October 6–9, 1973 · Suez Canal / Sinai Theater

At 2:00 p.m. on Yom Kippur — the Day of Atonement, when most Israeli soldiers were fasting and radio stations were off the air — Egyptian forces launched the most sophisticated river crossing operation since World War II. Water cannons dissolved Israeli sand embankments, 8,000 troops crossed the canal in the first hour on rubber boats, and 100,000 soldiers poured across in the first day. The Bar-Lev Line, Israel's supposedly impregnable defensive fortification, was overrun.

October 6–9, 1973 · Golan Heights Theater

On the Golan Heights, 180 Israeli tanks faced 1,400 Syrian tanks. For three days, Col. Avigdor Kahalani's 77th Battalion fought in the 'Valley of Tears' against overwhelming odds, withdrawing and counterattacking, losing tanks and crews until they ran out of ammunition and had to scavenge from destroyed vehicles. When the last Syrian attack came, Kahalani had seven tanks operational. The Syrians, not knowing how few remained, withdrew.

October 7, 1973 · Eastern Mediterranean Theater

On the second night of the war, Israeli missile boats clashed with Syrian torpedo boats and minesweepers off the coast of Latakia — the first ship-to-ship missile battle in history. Israeli Sa'ar-class corvettes used Gabriel anti-ship missiles to destroy three Syrian vessels. Syrian Styx missiles — longer-ranged than the Israeli Gabriels — were decoyed by chaff clouds and electronic countermeasures, missing their targets entirely. The battle lasted under 30 minutes.

October 7–11, 1973 · Sinai Airspace Theater

In the war's opening days, Israeli Air Force Phantoms and Skyhawks flew into the Egyptian-Syrian SAM umbrella using the same low-level attack tactics that had produced spectacular results in 1967. They flew into a wall of SA-6 missiles operating on frequencies that defeated Israeli countermeasures. In the first 48 hours, over 40 Israeli aircraft were shot down — an unprecedented loss rate. Pilots ejecting over Egyptian-held territory were captured. The IAF was forced to withdraw from deep-strike missions.

October 8–11, 1973 · Golan Heights Theater

With the Syrian breakthrough halted in the Valley of Tears, Israeli reserves streamed onto the Golan. Freshly mobilized armored brigades — many crews still wearing civilian clothes under their uniforms — slammed into Syrian formations. Bitter fighting erupted across the basalt plateau. By October 11, Israel had not only cleared all Syrian forces from the Golan but had pushed back to the 1967 ceasefire line. Hundreds of Syrian tanks, many intact and abandoned by fleeing crews, littered the plateau.

October 10–13, 1973 · Golan Heights / Syria Theater

After halting the Syrian breakthrough in the Valley of Tears, Israel launched its counteroffensive — not just back to the 1967 ceasefire line, but beyond it, into Syria itself. Israeli armor advanced to within 40 kilometers of Damascus before halting. Iraqi and Jordanian reinforcement brigades, rushed to help Syria, were destroyed in fierce armored battles. Israel's guns could shell Damascus's outskirts.

October 14, 1973 · Sinai Theater

Under Soviet and Syrian pressure to take the initiative, Sadat ordered his army to advance beyond the SAM missile umbrella — into the open Sinai where Israeli air power and armor could engage freely. Egyptian tank columns advanced across the entire front. In the largest single-day tank battle since Kursk, Israeli armor and air strikes destroyed over 260 Egyptian tanks and 200 other vehicles while losing around 40 tanks. The Egyptian offensive was crushed in a single day.

October 15–17, 1973 · Sinai Theater

The battle for the Chinese Farm — an abandoned Japanese agricultural project whose irrigation signs were misread as Chinese — was the key to Israel's counteroffensive. Sharon's division needed control of the road to reach the Great Bitter Lake and cross to the west bank of the canal, encircling the Egyptian Third Army. Three days of some of the most savage close-quarters fighting of the war finally cleared the area and allowed Israeli paratroopers to cross the canal.

October 15–24, 1973 · West Bank of Suez Canal (Egypt) Theater

Following the fierce battle at the Chinese Farm, Israeli engineers and paratroopers crossed the Suez Canal in darkness, establishing a bridgehead on the Egyptian west bank. Tanks and armored vehicles streamed across pontoon bridges. Israeli armor raced south, cutting off the supply lines of Egypt's Third Army. By October 24, the entire Third Army — 45,000 men — was encircled without food, water, or ammunition. Only a superpower-forced ceasefire saved them.

October 17, 1973 · Global Economy Theater

Arab oil-producing nations embargo oil exports to countries supporting Israel — primarily the US and Netherlands. Oil prices quadruple from $3 to $12 per barrel. Gas lines stretch for miles across America. European allies distance themselves from US policy. Japan publicly pressures Israel. The weapon that Egypt and Syria could not wield militarily, Saudi Arabia wielded economically.

October 24, 1973 · Suez Canal Zone Theater

On the last day before the ceasefire took effect, Israeli forces attempted to capture the city of Suez to complete the encirclement of the Egyptian Third Army. What appeared to be a rapid advance turned into a brutal urban ambush. Egyptian soldiers and armed civilians fought from rooftops and alleyways, destroying the lead Israeli columns with RPGs at point-blank range. An Israeli paratroop battalion suffered catastrophic losses in the city's narrow streets. The ceasefire arrived before Israel could reorganize.