The Yom Kippur War

The violence that rocked Israel this fall reminded many of events 27 years ago, when Egypt and Syria caught Israel unprepared in an attack on the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

An estimated 2,700 Israelis, 3,500 Syrians and 15,000 Egyptians were killed in the Yom Kippur war, which began on Oct. 6, 1973 and ended 19 days later.

It was a conflict that involved not just the three combatant nations, but also the United States and the Soviet Union as behind-the-scenes players.

According to the U.S Library of Congress' Israel, A Country Study, the war grew out of disagreements between the government of Israel, headed by Golda Meir, and Egypt, headed by Anwar Sadat, over the direction of peace negotiations.

It began with a two-front assault on Israel: Egyptian infantry rushing across the Suez Canal in the south as Syrian forces staged an overpowering tank attack that brought them to the Golan Heights in the north.

The initial days of the war were disastrous for Israel: it lost over 150 planes and its counter-attacks failed. But then Israel reversed its losses, repelling the Syrians back into Syria itself, reaching within 12 miles of Damascus.

Seeing the invasion faltering, the Soviet Union sent massive shipments of supplies to assist Syria and Egypt and in response, the U.S. did the same for Israel.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces led by Ariel Sharon beat back the Egyptian advance in the south, crossed the canal and surrounded the Egyptian Third Army. With Israel poised to wipe out Egypt's troops or storm Damascus, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger went to Moscow to negotiate a cease-fire agreement.

The agreement reached in Moscow called for cessation of hostilities within 24 hours. But soon the USSR claimed Israel was breaking its terms by planning to move against the trapped Egyptian troops. Only when the Soviet Union threatened to intervene, and the U.S. pressed Israel to back off, did the cease fire take effect on Oct. 25.