Battle of the Sinai (1973)

Battle of the Sinai
Part of the Yom Kippur War

sinai war maps 1973
DateOctober 14, 1973
Location
Sinai peninsula
Result Israeli victory
Belligerents
Israel Israel  Egypt
Commanders and leaders
Albert Mandler †
Chaim Bar-Lev
Abraham Adan
Ariel Sharon
Moshe Dayan		 Saad El Shazly
Saad Mamoun
Abdul Munim Wassel[1]
Ahmad Ismail Ali
Strength
800–900 tanks
60,000 soldiers[2][3]		 400 tanks
5,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
50–150 tanks destroyed[4][3]
60 other armored vehicles destroyed
some aircraft shot down[5]
656 killed and wounded[6]		 200–264 tanks destroyed/captured[7]
~1,000 killed and wounded (Israeli estimate)

The Battle of the Sinai was one of the most consequential battles of the Yom Kippur war. An Egyptian attacking force that advanced beyond their line of defense at the Bar-Lev Line was repulsed with heavy losses by Israeli forces. This prompted the Israelis to launch Operation Abiray-Lev (Stouthearted Men) the next day, penetrating the Egyptian line of defense and crossing the Suez Canal.

  1. ^ Shazly The Crossing of the Suez p.161
  2. ^ A Critical Review of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b Shazly The Crossing of the Suez p.248
  4. ^ "Operational Valiant: Turning Of The Tide In The Sinai 1973 Arab-Israeli War". www.globalsecurity.org.
  5. ^ O'Ballance, Edgar (November 1996) [1978]. No Victor, No Vanquished: the Yom Kippur War. Presidio Press.
  6. ^ Staff, HistoryNet (August 21, 2006). "Yom Kippur War: Embattled Israeli Bridgehead at Chinese Farm". HistoryNet.
  7. ^ Dr. George W. Gawrych The 1973 Arab-Israeli War: The Albatross of Decisive Victory Archived February 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine p.56–57