Operation Badr (1973)

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Operation Badr (Arabic: عملية بدر ʻAmaliyat Badr), also known as Plan Badr (خطة بدر Khitat Badr), was an Egyptian military offensive and operation across the Suez Canal that destroyed the Bar-Lev Line, a chain of Israeli fortifications along the frontline of the Israeli-occupied Sinai Peninsula, on 6 October 1973. It was launched in conjunction with a Syrian military offensive against the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, triggering the Yom Kippur War. During the War of Attrition, which preceded Operation Badr, both Egypt and Syria (previously constituents of the United Arab Republic) had been seeking to recover the territories that Israel had captured from them during the 1967 Arab–Israeli War. The Egyptians had begun preparing for the offensive with training exercises in 1968, followed by operational planning from 1971 onward, including a deceptive operation. In the opening stages of the attack, known as "the crossing" (العبور al-'obour), Egyptian combat engineers utilized water cannons to rapidly clear numerous passages through the sand wall lining the eastern bank of the Suez Canal, simultaneously laying bridges and operating ferries that allowed armoured vehicles to cross into Israeli-controlled territory. Israel's military was surprised by the scale of the attack, and by 7 October, the Egyptians had completed their crossing; the Israelis' eastern bank was captured and occupied by five Egyptian infantry divisions, which subsequently established defensive positions on bridgeheads spanning the 160-kilometre (99 mi) frontline. Following a lull in the fighting on 7 October, Israeli armour reserves arrived at the Suez Canal and launched a counterattack against the Egyptians opposite to the city of Ismailia. However, Egypt's military was successful in employing anti-tank weapons to repel the Israeli assault and advanced once more. By the end of 8 October, Egypt had occupied a strip of territory along the entire eastern bank of the Suez Canal to a...