km2 (193 sq mi) of the Syrian Bashan region of the Golan Heights.
Belligerents
  • Egypt
  • Syria
Expeditionary forces
Saudi Arabia[1]
Algeria[2]
Jordan
Libya
Iraq
Kuwait[3]
Tunisia[4]
Morocco[5]
Cuba[6]
North Korea[7][8]
 Israel
Commanders and leaders
Strength
Egypt
650,000[11]–850,000[12][13] troops (200,000 crossed)
1,700 tanks (1,020 crossed)[14]
2,400 armored carriers
1,120 artillery units[a]
400 combat aircraft
140 helicopters[15]
104 naval vessels
150 surface-to-air missile batteries (62 in the front line)[16]
Syria
150,000[11]-300,000[17] troops
1,200 tanks
800–900 armored carriers
600 artillery units[a][18]
Expeditionary forces
120,000 troops[11]
500–670 tanks[19][20]
700 armored carriers[19]
Saudi Arabia
23,000 troops (3,000 crossed)[21][3][22][23]
Morocco
5,500 troops[24][25]
30 tanks provided by Syria[24][25]
Cuba
500[26]–1,000[27] troops
Total
914,000–1,067,500 troops
3,430–3,600 tanks
3,900–4,000 armored carriers
1,720 artillery units
452 combat aircraft
140 helicopters
104 naval vessels
150 surface-to-air missile batteries
  • 375,000[11]–415,000 troops
  • 1,700 tanks[28]
  • 3,000 armored carriers
  • 945 artillery units[a]
  • 440 combat aircraft
Casualties and losses
Egypt
5,000[29]–15,000[30] dead
8,372 captured[31]
Syria
3,000[29]–3,500[30] dead
392 captured[31]
Morocco
6 dead[5]
6 captured[31]
Iraq
278 dead
898 wounded[32]
13 captured[31]
Cuba
180 dead
250 wounded[6]
Jordan
23 dead
77 wounded[32]
Kuwait
18 dead [33]
Total
8,000[29]–18,500[30] dead
18,000[29]–35,000[34] wounded
8,783 captured
2,250[35]–2,300[36] tanks destroyed
341[29]–514[37] aircraft destroyed
19 naval vessels sunk[38]
  • 2,521[39]–2,800[29][40] dead
  • 7,250[34]–8,800[29] wounded
  • 293 captured
  • 400 tanks destroyed, 663 damaged or captured[41]
  • 407 armored vehicles destroyed or captured
  • 102–387 aircraft destroyed[42][43]

The Yom Kippur War,[b] also known as the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, the fourth Arab–Israeli War, the October War,[c] or the Ramadan War,[d] was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. Most of the fighting occurred in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, territories occupied by Israel in 1967. Some combat also took place in mainland Egypt and northern Israel.[44][45][46] Egypt aimed to secure a foothold on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal and use it to negotiate the return of the Sinai Peninsula.[47]

The war started on 6 October 1973, when the Arab coalition launched a surprise attack across their respective frontiers during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, which coincided with the 10th day of Ramadan.[48] The United States and Soviet Union engaged in massive resupply efforts for their allies (Israel and the Arab states, respectively),[49][50][51] which heightened tensions between the two superpowers.[52]

Egyptian and Syrian forces crossed their respective ceasefire lines with Israel, advancing into the Sinai and Golan Heights. Egyptian forces crossed the Suez Canal in Operation Badr, establishing positions, while Syrian forces gained territory in the Golan Heights. The Egyptian forces continued the advance into Sinai on 14 October to relieve the Syrian front which was coming under increasing pressure. After three days, Israel halted the Egyptian advance and pushed most of the Syrians back to the Purple Line. Israel then launched a counteroffensive into Syria, shelling the outskirts of Damascus.

Israeli forces exploited the failed Egyptian advance to breach the Suez Canal, advancing north toward Ismailia and south toward Suez to sever the Egyptian Second and Third Armies, with some units pushing west. However, their advance met fierce resistance on all fronts. Both sides accepted a UN-brokered ceasefire on 22 October,[53] though it collapsed the day after amid mutual accusations of violations. With the renewed fighting, Israel succeeded in advancing south, materializing the threat to the Third Army’s supply lines, but failed to capture Suez.[54] A second ceasefire on 25 October officially ended the conflict.

The Yom Kippur War had significant consequences. The Arab world, humiliated by the 1967 defeat, felt psychologically vindicated by its early and late successes in 1973. Meanwhile, Israel, despite battlefield achievements, recognized that future military dominance was uncertain. These shifts contributed to the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, leading to the 1978 Camp David Accords, when Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, and the Egypt–Israel peace treaty, the first time an Arab country recognized Israel. Egypt drifted away from the Soviet Union, eventually leaving the Eastern Bloc.

  1. ^ O'Ballance (1978), pp. 201.
  2. ^ Shazly (2003), p. 278.
  3. ^ a b Rabinovich (2004), pp. 464–465.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference tlas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Mahjoub Tobji (2006). Les officiers de Sa Majesté: Les dérives des généraux marocains 1956–2006 (in French). Fayard. p. 107. ISBN 978-2-213-63015-1.
  6. ^ a b Ra'anan, G. D. (1981). The Evolution of the Soviet Use of Surrogates in Military Relations with the Third World, with Particular Emphasis on Cuban Participation in Africa. Santa Monica: Rand Corporation. p. 37
  7. ^ Shazly (2003), pp. 83–84.
  8. ^ Cenciotti, David. "Israeli F-4s Actually Fought North Korean MiGs During the Yom Kippur War". Business Insider.
  9. ^ Rabinovich (2004), p. 467.
  10. ^ Morris (2011), p. 437.
  11. ^ a b c d Rabinovich (2004), p. 54.
  12. ^ Herzog (1975), p. 239.
  13. ^ Gilbert, Martin (2008). Israel: A History (Revised ed.). Harper Perenial. p. 436. ISBN 978-0688123635.
  14. ^ Shazly (2003), p. 244.
  15. ^ Shazly (2003), p. 272.
  16. ^ Haber & Schiff (2003), pp. 30–31.
  17. ^ Gilbert, Martin (2008). Israel: A History (Revised ed.). Harper Perenial. p. 436. ISBN 978-0688123635.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference knapp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ a b Rabinovich (2004), p. 314.
  20. ^ Bar-On (2004), p. 170.
  21. ^ Neil Partrick (2016). Saudi Arabian Foreign Policy: Conflict and Cooperation. Bloomsbury. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-85772-793-0.
  22. ^ "بطولات السعوديين حاضرة.. في الحروب العربية". Okaz. 17 November 2019. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference cmu1978 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ a b Touchard, Laurent (7 November 2013). "Guerre du Kippour: quand le Maroc et l'Algérie se battaient côte à côte" (in French). Jeune Afrique. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  25. ^ a b "Le jour où Hassan II a bombardé Israël". Le Temps (in French). Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  26. ^ Williams, John Hoyt (1 August 1988). "Cuba: Havana's Military Machine". The Atlantic. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  27. ^ The Cuban Intervention in Angola, 1965–1991. Routledge. 2004. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-134-26933-4.
  28. ^ Insight Team of the London Sunday Times, pp. 372–373.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g Gawrych (2000), p. 243.
  30. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference autogenerated87 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference autogenerated2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ a b Dunstan, p. 200.
  33. ^ "قائمة الشرف.. شهداء الكويت في حرب أكتوبر 1973". al watan. 17 May 2025.
  34. ^ a b Rabinovich (2004), p. 497.
  35. ^ Rabinovich (2004), pp. 496–497.
  36. ^ Gawrych (2000), p. 244.
  37. ^ Cite error: The named reference Herzog, 260 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  38. ^ Herzog (1975), p. 269.
  39. ^ Schiff (1974), p. 328.
  40. ^ Journal "الأهرام","Al Ahram". 14 October 1974
  41. ^ Rabinovich (2004), p. 496.
  42. ^ Cite error: The named reference White House Military Briefing was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  43. ^ "القوة الثالثة، تاريخ القوات الجوية المصرية." Third Power: History of Egyptian Air Force Ali Mohammed Labib. pp. 187
  44. ^ Rabinovich (2004), p. 260.
  45. ^ Herzog (1975).
  46. ^ Herzog (1975), p. 288.
  47. ^ James Bean and Craig Girard (2001). "Anwar al-Sadat's grand strategy in the Yom Kippur War" (PDF). National War College. pp. 1, 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  48. ^ el-Gamasy (1993), p. 181.
  49. ^ Cite error: The named reference GutfeldVanetik2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  50. ^ Rodman, David (29 July 2015). "The Impact of American Arms Transfers to Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War". Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs. 7 (3): 107–114. doi:10.1080/23739770.2013.11446570. S2CID 141596916. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  51. ^ Levey, Zach (7 October 2008). "Anatomy of an airlift: United States military assistance to Israel during the 1973 war". Cold War History. 8 (4): 481–501. doi:10.1080/14682740802373552. S2CID 154204359. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  52. ^ Quandt (2005), pp. 104–105.
  53. ^ Hammad (2002), pp. 237–276; Gawrych (1996), p. 60.
  54. ^ Geroux, John Spencer, Jayson (13 January 2022). "Urban Warfare Project Case Study #4: Battle of Suez City". Modern War Institute. Retrieved 28 September 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)


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