The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. Most of the fighting occurred in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, territories occupied by Israel in 1967. Some combat also took place in Egypt and northern Israel. Egypt aimed to secure a foothold on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal and use it to negotiate the return of the Sinai Peninsula.
Commando Unit 101 was a sayeret (commando) unit of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), founded and commanded by Ariel Sharon on orders from Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in August 1953. They were armed with non-standard weapons and tasked with carrying out retribution operations across the state's borders—in particular, establishing small unit maneuvers, activation and insertion tactics.
Moshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1953–1958) during the 1956 Sinai War, and as Defense Minister during the Six-Day War in 1967, he became a worldwide fighting symbol of the new state of Israel.
The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. They formally ended the hostilities of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and also demarcated the Green Line, which separated Arab-controlled territory from Israel until the latter's victory in the 1967 Arab–Israeli War.
The War of Attrition involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970.
The 1st "Golani" Brigade is an Israeli military infantry brigade. It is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigades of the regular Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the others being the Paratroopers Brigade, the Nahal Brigade, the Givati Brigade and the Kfir Brigade. Its symbol is a green olive tree against a yellow background, with its soldiers wearing a brown beret. It is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the IDF. The brigade consists of five battalions, including two which it kept from its inception, one transferred from the Givati Brigade (51st).
The 35th Paratroopers Brigade is an Israeli military airborne infantry brigade. It forms a major part of the Israeli Ground Forces' Infantry Corps, and has a history of carrying out special operations from the 1950s onwards. Soldiers of the brigade wear maroon berets with the Infantry Corps pin and russet boots.
The Battle of the Chinese Farm took place during October 15 to October 17, 1973 between the Egyptian Army and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as part of the Yom Kippur War. It was fought in the Sinai Peninsula, north of the Great Bitter Lake and just east of the Suez Canal, near an Egyptian agricultural research station. The area was known to the Israeli military as the Chinese Farm – a misnomer resulting from the research station's use of Japanese-made equipment, with Japanese writing on the machinery mistaken by Israeli observers for Chinese characters.
Reprisal operations were raids carried out by the Israel Defense Forces in the 1950s and 1960s in response to frequent fedayeen attacks during which armed Arab militants infiltrated Israel from Syria, Egypt, and Jordan to carry out attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers. Most of the reprisal operations followed raids that resulted in Israeli fatalities. The goal of these operations – from the perspective of Israeli officials – was to create deterrence and prevent future attacks. Two other factors behind the raids were restoring public morale and training newly formed army units. A number of these operations involved attacking villages and Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, including the 1953 Qibya massacre.
The Battle of 'Auja, also called Battle of Nitzana, was a military engagement between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army in and around 'Auja, a small village on the Egypt–Israel border. It was fought on December 26–27, 1948, as part of Operation Horev, an Israeli campaign meant to expel all Egyptian forces from the country. The first stage of the operation was the simultaneous capture of 18 Egyptian positions on the Beersheba–'Auja road, including 7 around 'Auja.
Events in the year 1955 in Israel.
The Battle of Ismailia took place between the Egyptian Army and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) during the last stages of the Yom Kippur War during October 18–22, 1973, south of the city of Ismailia, on the west bank of the Suez Canal in Egypt. The battle itself took place as part of the larger IDF-launched Operation Abiray-Lev, in an attempt to seize Ismailia and thereby sever the logistical and supply lines of most of Egypt's Second Field Army across the Suez Canal.
Operation Rhodes was an Israeli heliborne raid against the Egyptian island of Shadwan on 22 January 1970, during the War of Attrition. It was carried out by Israeli paratroopers and Shayetet 13 naval commandos, who took control of the island for over a day before leaving with 62 captured Egyptian soldiers and radar equipment.
Danny Matt was a decorated career Israeli military officer who served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1948 until 1992. He attained the rank of major general and fought in five Arab-Israeli wars, including the wars of 1948 and 1973. Among his many exploits was a daring operation involving leading a paratroop force across the Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War. The operation was the beginning phase of a larger Israeli counter offensive that ultimately led to the victory of the Israeli army.
Operation Black Arrow was an Israeli military operation carried out in Gaza on 28 February 1955. The operation targeted the Egyptian Army. Thirty-eight Egyptian soldiers were killed during the operation as were eight Israelis.
Operation Elkayam, also known as the Khan Yunis raid, was an Israeli military operation that targeted Egyptian military positions in the Khan Yunis area. The successful operation resulted in the destruction of Egyptian military installations as well as the deaths of seventy-two Egyptian soldiers. There was one Israeli fatality.
Operation Olive Leaves also known as Operation Kinneret was an Israeli reprisal operation undertaken on December 10–11, 1955, against fortified Syrian emplacements near the north-eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee. The raid was prompted by repeated Syrian attacks on Israeli fishing in the Sea of Galilee. The successful operation resulted in the destruction of the Syrian emplacements. The Syrians also sustained fifty-four killed in action. Another thirty were taken prisoner. There were six IDF fatalities.
Operation Volcano, also known as Operation Sabcha, was a large-scale Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military operation carried out on the night of November 2–3, 1955 against Egyptian military positions in and around the Nitzana/Auja vicinity. The operation was successful and resulted in the permanent expulsion of Egyptian forces from the Demilitarized Zone. Eighty-one Egyptian soldiers were killed and fifty-five others were taken prisoner. There were six Israeli fatalities.
El-Sa‘ka Forces is an Egyptian military commando force established in 1955 by Major General Jalal Mahmoud Fahmy Al-Haridi. High fitness is required and training is conducted at the El Sa‘ka Academy built by Major General Ahmed Ragai Ateya. Unit 777 and Unit 999 are divisions of the Sa'ka forces.
The following is a timeline of military preparations and engagements during the Suez Crisis.
Israel 
Egypt 