Yom Kippur War Timeline

During the Syrian front campaign, Israeli commanders faced a decision whether to stop at the post-1967 border or continue advancing into Syrian territory, a choice that shaped the war's final phase on the Golan front.

The Yom Kippur War (also known as the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, the fourth Arab–Israeli War, the October War, or the Ramadan War) began on 6 October 1973 when an Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack across their frontiers on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, the 10th day of Ramadan. Most fighting occurred in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, territories Israel had occupied since 1967.

Israeli forces crossed the Suez Canal onto its western bank during the war's latter phase, threatening Egyptian forces. However, by the end of the war Egypt maintained significant armored reserves west of the Canal.

Image source: Operation Abirey-Halev

According to documents declassified in 2016, the American move to DEFCON 3 was motivated by CIA reports indicating that the Soviet Union had sent a ship to Egypt carrying nuclear weapons along with two other amphibious vessels, heightening superpower tensions at the war's end.

Though most heavy fighting ended on 28 October, the fighting never stopped until 18 January 1974. The cease-fire existed on paper, but continued firing along the front characterized the situation between 24 October 1973 and 18 January 1974.

Hostilities between Israel and Syria continued, and on 4 February 1974, 500 Cubans joined a Syrian tank division at Mount Hermon in an attack against Israeli forces, sparking a War of Attrition in the Bashan Salient.

Following the war, OAPEC announced a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the conflict. Saudi Arabia declared an embargo against the United States, later joined by other exporters and extended against the Netherlands and others, causing the 1973 energy crisis.

Image source: 1973 oil crisis

Disengagement talks took place on 28 October 1973 at 'Kilometre 101' between Israeli Major General Aharon Yariv and Egyptian Major General Abdel Ghani el-Gamasy—the first direct public discussions between Arab and Israeli officials since the aftermath of the 1948 war.

Image source: 1949 Armistice Agreements

A summit conference in Geneva followed in December 1973. Nevertheless, the conference was forced to adjourn on 9 January 1974, as Syria refused attendance.

The first concrete result of the diplomacy was the initial military disengagement agreement, signed by Israel and Egypt on 18 January 1974, ending hostilities along the Suez Canal front.

On 11 April 1974, Golda Meir resigned as Prime Minister of Israel amid public anger over the government's failures before and during the Yom Kippur War.

Image source: Golda Meir

Shuttle diplomacy by Henry Kissinger eventually produced a disengagement agreement on 31 May 1974, based on an exchange of prisoners-of-war, Israeli withdrawal to the Purple Line, and the establishment of a UN buffer zone.

Image source: Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria

Another Egyptian–Israeli disengagement agreement, the Sinai Interim Agreement, commonly known as Sinai II, was signed in Geneva on 4 September 1975, further stabilizing the Egyptian-Israeli frontier.

In a December 1973 address to the National Assembly, Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass stated that he had awarded one soldier the Medal of the Republic for killing 28 Israeli prisoners with an axe, decapitating three of them and eating the flesh of one of his victims.

Image source: Mustafa Tlass

In July 1974, Israeli Defense Minister Shimon Peres informed the Knesset that high-ranking Soviet officers had been killed on the Syrian front during the war, underscoring direct Soviet involvement.

On 7 July 1974, Halawi's remains were removed from a Syrian military hospital and he was interred in Damascus at the 'Cemetery of the Martyrs of the October War' in the presence of many Syrian dignitaries. When his body was returned earlier in 1974, it exhibited signs of torture.

DePuy and other US Army leaders saw Israel's strategic and doctrinal conditions between 1967 and 1973 as similar to NATO's position in Europe, undertaking a deep study of Israel's 1973 warfighting. DePuy visited Israel in 1976 to tour battlefields, and TRADOC revised FM 100–5 Operations in 1976, promoting an 'Active Defense' concept emphasizing tactical proficiency with advanced weapons systems like those observed in the war.

Image source: United States Army Training and Doctrine Command

The Yom Kippur War upset the status quo in the Middle East and served as a direct antecedent of the Camp David Accords. The talks took place from 5–17 September 1978, ultimately succeeding and paving the way for peace between Israel and Egypt.

Image source: Camp David Accords

Ultimately, the postwar process succeeded: Israel and Egypt signed the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in 1979, the first time an Arab country recognized Israel.

Image source: Egypt–Israel peace treaty

TRADOC's 1982 revision of FM 100–5 replaced Active Defense with an offense-oriented operational doctrine known as AirLand Battle, itself rooted in lessons drawn from the Yom Kippur War, forming the basis of the American plan for Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Image source: AirLand Battle

Israel subsequently withdrew its troops and settlers from the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for normal relations with Egypt and a lasting peace, with the last Israeli troops exiting on 26 April 1982.

Egypt had been suspended from the Arab League following its peace treaty with Israel, and remained suspended until 1989, reflecting the deep divisions the postwar peace process created in the Arab world.

Image source: Arab League