Yom Kippur War

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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 Egyptian soldiers with a portrait of Anwar Sadat
Date 6–25 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
Israel	Egypt Syria Expeditionary forces  Saudi Arabia[1][page needed]  Algeria[2]  Jordan Libya Iraq  Kuwait[3]  Tunisia[4]  Morocco[5]  Cuba[6]  North Korea[7][8]
Commanders and leaders
Golda Meir Ephraim Katzir Moshe Dayan David Elazar Israel Tal Shmuel Gonen Yitzhak Hofi Binyamin Peled Haim Bar-Lev Albert Mandler † Ariel Sharon	Anwar Sadat Ahmad Ismail Ali Saad El Shazly Hosni Mubarak Abdel Ghani el-Gamasy Hafez al-Assad Mustafa Tlass
Strength
375,000[11]–415,000 troops 1,700 tanks[12] 3,000 armored carriers 945 artillery units[a] 440 combat aircraft	Egypt 650,000[11]–850,000[13][14] troops (200,000 crossed)[citation needed] 1,700 tanks (1,020 crossed)[15] 2,400 armored carriers 1,120 artillery units[a] 400 combat aircraft 140 helicopters[16] 104 naval vessels 150 surface-to-air missile batteries (62 in the front line)[17] Syria 150,000[11]-300.000[18] troops 1,200 tanks 800–900 armored carriers 600 artillery units[a][19] Expeditionary forces 120,000 troops[11] 500–670 tanks[20][21] 700 armored carriers[20] Saudi Arabia 23,000 troops (3,000 crossed)[22][3][23][24] Morocco 5,500 troops[25][26] 30 tanks provided by Syria[25][26] Cuba 500[27]–1,000[28] 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
Casualties and losses
2,521[29]–2,800[30][31] dead 7,250[32]–8,800[30] wounded 293 captured 400 tanks destroyed, 663 damaged or captured[33] 407 armored vehicles destroyed or captured 102–387 aircraft destroyed[34][35]	Egypt 5,000[30]–15,000[36] dead 8,372 captured[37] Syria 3,000[30]–3,500[36] dead 392 captured[37] Morocco 6 dead[5] 6 captured[37] Iraq 278 dead 898 wounded[38] 13 captured[37] Cuba 180 dead 250 wounded[6] Jordan 23 dead 77 wounded[38] Total 8,000[30]–18,500[36] dead 18,000[30]–35,000[32] wounded 8,783 captured 2,250[39]–2,300[40] tanks destroyed 341[30]–514[41] aircraft destroyed 19 naval vessels sunk[42]

The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War,^[43] the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, 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.

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