Yom Kippur War

Yom Kippur War
a war that began on Yom Kippur in 1973 with the attack of Israel by Egypt, Syria, and Iraq: Israel recovered most of its initial losses.

* * *

Middle East [1973]
also called the  October War , the  Ramadan War , or the  Fourth Arab-Israeli War 
 damaging, inconclusive war and the fourth of the Arab-Israeli wars. The war was initiated by Egypt and Syria on Oct. 6, 1973, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur and during Ramadan (Ramaḍān), the month of fasting in Islam (Islām), and continued until Oct. 26, 1973. The war, which eventually drew both the United States and the Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) into indirect confrontation in defense of their respective allies, was launched with the diplomatic aim of convincing a chastened—if still undefeated— Israel to negotiate on terms more favourable to the Arab countries.

      The previous Arab-Israeli war, the Six-Day War (1967), was followed by years of sporadic fighting, which developed into a full-scale war in 1973. On the afternoon of October 6, Israel was attacked simultaneously on two fronts by Egypt and Syria. With the element of surprise to their advantage, Egyptian forces successfully crossed the Suez Canal with greater ease than expected, suffering only a fraction of the anticipated casualties, while Syrian forces were able to launch their offensive against Israeli positions and break through to the Golan Heights. The intensity of the Egyptian and Syrian assault, so unlike the situation in 1967, rapidly began to exhaust Israel's reserve stocks of munitions. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (Meir, Golda) turned to the United States for aid, while the Israeli general staff hastily improvised a battle strategy. The reluctance of the United States to help Israel changed rapidly when the Soviet Union commenced its own resupply effort to Egypt and Syria. U.S. Pres. Richard Nixon (Nixon, Richard M.) countered by establishing an emergency supply line to Israel, even though the Arab countries imposed a costly oil embargo and various U.S. allies refused to facilitate the arms shipments.

      With reinforcements on the way, the Israel Defense Forces (see Israel: The armed forces (Israel)) rapidly turned the tide. Israel succeeded in disabling portions of the Egyptian air defenses, which allowed Israeli forces commanded by Gen. Ariel Sharon (Sharon, Ariel) to cross the Suez Canal and surround the Egyptian Third Army. On the Golan front, Israeli troops, at heavy cost, repulsed the Syrians and advanced to the edge of the Golan plateau on the road to Damascus. On October 22 the United Nations Security Council (Security Council, United Nations) adopted resolution 338, which called for an immediate end to the fighting; despite this, however, hostilities continued for several days thereafter and finally ceased on October 26.

      Israel and Egypt signed a cease-fire agreement in November and peace agreements on Jan. 18, 1974. The accords provided for Israeli withdrawal into the Sinai (Sinai Peninsula) west of the Mitla and Gidi passes, while Egypt was to reduce the size of its forces on the east bank of the canal. A United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force established a buffer zone between the two armies. This agreement was supplemented by another, signed on Sept. 4, 1975. On May 31, 1974, Israel and Syria signed a cease-fire agreement that also covered separation of their forces by a UN buffer zone and exchange of prisoners of war. In June the oil embargo was lifted.

      With significant casualties and large quantities of military equipment disabled or destroyed, the war proved costly for Israel, Egypt, and Syria. Nevertheless, although Egypt did not win the war in any military sense, its initial successes in October 1973 enabled President Anwar el-Sādāt (Sādāt, Anwar el-) to pronounce the war an Egyptian victory and to seek an honourable peace.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Yom Kippur War — Battle of Syria redirects here. For the World War II campaign against the Vichy French in Syria, see Syria Lebanon Campaign. Yom Kippur War/October War Part of the …   Wikipedia

  • YOM KIPPUR WAR — Introduction In September 1973, indications were already noted by Israel Intelligence of a buildup both on the Egyptian and Syrian fronts. These were passed off as routine major exercises which had been taking place at frequent intervals along… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Yom Kippur War — (1973)    On 6 October 1973 (Yom Kippur), Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated attack on Israeli positions on the Suez Canal and Golan Heights fronts. Taking Israel by surprise, the Arab armies crossed the Suez Canal, secured a beachhead in the …   Historical Dictionary of Israel

  • Yom Kippur War — war between Israel and the neighboring Arab nations which began on Yom Kippur in October 1973 …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Yom Kippur War — noun Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in October 1973 (on Yom Kippur); Israel counterattacked and drove the Syrians back and crossed the Suez Canal into Egypt • Syn: ↑Arab Israeli War • Regions: ↑Middle East, ↑Mideast, ↑Near East • Instance… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Yom Kippur War — noun a war beginning on Yom Kippur, 6 October 1973, and ending on 25 October 1973, between Israel and the joint forces of Egypt and Syria …  

  • Yom Kippur — Day of Atonement redirects here. For other uses, see Day of Atonement (disambiguation). For the war, see Yom Kippur War. Yom Kippur Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur, by Maurycy Gottlieb (1878) …   Wikipedia

  • Yom Kippur — Maurycy Gottlieb (1856 1879): Juden in der Synagoge am Jom Kippur (1878) Jom Kippur (hebr. יום הכיפורים, Jom oder Yom ha Kippurim, jiddisch Jom Kipper) ist der jüdische Versöhnungstag und gleichzeitig der wichtigste jährliche Festtag im Judentum …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Yom-Kippur-Krieg — Jom Kippur Krieg Teil von: Nahostkonflikt Die Golanhöhen nach dem Jom Kippur Krieg …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Yom-Kippur Krieg — Jom Kippur Krieg Teil von: Nahostkonflikt Die Golanhöhen nach dem Jom Kippur Krieg …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”