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 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 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.