The Crossing is a term used in Egypt to refer to the west to east crossing of the Suez Canal by the Egyptian army at the start of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. It is also a term used by some Israelis to refer to the east to west counter-attack crossing of the Suez Canal by the Israeli army led by General Ariel Sharon later in that war. 1881 drawing of the Suez Canal The Suez Canal (Arabic, Qanā al-Suways), west of the Sinai Peninsula, is a 163-km maritime canal in Egypt between Port Said (BÅ«r SaÄ«d) on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez (al-Suways) on the Red Sea. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War (Hebrew: מלחמת יום הכיפורים; transliterated: Milkhemet Yom HaKipurim or מלחמת יום כיפור Milkhemet Yom Kipur; Arabic: حرب أكتوبر; transliterated: Harb October or حرب تشرين transliterated: Harb Tishrin), also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 (the day of Yom Kippur) to October... Jump to: navigation, search 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ... The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ההגנה לישראל Tsva Ha-Haganah Le-Yisrael ([Army] Force [for] the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels armed forces (army, air force and navy). ... Jump to: navigation, search Ariel Sharon, the eleventh Prime Minister of Israel, spent many years in the Israel Defense Forces before being elected in March 2001. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War (Hebrew: מלחמת יום הכיפורים; transliterated: Milkhemet Yom HaKipurim or מלחמת יום כיפור Milkhemet Yom Kipur; Arabic: حرب أكتوبر; transliterated: Harb October or حرب تشرين transliterated: Harb Tishrin), also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 (the day of Yom Kippur) to October...

Background

New Egyptian president Anwar Sadat's regime was quite unstable and threatened by student demonstrations. They were unable to force through economic reforms that they felt were necessary to Egypt's survival. Jump to: navigation, search Anwar Sadat. ...

In an attempt to restore Egyptian morale and secure the regime's position President Sadat decided to attempt to defeat Israel on the battlefield. Egypt had, for many years, suffered repeated defeat at the hands of the Israelis, most dramatically in the Six-Day War of 1967 where much of the Egyptian military had been destroyed and the Sinai peninsula across the Suez Canal had been taken by Israel. Jump to: navigation, search The Six-Day War (Hebrew: מלחמת ששת הימים transliteration: Milhemet Sheshet Hayamim), also known as the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Six Days War, or June War, was fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Egyptian military, among the largest in the region, includes an Army, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Command. ... Jump to: navigation, search Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 Sinai redirects here. ... 1881 drawing of the Suez Canal The Suez Canal (Arabic, Qanā al-Suways), west of the Sinai Peninsula, is a 163-km maritime canal in Egypt between Port Said (Būr Saīd) on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez (al-Suways) on the Red Sea. ...

President Sadat hoped to overwhelm the Israeli forces stationed there. His Soviet advisors thought otherwise and argued that it would take many days of fighting and a 50% casualty rate for Egypt to capture the canal, but he decided to proceed anyway. Jump to: navigation, search State motto (Russian): Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Socialist republics/ Communist state Last Premier Ivan Silayev Last President Mikhail Gorbachev Area  - Total  - % water Largest on the planet 22,402...

Egyptian Attack

The 1973 War in the Sinai, October 6-15.

Egypt, in cooperation with Syria, launched the attack on October 6, 1973. Initially, it was a spectacular success. Within hours over 80 000 Egyptian soldiers crossed the canal. The Israelis had constructed a massive line of fortifications along the canal called the Bar Lev Line, which they considered impregnable. The heart of these defences were massive sand banks with a series of 43 manned installations. The Israelis had calculated that blasting through the sand barriers would take several hours, however the Egyptians solved this problem by using pressurized water to quickly erode the hills. The Israeli's back-up plan had been to redirect the nearby oil pipeline into the canal and set it alight. However, the night before Egyptian saboteurs had managed to disable the pipeline. In the initial attack only 200 Egyptians lost their lives. It was the first Arab victory over the Israelis in a generation. Behind the initial defensive line the Israelis had a large armoured reserve. These were immediately dispatched to contain the breach. However they were sent without infantry or air support (due to heavy SAM cover provided by batteries situated on the Western side of the canal) and the tanks took heavy losses from Egyptian infantry armed with new Soviet-supplied anti-tank guided missiles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The Egyptian forces rushed north into the Sinai. Download high resolution version (1000x765, 63 KB)Sinai maps, from the US Military Academy History archives (copyright US government?) Source: Department of History, U.S. Military Academy File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1000x765, 63 KB)Sinai maps, from the US Military Academy History archives (copyright US government?) Source: Department of History, U.S. Military Academy File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Jump to: navigation, search October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in Leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ... Israel along the eastern coast of the Suez Canal after it captured the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt during the 1967 Six-Day War. ... An elevated section of the Alaska Pipeline Pipeline transport is a transportation of goods through a tube. ... A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. ...

Israeli Counter-attack

The 1973 War in the Sinai, October 15-24.

After the assault, Egyptian forces dug-in and tried to hold defensive positions in the Sinai. This proved unsuccessful because Israeli forces, with its reserves now fully mobilized and on the offensive and helped by an American resupply airlift (the Soviets were also at the same time resupplying the Arab forces), forced the Egyptians to either retreat or surrender in the northern areas near the canal, and in the southern areas, under General Ariel Sharon the Israelis were able to counter-attack and cross the Suez Canal to the Western bank into Egypt's heartland and head for its capital Cairo. This crossing also enabled Israeli commandos to mount ground operations to disable the Soviet heavy SAM batteries situated on the Western bank of the canal which protected the Egyptian forces which previously crossed to the Eastern side of the canal. This placed Egyptian forces wide open to attack by the Israeli Air Force. The crossing also marked the first time in history that the IDF had waged war on African soil. Eventually the Israelis managed to completely surround and cut off the Egyptian Third Army on the Southeastern side of the canal and were thus in a position to anihilate it. It was only after US pressure to spare the Third Army that the Israelis agreed not to destory the besieged force. President Sadat nearly lost his gamble. However, other parties were now in play, the Soviet Union threatened to mobilize its forces, the UN made strong appeals, OPEC started the 1973 oil crisis and the precarious situation of the Egyptian Third Army which was in dire need of resupply since it was running short of food and water led Israel and Egypt to agree to a cease-fire. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1165x894, 169 KB) Summary Sinai maps, from the US Military Academy History archives (copyright US government?) Source: Department of History, U.S. Military Academy URL: [1] Background information: Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Yom Kippur War... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1165x894, 169 KB) Summary Sinai maps, from the US Military Academy History archives (copyright US government?) Source: Department of History, U.S. Military Academy URL: [1] Background information: Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Yom Kippur War... A C-5 Galaxy unloads an M-60 Patton Tank at Ben Gurion International Airport. ... Jump to: navigation, search Ariel Sharon, the eleventh Prime Minister of Israel, spent many years in the Israel Defense Forces before being elected in March 2001. ... Jump to: navigation, search Although technically in Giza, The Great Pyramids have become a symbol of Cairo internationally Cairo (Arabic: القاهرة; transliterated: al-Qāhirah) is the capital city of Egypt (and previously the United Arab Republic) and has a metropolitan area population of approximately 15. ... The Israeli Air Force (IAF) (Hebrew: חיל האוויר Heyl haAvir) is the Air branch of the Israel Defense Force. ... IDF or idf may refer to: the International Diabetes Federation the Israel Defense Forces the AIDC Ching-kuo Indigenous Defence Fighter of Taiwan. ... // Etymology World map showing Africa (geographically) The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra — land of the Afri (plural, or Afer singular) — for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to... This article is about the United Nations, for other uses of UN see UN (disambiguation) Official languages English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic Secretary-General Kofi Annan (since 1997) Established October 24, 1945 Member states 191 Headquarters New York City, NY, USA Official site http://www. ... Logo The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is made up of Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela; since 1965, its international headquarters have been in Vienna, Austria. ... Jump to: navigation, search At the height of the crisis in the United States, drivers of vehicles with odd numbered license plates were allowed to purchase gasoline only on odd-numbered days of the month, while drivers with even-numbers were limited to even-numbered days. ...

Analysis

Egypt's crossing had achieved President Sadat's aims, although in somewhat unexpected ways. It had forced the two superpowers to once again focus more intensely on the Middle East. Egypt's initial short-term victory also greatly reinforced President Sadat's domestic position. For the rest of his life he was referred to as "The Hero of the Crossing," and this status let his often corrupt and incompetent regime persist until his assassination in 1981. The attack, combined with pressure from the United States, also brought Israel to the negotiating table and in 1977 the Camp David Accords, a comprehensive Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, was signed, which among other things saw the Sinai eventually returned to Egypt in return for Egypt's official recognition of the State of Israel and the establishment of normal diplomatic relations with Israel, and a commitment to live in peace with the Jewish state. A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ... Anwar Sadat (left), Jimmy Carter (center), and Menachem Begin (right) shake hands in celebration of the success of the Camp David Accords The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at... Jump to: navigation, search The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity; and often a combination of...