The Yom Kippur War. October 6, 1973.

Anwar Sadat's plan, conceived in October 1972, was to cross over to the east bank of the Suez Canal, breaking through the Israeli defences and occupying a strip of territory stretching just over six miles into Sinai. He believed this to be a realistic objective that would create enough of a stir to force Israel and the international community to pay attention to Egypt's demands.

Taking the Israelis by Surprise

As part of the operation, Anwar Sadat persuaded the Syrians to agree to launch a simultaneous attack on northern Israel, with an aim to splitting the Israeli army. Yet Anwar Sadat knew his plan would only succeed if he took the Israelis by surprise. To this end he spent many month mobilizing his forces repeatedly and then sending them home after a few days.

The continual military movement was a source of puzzlement to the Israelis and, at one point, when it seemed that an attack was surely imminent, the Israelis responded by mobilizing too. It turned out to be yet another false alarm and when the Egyptians sent their troops home, the Israelis followed suit.

The mobilization of Israel's army was a huge undertaking. Its reserves were made up of huge numbers of the civilian workforce and for as long as they were in uniform, the country's economy lay in a state of paralysis. It was little surprise then that the Israeli government was reluctant to go through the expense and stress of having to mobilize its army unless they were absolutely convinced that Egypt intended to attack. Sadat knew this too, and his enemy was playing right into his hands.

Egyptian Forces Attack

On October 6, 1973, at precisely two o'clock in the afternoon, after a year of patiently waiting, Sadat's forces attacked to begin the Yom Kippur War. Having got it wrong before, and convinced that the Egyptians would never choose to fight during the month of Ramadan, the Israeli government failed to respond. Furthermore, since it was the major Jewish festival of Yom Kippur, most Israelis were in the middle of celebrations and had no idea their country had just been attacked by Egypt and Syria. They were completely caught off guard.