Key points
What to understand first
- Israel did not initiate the fighting on 6 October 1973.
- Egypt and Syria attacked simultaneously on two fronts.
- Israel mobilised rapidly under extreme pressure.
- The 1973 war was wholly separate from Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.
Chronology
The opening of the 1973 war
Unresolved territorial conflict
Israel held Sinai and the Golan Heights after the 1967 war; Egypt and Syria sought their return. 51
Coordinated surprise attack
Egyptian forces crossed the Suez Canal while Syrian forces attacked on the Golan Heights. 51
Ceasefire diplomacy
UN Security Council diplomacy and US-Soviet pressure produced ceasefires after intense fighting. 51
Who attacked first—and why?
US diplomatic history
The US State Department records that the war began when Egypt and Syria launched a concerted surprise attack on Israel.
That answers the immediate military question. It does not erase the wider context: Egypt and Syria sought territory lost in 1967, and diplomatic efforts to resolve the territorial conflict had stalled.
The Sinai front
Egyptian forces crossed the Suez Canal and established positions east of it. President Anwar Sadat’s central strategic objective included breaking the diplomatic stalemate and recovering Sinai.
The Golan front
Syrian forces attacked Israeli positions in the Golan Heights. Syria sought the return of territory Israel had captured in June 1967.
Do not confuse 1973 with 1948
Evidence
Sources for this article
- S38The Arab-Israeli War of 1948
US Department of State, Office of the Historian. Intercommunal fighting, Israeli independence and the entry of neighbouring Arab armies.
- S51The 1973 Arab-Israeli War
US Department of State, Office of the Historian. Egyptian-Syrian surprise attack and the war’s 1967 territorial context.