The Valiant October

The 1973 October 6 War is best remembered for restoring the pride and glory of the Arabs who had been reeling under the humiliation of the 1967 defeat. For the first time in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict that started in 1948, the war showed Israel was not invincible. For the leadership and ordinary Israelis, the war represented a crack in their psyche. Its 30th anniversary today is seen as a political landmark in the history of the modern Middle East.

The decision to go to war by Egypt and Syria was made to restore an equilibrium in the balance of power which tilted towards Israel as a result of the loss of Sinai and the Golan Heights in 1967. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was facing domestic and regional pressure to act because of the worsening local economy and Egypt's role as regional leader was being questioned.

Although at the end of the three-week-old conflict, Israel gained the upper hand and superpower intervention led to a brief nuclear alert, the war proved the Egyptian and Syrian armies, supported by other Arab countries, were a formidable force.

Unwilling to pay heed to Sadat, who was calling for the return of taken Arab lands in return for his willingness to sign a peace treaty, Israel was taken completely by surprise and off-guard.

It failed to read Cairo's intentions and seriousness and thought the Egyptian army was too weak to contemplate going to war. In fact, Sadat deliberately embarked on a strategy to make it look like his army was in disarray.

But this was to change on October 6, 1973, at 2 pm, "zero hour", when Egypt and Syria launched a joint attack from the north at the Golan and in the south in Sinai. With the Yom Kippur holiday in Israel, it was difficult for the country to mobilise, so they lost many hours before they could bring their forces together.

Co-ordinated action

This was crucial for it was essential for any antagonist to gain the upper hand at the early stage of the campaign. Unlike 1967, Egypt devised a plan and a strategy to co-ordinate its artillery, infantry and armoured units in one onslaught against Israeli fortifications on the Bar Lev line. Its army slowly crossed the Suez Canal, making its way into the Sinai Peninsula.

About 48,000 soldiers crossed the canal in the first two hours of the campaign, bringing with them 2,000 artillery pieces, tanks, personnel carriers, anti-tank guided weapons, surface-to-air missiles and different SAM batteries.

With co-ordinated action by the Syrians in the north, the Israelis were bewildered as to which front to concentrate on. Their politicians and military commanders were at a loss and decided to concentrate on the Golan Heights, giving the Egyptian forces the upper hand.

The tenacity and organisation of the two Arab armies were a blow to Israeli morale with Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Dayan saying "we have lost the Commonwealth", a biblical reference to the destruction of Israel.

The 1973 Ramadan War, as it is known in the Arab world, was a battle for new ideas. Much military thought went into the war, and new doctrines and strategies were introduced.

Recognising Israeli air superiority which it used effectively in the 1967 war, Egyptian and Syrian strategists decided to create a thick belt of surface-to-air missiles of SAM anti-aircraft batteries that would provide an umbrella for the Arab ground offensive and repel Israeli phantom jets.

In the first three days of the war, Israel lost 50 military aeroplanes (one-fourth of its total strength) and over 100 during the duration of the conflict.

The Egyptian forces also introduced the concept of combined arms operations into modern military thought and strategy. This meant all the elements of warfare should proceed together against an enemy to produce fatal blows.

According to one Israeli soldier, their usual offensive posture was met with a barrage of Egyptian soldiers and armour. In the first 48 hours of the war, Israel lost 500 soldiers.

Israel's fortunes turned around in the second stage of the campaign but this was due to the massive airlift it received from the United States that sent cargo aeroplanes of tanks, planes and other military necessities on a daily basis.

As a result the Syrians were pushed backwards and the Egyptian Third Army was surrounded, with the Israelis crossing the Suez Canal and at one stage being 60 miles from Cairo. By then the war had assumed international dimensions with super-power implications.

Both the Soviet Union and the Americans who supported different parties in the Middle East were not about to let any of their friends fall. So a ceasefire began on October 22. But this had to be reimposed just two days later, on October 24, after Israel refused to abide by it and through the threat of a new super-power confrontation in the area.

Although the loss to Egypt amounted to 1,100 tanks, 200 aircraft and 8,000 lives, with 15,000 prisoners, Sadat and the Syrian President claimed a moral victory despite the fact Sinai and the Golan stayed under Israeli occupation.

Arab pride had been restored. Israel could no longer claim military superiority and there was international realisation that comprehensive peace in the Middle East is a must for world peace.