October 6, 1973: The Yom Kippur War

Photo: IDF soldiers on the west bank of the

Suez Canal at the final days of the war

On October 6, 1973 – Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated surprise attack against Israel, starting the Yom Kippur War. The war, which started on the holiest and most solemn day of the Jewish calendar, the Day of Atonement, was the fiercest Arab-Israeli war since 1948 (Israel's War of Independence). The Egyptian-Syrian attack during the Jewish day of prayers and fast caught Israel off guard.

Egyptian troops and armor crossed the Suez Canal in the south of Israel, and Syrian forces entered the Golan Heights in Israel’s north. After three days, Israel had mobilized most of its forces and managed to halt the Egyptian offensive, settling into a stalemate and to push the Syrians back to the pre-war ceasefire lines.

After three weeks of heavy fighting and counter-offensive by the Israeli Defense Forces, Israel overcame initial Egyptian and Syrian gains and advanced to the western side of the Suez Canal and to the vicinity of the Syrian capital of Damascus.

On October 22, 1973, the U.N. Security Council adopted resolution 338 calling for a ceasefire within 12 hours in the Yom Kippur War. Despite this resolution, hostility acts continued and so on October 23 a second resolution was adopted in an attempt to bring a cease fire to the region. 

What would happen during the next 48 hours would bring the world to the verge of a nuclear war: During the two more days in which the war continued, IDF completed besieging the 3rd Egyptian field army. In response, the Soviets demanded to push the IDF forces back, threatening to move into the aid of the besieged Egyptian Army.

At 1 AM, on the night between the 25th and the 26th, US Armed Forces were ordered to DEFCON 3, following an intelligence info which pointed out the deployment of Soviet nuclear missiles on the Nile's delta. The American reaction led to the immediate removal of the Soviet threat and the US responded by canceling DEFCON 3 – with that, bringing to the end of the Yom Kippur War.

This crisis was the closest to escalate into a nuclear war, besides the Cuban missile crisis in 1963.

The war lasted until October 24th, 1973, when a ceasefire was declared and exercised by Israel, Egypt and Syria.

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