1973 War Time Line

Yom Kippur War/Ramadan War

I. Players:  Egypt & Syria (supported by the Soviet Union, Arab allies) vs. Israel (supported by the United States)

II. Objective: To regain territories lost in 1967 War by waging a two-front surprise attack on Israel on Jewish holiday

After 1967, Israel occupied east bank of Suez Canal and Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) and Golan Heights (Syria)

UN Resolution 242 disregarded by Israel, fortified its positions on the Suez (Bar-Lev Line)

III. 1973 Pre-War Planning:

Jan 13: Unified command of Egyptian and Syrian forces (Presidents Anwar Sadat and Hafez Assad)

Aug 22: Egyptian & Syrian Ministers of War & Defense meet for six days in Alexandria, Egypt

-Intentional Deception/Unintentional Distractions: Radio & news reports peaceful solutions and disapproval of violence:

Sept 13: Israeli air battle in Damascus, Syrians don't fight back

Sept 26: Austrian immigration camp at Schonau closes, PM Golda Meir wants it re-opened

October: Russian train of Jewish immigrants hijacked by Palestinian resistance terrorists

-Nocturnal mobilization: Liberation 23

Israel didn't view a threat because:

-military exercises

-defense of borders after Palestinian hijacking

-Syrian response to September's air attack

Oct 2: War Council meetings; MENA leaked that 2nd & 3rd armies "on state of alert"

Oct 3: Syrians notified D-Day was 6th, disagreements over 2pm; Jordanian warning; PM Meir considered attack "remote"

Oct 4: Soviets promise support & supplies (defense weaponry); Cairo airport flights cancelled

Oct 5: Israeli reconnaissance planes & photos, Meir's "not facing a total war;" Kissinger in NYC with Amb. Zayyat; Quran

IV. Saturday, October 6, Yom Kippur:

4am General Moshe Dayan receives phonecall of 6pm attack

1pm Meir contacts Washington, game of telephone, Amb. Zayyat still did not know

130 News of Israeli attack in Red Sea town of Zanfarra (Trigger event)

2pm War begins with initial Arab victories

4pm "The Crossing"-80,000 Egyptian crossed the "impenetrable" Bar-Lev Line; 1,100 Syrian tanks vs. 100 Israeli tanks

Israel suffers heavy losses, including 300 tanks, 150 planes

Oct 7: Syria captures southern Golan Heights, Battle of Latakia

Oct 8: Egyptian forces 15km into Sinai Desert

Oct 9: Maj. Gen. Ariel Sharon launches counter-attack against Egyptian on air & land, Nixon promises to replace all arms

Oct 10: Israel successfully attacks Egyptian & Syrian troops, Soviet Union sends additional arms

Oct 12-13: US airlifts massive amount of arms to Israel in response to Soviet Union

Oct 14: Iraq and Jordan send troops to the Golan Heights

Oct 15: Syrians pushed back to the 1967 cease-fire line

Oct 16: Israeli troops cross the Suez Canal into Egypt

Oct 17: OPEC/Gulf states engage an oil embargo on countries supporting Israel (Iraq and Saudi Arabia)

Oct 20: Israeli forces 10 mi. from Damascus

Oct 21: Israeli forces encircle Egyptian 3rd Army, Sharon's forces 40 mi. from Cairo

Oct 22: Israel overtakes all Syrian positions on Mt. Hermon, Cease-fire declared with UN Security Council Resolution 338

Oct 23: Fighting still continues

Oct 24: Second cease-fire, but fighting still continues. Soviets threaten to intervene

Oct 25: Nixon declares DEFCON-3. Soviets withdraw intervention

Oct 28: Israeli and Egyptian military leaders meet to implement cease-fire at 101km marker in Sinai

V. Casualties

Israelis lost 2,688 servicemen, several thousand injured

Egyptians, Syrians, Arab allies lost around 19,000

VI. Disengagements: Implemented by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger

Jan 1974: (Sinai 1) Israeli disengagement agreement with Egypt, Israelis withdrew from east bank of Suez Canal

Separation enforced by a United Nations Emergency Force buffer zone

May 3: Israel disengagement agreement with Syria, Israel withdrew to the 1967 cease-fire line in Golan Heights

Separation by United Nations Disengagement Observer Force buffer zone

June 1975: Suez Canal re-opened

Sept 4: (Sinai 2) Israeli disengagement agreement Egypt, Israelis behind Mitla & Geddi passes in Sinai

VII. Dual victory:

Israel suffered heavy losses, but with massive US arms support were able to devastate Arabs

Egypt and Syria regained the territories they sought after; Israel's confidence was severely shaken

VIII. Why Israel was so surprised (see also Deception/Distractions):

First time Arab countries planned/prepared for attack on Israel

Over confident after 1967; underestimated military training; relied on static borders

Middle East News Agency leak ignored; Disregarded the multiple reports of mobilization

PM Golda Meir called for Israeli mobilization only six hours before the first attack; still in session at 2pm

Annotated Bibliography

Aker, Frank. October 1973: The Arab-Israeli War. Archon: Hamden, CT, 1985.

Information on Arab allies and their contributions to the war. Offers both Arab and Israeli perspectives on the war.

Heikal, Mohamed. The Road to Ramadan. William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.: London, 1975.

Best insider information on the Egyptian perspective. Written by editor of Cairo's Al Ahram newspaper.

Herzog, Chaim. The Arab-Israeli Wars. Random House: New York, 1984.