Israel's victory in the 1967 'Six Day War' sowed the seeds of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. At 1400hrs on 6 October 1973 the Egyptian army launched an assault crossing of the Suez Canal. The carefully co-ordinated attack achieved complete tactical surprise. The sand embankments of the Israeli Bar-Lev Line were breached and an Israeli counterattack thrown back with heavy losses. In the second of his two-volume analysis of the Yom Kippur War, Simon Dunstan details the fighting in the Sinai, culminating in Operation Gazelle, the Israeli counterattack across the Suez Canal. Although defeated militarily Egypt did ultimately succeed in forcing the Israelis back to the negotiating table.

Origins of the Campaign
Chronology
Opposing Commanders
The Egyptian Army
The Israeli Army
Breaching the Bar Lev line
The Battle of 'Chinese Farm'
The Israeli breakout
Aftermath
Bibliography
The battlefield Today
Wargaming the Sinai
Index

Simon Dunstan is a long-established author in the field of military history and weapons technology with over 30 books to his name. His particular area of expertise is the tactical and technical employment of Armoured Fighting Vehicles since World War II, notably during the Korean, Vietnam and Arab-Israeli Wars. As an accomplished photographer and film maker, he has produced numerous military history television documentaries for The History Channel of New York. He resides in London and is married with one son and two daughters. simon@dunstan.ws