sourced story
6-25 October 1973Reputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Egypt Attacks Across the Suez Canal in the October War

Sadat launches a surprise war to break the deadlock with Israel and win back the Sinai

On the timeline · around 6-25 October 1973 · Modern EgyptModern EgyptEgypt Attacks Across the Suez Canal in the October War19401950196019701980199020002010

Quick facts

War began
6 October 1973, on Yom Kippur
Egyptian leader
Anwar Sadat
Opening move
Egyptian crossing of the Suez Canal into the Sinai
Consequence
Paved the way for the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty

What happened

After Nasser's death in 1970, his successor Anwar Sadat inherited a country still humiliated by the loss of the Sinai Peninsula in the 1967 war and unable to afford an endless confrontation with Israel. On 6 October 1973, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated surprise attack on Israeli forces holding the Sinai and the Golan Heights. Egyptian troops swept across the Suez Canal deep into the Sinai in the opening days, before Israel recovered and counterattacked, crossing to the west bank of the canal by the time a ceasefire ended the fighting on 25 October. Although Egypt did not win a clear military victory, the initial success restored Egyptian and Arab confidence and gave Sadat the political standing to pursue a negotiated settlement.

Why it matters

The October War broke the frozen stalemate that had followed the 1967 defeat and set the stage for peace: the initial Egyptian successes gave Sadat the prestige and leverage to open negotiations with Israel, leading directly to the Camp David Accords of 1978 and the Egypt-Israel peace treaty of 1979 that returned the Sinai to Egypt. The war also triggered an Arab oil embargo against Israel's Western supporters that reshaped the global economy.

How we know

The October 1973 attack, Sadat's strategy, and the war's role in paving the way for the 1979 peace treaty are documented by the US Department of State's Office of the Historian, and Egypt's advance across the Suez Canal and Sadat's motives are independently documented by History.

Sources

See something wrong? . Corrections with a source get fixed fastest.

Part of a timelineHistory of Egypt24 events · A country ruled from Rome, Damascus, Baghdad, Istanbul, London, and finally itself again, and a river that outlasted every one of themView all →
Egypt Attacks Across the Suez Canal in the October War · History of Egypt · SourcedStory