1973 suez crossing

[Pendekar]

Base on account by general Shazly, Chief of Staff of the egyptian army in the 1973 war.



It was a victory, the most outstanding feat of Arab arms in modern times and the most audacious stroke by any army since the American invasion of Inchon in 1950. On October 6, 1972, the Egyptian army boiled across the Suez Canal, took the Israelis by surprise, broke through the seemingly impregnable earthworks on the far bank, overvwhelmed their defenders and marched into Sinai, Bristling with anti-tank weapons and under a protective cover of anti-aircraft missiles, the Egyptian divisions pushed ahead on a broad front, virtually the entire length of the canal, dug in and waited. As expected the Israelis threw their tanks and aircraft into battle and broke them on the Arabs’ ring of steel.



The story of how all this was planned, prepared and carried out is only part of the story General Shazly has to tell. As chief of staff of the Egyptian armed forces during the rebuilding phase after the shattering defeat in 1967 and through the attack itself, he was caught, as many chiefs of staff eventually are, between the demands of his political masters and the needs of his subordinates. Drawing on documents still in his possession which he claims can prove everything he says, General Shazly blasts away at President Sadat.



He details the president’s errors of judgment in convincing detail: throwing the Russians out in 1972, refusing to confide in them even when some of them came back to help in 1973 and, most controversial of all, insisting that the Egyptian army advance on the Giddi and Mitla passes without the protection of the anti-aircraft Sams. In ordering this advance, according to General Shazly, President Sadat countermanded the plan for a limited advance and diluted the reserve that had been hoarded on the west bank to smash the Israeli counter-attack that everyone expected. The Israelis, generously supplied with equipment and provided with vital intelligence by the United States - this is the first account that pinpoints the date that the first high-flying American SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft flew down the canal and explains the importance of its photographs - then broke through at Deversoir, mopped up the Sams and won the war.



source http://www.el-shazly.com/en/ereviews.php

if Arab leaders at that time have half the brain and less of senseless pride, they might score more points against the israel. the same problem with all the dictators, they tend to mess up well laid plans and thinking they can bring down a fighters by their voice.

[gf0012-aust]

Base on account by general Shazly, Chief of Staff of the egyptian army in the 1973 war.



source http://www.el-shazly.com/en/ereviews.php

if Arab leaders at that time have half the brain and less of senseless pride, they might score more points against the israel. the same problem with all the dictators, they tend to mess up well laid plans and thinking they can bring down a fighters by their voice.

The Bar Lev line was a very good example of lateral thinking, however while the general points out the fact that Israel was being supplied by the US (and fundamentally the 6th Fleet, the egyptians and syrians were being just as rapidly supplied by the Russians via the Black Sea Fleet).

The issue of Israel being supplied by the US is more than compensated for by the Russians setting up the Star of David SAM networks, Russian satellite intel and an enormous logistics effort in armour and ammunition.

When it boils down to it:

1) The Israelis learnt not to be so complacent
2) It was an end game of force of arms - not a proxy outcome based on resupply as the Israelis, Syrians and Egyptians were all being resupplied
3) It showed to the Egyptians that they could perform a feat of arms effectively

The end result is that both nations now have a non-aggression treaty between them - the most satisfactory outcome of all.

[Aussie Digger]

And of course the fact that the Egyptians had the support of Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Iran didn't help Israel's cause much either. In addition they attacked during the most important religious holiday in Israel when most of Israel's armed forces were stood down.

All the Arabs proved with this IMHO, is that despite the massive advantage of suprise AND despite attacking on multiple fronts they STILL couldn't defeat Israel...

[kashifshahzad]

I think the suez cannel is a good weapon for Egyptians they can block that and the trade od whole the worls will jam at once and i also want to mension that no country should attack that caz there are many historical places present there the other weapon for arabs is their oil.I think they have to think a lot of time before using that weapon.:coffee i think this post is not a bit relavent but i have expressed my feelings

[gf0012-aust]

I think the suez cannel is a good weapon for Egyptians they can block that and the trade od whole the worls will jam at once and i also want to mension that no country should attack that caz there are many historical places present there the other weapon for arabs is their oil.I think they have to think a lot of time before using that weapon.:coffee i think this post is not a bit relavent but i have expressed my feelings

matey try to stay within the spirit of the post, ie it's a tactical assessment. The Suez doesn't have the same political leverage that it used to. eg Numerous oil tankers are too big for it and it is better for them to travel around rather than via the Suez. Also ever since some of the more "robust" states acquired AShM's and cruise missiles (eg Iran let loose some Silkworms into the Straits of Hormuz a few years ago) a lot of oil purchasers have route contingencies.

The Suez is not as strategic now - especially for a blue water navy that doesn't need to rapid transit between oceans.

[doggychow14]

The arabs were very successful up until the point when the isrealis took over. The biggest mistakes in my opionio was the 4 armored divisions from Egypt that moved past its sam umbrilla and Syria engaging Isreal in close tank combat in which the Isreal exelled in. I think Egypt asked Russia for strategic bombers and scuds but were refused due to Russia's concern of relations with the US.

[Pendekar]

the egyptian SAM network was so formidable, Israel have to to use ground forces to neutralized the network.

During this time the Egypt Israel relations was straining because russian objected to this war. they get resupply alright but not as generous as the USA toward Israel. and that after Anwar Sadat threaten to swith alignments to the USA. egyptian at that point already have a good commanders lead the battles, experiance with the past war and properly trained by russians. if anwar sadat did not insist that the mobile SAM to stay at the west side of the canal instead of joining with the advancing ground forces, the outcome might be different. note that the war of 1973 was not an attempt to destroy Israel, it's just an attempt by the egyptians and syrians to regain back territory lost in previous war.

[heso10]

in this site u can read as much as u want about 1973 war http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War

and i will also write all i know about 1973 war and my sources are (http://www.el-shazly.com ,my books ,three of the commanders i met in person one of them was the leader of either 2nd or third army i can not remember and many other sites i used in my previous research on 1973 war) i will divide the events of the war into sections so i can talk about a section everytime and i will leave some time before the other section to let anybody wants to discuss or ask me

[Big-E]

Considering Isreal would have given the Golan heights and the Sinai back to Syria and Eygpt in 67' the whole war was a failure in my eyes for the Arab forces. All Isreal wanted for concessions was recognition and she got it from Eygpt and Isreal still held the Golan heights after 73 so Isreal and the IDF were clearly the winners.

[Ozzy Blizzard]

For sure isreal won, but it showed what the Egyptian army was capable of. The crossong went so well at the start cecause it had limited and achievable objectives. They didnt try to roll into Tell Aviv in two days. They stayed under their SAM umbrella and achieved their original goal. Its only when they got greedy and sent armoured collums into the Siani when the IAF showd what it was capable of.

[merocaine]

[QUOTE]Considering Isreal would have given the Golan heights and the Sinai back to Syria and Eygpt in 67' the whole war was a failure in my eyes for the Arab forces. All Isreal wanted for concessions was recognition and she got it from Eygpt and Isreal still held the Golan heights after 73 so Isreal and the IDF were clearly the winners./QUOTE]

The war was fought to take back the sinai, i dont think the egyphtians gave a dame about the golan hights.
After 67 the isrealies were quite happy keep the land and hang the concessions.

The war forced the Isrealies to the table, between 67 and 72 they could effectively ignore the arabs because in isreals eyes the arabs did'ent pose a military threat anymore. Yom Kipper forced the isrealies to reexamine the occupation of the sinai, did they want a continous state of war with eygypt as the price of the sinai? Military wise the war ended as a defeat for the eygyptians, and a political defeat for the isrealies.

[gf0012-aust]

Its only when they got greedy and sent armoured collums into the Siani when the IAF showd what it was capable of.

I'm not sure you could argue that they "got greedy"

The main problem was that the Syrians made an absolute hash of their military positions and screamed to the egyptians to take pressure of their front lines by creating a dual front. The egyptians up to that point intended to take a considered approach to gradual compression. The syrian collapse forced them to fast track their advance.

the forced advance was handled badly:

they moved out of the SAM umbrella
disconnected their forces
modified their secondary battleplan without proper consideration
failed to halt their advancing commanders
had inadequate force protection on lead units
stretched their combat lines
failed to have an adequate secondary battleplan in place.up until the collapse of the syrians, they did some textbook fighting and deserve some credit for what they did.

unfortunately for them, (and fortunately for the Israelis) at a tactical planning level, their secondary approach to relieve the Syrians was a disaster. The Israelis were faster on adapting to the changed battlefield and absolutely dominated the air and land battlespace concurrently.

The end result was that in absolute terms, the Israelis were the better military as they went from a losing position to dismissing and decapitating two much larger militaries who had out flanked them. The Israelis were ultimately far better at manouvre and engaging at the decisive level.

[Big-E]

The war was fought to take back the sinai, i dont think the egyphtians gave a dame about the golan hights.
After 67 the isrealies were quite happy keep the land and hang the concessions.


The Eygptians certainly cared about how their allies in Syria were doing. The Yom Kippur War was a total Arab war, not just Eygpt.



The war forced the Isrealies to the table, between 67 and 72 they could effectively ignore the arabs because in isreals eyes the arabs did'ent pose a military threat anymore. Yom Kipper forced the isrealies to reexamine the occupation of the sinai, did they want a continous state of war with eygypt as the price of the sinai? Military wise the war ended as a defeat for the eygyptians, and a political defeat for the isrealies.

You just said that the Isrealies were forced to the table b/c the threat of continous war with Eygpt was not worth holding the Sinai. They knew this in 67' and were willing to negotiate if the Arab states would have recognized her soveriegnty. Isreal had no desire to occupy a worthless stretch of desert but they weren't about to give it up after all the trouble they took beating the Eygptians in 67'. Considering the fact that they crushed the Eygptian forces and emabarrassingly held the 3rd Eygptian Army hostage :o to get their demands I think it was a win/win for Isreal. Eygpt is no longer an obstacle to the Middle East Peace process and you can thank the IDF encircling the Egyptian 3rd Army for that one. That's why Isreal won militarily and politically.

[merocaine]

I may be wrong but the last thing the Arabs would want to do is negotate from a possition of weakness. I agree that the isrealies held out the prospect of negatations but those were completely impossible for the arabs to countnace, the west bank had been lost, the golan hights, gaza and the sinai.

this is from wikipedia so take with a pinch of salt

Nonetheless, according to Chaim Herzog,

On June 19, 1967, the National Unity Government [of Israel] voted unanimously to return the Sinai to Egypt and the Golan Heights to Syria in return for peace agreements. The Golans would have to be demilitarized and special arrangement would be negotiated for the Straits of Tiran. The government also resolved to open negotiations with King Hussein of Jordan regarding the Eastern border.

The Israeli decision was to be conveyed to the Arab nations by the United States. The US was informed of the decision, but not that it was to transmit it. There is no evidence of receipt from Egypt or Syria, who thus apparently never received the offer. The decision was kept a closely-guarded secret within Israeli government circles and the offer was withdrawn in October, 1967

A very half hearted negotation dont you think?
The reality is after the 6 days war the isrealies realised they dident have to talk, because they were militartaly so far ahead of the arabs. They felt that in the end the arabs would come around and come to except the current situation, just like the palistians would come to except the state of Isreal.
The Isrealies called this the Iron War.
The Yom Kipper War changed this analysis, thats its lasting effect.

[heso10]

I'm not sure you could argue that they "got greedy"

The main problem was that the Syrians made an absolute hash of their military positions and screamed to the egyptians to take pressure of their front lines by creating a dual front. The egyptians up to that point intended to take a considered approach to gradual compression. The syrian collapse forced them to fast track their advance.


actually that is right, i do not know if you know that but isreal was not going to cross the canal if usa did not help her as usa used their black bird to take photos for egyptian and syrian fronts then send them to israel and the photos showed a hole between 2nd and 3rd army and then by the leadership of sharoon he rushed into that hole with sort of small army gaurded by thier airforce away from sam sites.

before holding fire their was a plan made by the headquarters to trap the israel army by cutting their way back to the canal and special forces and 3rd army counter the israel's army with help of egyptian fighters to prevent israel's fighters from hitting special forces or 3rd army which was already gaurded by the umbrella of sams

but before applying this plan russia at that time threatend with their nuclear weapons then usa and russia agreed to push both egypt and israel to tables of negotiations and that happened.

if egyptian army had done this plan they would have the way to tal aviv opened but they choose peace as they got what they wanted from the war and it was getting back sinai which was happened.

in my opinion nobody won in this war, we got back sinai but we lost many men and weapons and we are still paying for the debt of war untill this day, for israel they lost too as they lost many men and weapons too especially in fighters and bombers but they also lost sinai and all the money they paid to raise up barliv line, but they won peace with egypt and egypt declared that israel exists but syria i do not think they won anything except a small part of golan

by the way israel knew when was the attack because elsadat told king of jordan at that time if he wants to participate in the war to get his river back but he refused and in 5th octobar he told golda mayar about the war and its time and israel started in morning of 6 october to prepare the reserve for any possible attackes plus an israel's high rank officer doubt the actions of the egyptian soldiers and asked his soldiers to be prepared just in case

for what is said about other arabic countries helped egypt, libya and iraq sent small battalions but they did not do anything but in syria israel destroyed some of iraqi armored vechiles by 2 groups of israeli special forces and 2 helicopters, for israel they got lot of weapons from usa including tanks and fighters but they did not recieve help in the form of soldiers except jewesh pilots came to help in flying american fighters, and egyptian army captured many tanks thier counters showed they only traveled for about 80 kilos only which means they used the tanks they recieved from the war

after all i think both egypt and israel did well in the war but nobody won after all

[heso10]

I may be wrong but the last thing the Arabs would want to do is negotate from a possition of weakness. I agree that the isrealies held out the prospect of negatations but those were completely impossible for the arabs to countnace, the west bank had been lost, the golan hights, gaza and the sinai.

actually that is right as president elsadat refused to make negotiations with israel without a war and the same with gamal abd elnasser

gamal abd elnasser said what is taken by power should get back by power
elsadat wanted to negotiate only from possition of power not weakness bec. israel would not get sinai back to egypt if she negotiates without a war

[Big-E]

but before applying this plan russia at that time threatend with their nuclear weapons then usa and russia agreed to push both egypt and israel to tables of negotiations and that happened.

Nuclear threats? :confused: That would have been outrageous, any documentation on this claim?


if egyptian army had done this plan they would have the way to tal aviv opened but they choose peace as they got what they wanted from the war and it was getting back sinai which was happened.

The Egyptian 3rd Army was at the mercy of the IDF, after being cut off from supply they had to beg for food. If Isreal had decided to launch the attack there would have been an Egyptian holocaust 60 miles outside of Cairo. Egypt NEVER would have made it to Haifa. The Soviet doctrine they operated under was poor to begin with and they could not execute that properly which equals the end result of the war, total defeat by a smaller force.


but they also lost sinai and all the money they paid to raise up barliv line
Yeah, all that money they spent on those earth works that Eygpt hosed down with water cannons must really have been expensive. :lol2


by the way israel knew when was the attack because elsadat told king of jordan at that time if he wants to participate in the war to get his river back but he refused and in 5th octobar he told golda mayar about the war and its time and israel started in morning of 6 october to prepare the reserve for any possible attackes plus an israel's high rank officer doubt the actions of the egyptian soldiers and asked his soldiers to be prepared just in case


If this were the case the IAF would have launched pre-emptive airstrikes against Egyptian airfields. This was tactical doctrine of the IDF.


for what is said about other arabic countries helped egypt, libya and iraq sent small battalions but they did not do anything but in syria israel destroyed some of iraqi armored vechiles by 2 groups of israeli special forces and 2 helicopters, for israel they got lot of weapons from usa including tanks and fighters but they did not recieve help in the form of soldiers except jewesh pilots came to help in flying american fighters, and egyptian army captured many tanks thier counters showed they only traveled for about 80 kilos only which means they used the tanks they recieved from the war

Considering Iraq sent two fully mechanized DIVISIONS with 30,000 men 500 tanks and 700 APCs. I don't call that small battalions. Libya sent a a whole wing of Mirages with $1billion. Sudan sent 3,500, Tunisia 1,000... hell even Cuba of all places sent 1,500 men including tank and helo crews. Fighting the full forces of Egypt and Syria along with aid from every Muslim country on earth this was a micro-world war fougt by the sole IDF with US resupply. You bring this fact up but the Soviets were supplying everbody else so don't make it look like it was lop-sided. This war just shows that Western doctrine was superior to Soviet tactics.


after all i think both egypt and israel did well in the war but nobody won after all

While I agree there are no real winners in war I think you have to admit the IDF kicked some tail.:o

[merocaine]

Quote:
Originally Posted by heso10
by the way israel knew when was the attack because elsadat told king of jordan at that time if he wants to participate in the war to get his river back but he refused and in 5th octobar he told golda mayar about the war and its time and israel started in morning of 6 october to prepare the reserve for any possible attackes plus an israel's high rank officer doubt the actions of the egyptian soldiers and asked his soldiers to be prepared just in case

@Big E If this were the case the IAF would have launched pre-emptive airstrikes against Egyptian airfields. This was tactical doctrine of the IDF.


The simple fact is the isrealies did'ent belive Hussian, mybe you shouldent be so sure of tactial doctrine being the deciding factor in war:rolleyes:

Despite refusing to participate, King Hussein of Jordan "had met with Sadat and [Syrian President] Assad in Alexandria two weeks before. Given the mutual suspicions prevailing among the Arab leaders, it was unlikely that he had been told any specific war plans. But it was probable that Sadat and Assad had raised the prospect of war against Israel in more general terms to feel out the likelihood of Jordan joining in" (Rabinovich, 51). On the night of September 25, Hussein secretly flew to Tel Aviv to warn Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir of an impending Syrian attack. "Are they going to war without the Egyptians, asked Mrs. Meir. The king said he didn't think so. 'I think they [Egypt] would cooperate'". (Rabinovich, 50) Surprisingly, this warning fell on deaf ears. Aman concluded that the king had not told it anything it did not already know. "Eleven warnings of war were received by Israel during September from well placed sources. But [Mossad chief] Zvi Zamir continued to insist that war was not an Arab option. Not even Hussein's warnings succeeded in stirring his doubts" (Rabinovich, 56). He would later remark that "We simply didn't feel them capable [of War]" (Rabinovich, 57).
from wikipedia

[Big-E]

mybe you shouldent be so sure of tactial doctrine being the deciding factor in war:rolleyes:

3rd Army... nuff said.:o

[merocaine]

3rd Army... nuff said.

ha ha very good.

as some american general said around the time "a 3th rate army thumping a 6th rate army

[Ozzy Blizzard]

I'm not sure you could argue that they "got greedy"

GF your right I over simplified. I was just trying to point out that with a well thout out battle plan with achievable objectives, adequate preperations, deception and concentration the Egyptian army could take on the IDF and achieve favorable results.:)

[Patzek]

The only fact that still stands no matter what you'll say.

a tiny country of 20,000sqr km, warded off 3 countries who each one of them is few times bigger, and with total number of population Israel was probably 1:30.

and still, while 3 countries attacked us in the middle of Yum Kippur ( a holy day in the judaism, where you're not allowed to listen to radio, TV, make any effort, and you also need to fast 24 hours, 90% from the IDF was released for the Yum Kippur day ( total of about 3 days, day before day after ).

People didn't ate, and in the middle of the day ( 2pm ) the alarm goes, and in the middle of the fast, from no where, they have to go to their tanks without anything on them, and defend this country from 3 huge armies.

those armies had a mission, to destroy Israel, since they were failed, and we succeeded to defend our country, there is one winner in this war.

maybe we lost alot of brave men, but they died for a cause, and this cause was accomplished, and still is untill this day.

[Ozzy Blizzard]

The only fact that still stands no matter what you'll say.

a tiny country of 20,000sqr km, warded off 3 countries who each one of them is few times bigger, and with total number of population Israel was probably 1:30.
.

I dont think that anyone can dispute the awesome capability of the IDF, especially for a country of Israel's size. You guys have decimated every army and air force that has attempted to destroy you. :D There is a massive gulf between the capabilities of the IDF an any past or potential oppanants. Thats why it's remarkable that the Egyptian army actually achieved a sucsessfull crossing of the suez canal.

[Patzek]

I dont think that anyone can dispute the awesome capability of the IDF, especially for a country of Israel's size. You guys have decimated every army and air force that has attempted to destroy you. :D There is a massive gulf between the capabilities of the IDF an any past or potential oppanants. Thats why it's remarkable that the Egyptian army actually achieved a sucsessfull crossing of the suez canal.


considering the fact the 90% from the IDF were still at their homes 250km away for Suez, and only 200men with about 20 tanks guarded the suez, it is not that surprising..

[Ozzy Blizzard]

considering the fact the 90% from the IDF were still at their homes 250km away for Suez, and only 200men with about 20 tanks guarded the suez, it is not that surprising..

Yeah your right, without sucsessful deception or the Mossads suprising failure (sorry i'm not to sure about Israel's inteligence structure, so it might have been another agency) to provide adequate inteligence about the hostile intentions of three agressive neihbours, the Egyptians probably would have benn decimated in the assault fase.

[Awang se]

by the way israel knew when was the attack because elsadat told king of jordan at that time if he wants to participate in the war to get his river back but he refused and in 5th octobar he told golda mayar about the war and its time and israel started in morning of 6 october to prepare the reserve for any possible attackes plus an israel's high rank officer doubt the actions of the egyptian soldiers and asked his soldiers to be prepared just in case

@Big E If this were the case the IAF would have launched pre-emptive airstrikes against Egyptian airfields. This was tactical doctrine of the IDF.

Since Egypt lost Sinai, the egyptians have been making a lot of fuss about attacking Israel and regain Sinai. for time and again the egyptians would've recall their servicemens, put them on stand by and then stand down. So this manage to wear down israel watchfulness overtime.

Egypt know about the many listening posts set up by Israel along the border and they never transmit any info regarding the attack through the airwave.

Israel was confident that their great sand wall and air power would've been anough to repel any early attack by egyptians and gave them time to assemble reserves.

Israel underestimated the capability of the egyptians air defence system and the mobility level of egyptians army.

[Awang se]

This war saw the largest airlift operation ever commited by the US since world war 2. also US release their only operational squadron equip with Maverick missiles and lend it to Israel. since there's no time to train Israeli pilots to use the missile, the package also include the US pilots.

[Big-E]

US release their only operational squadron equip with Maverick missiles and lend it to Israel. since there's no time to train Israeli pilots to use the missile, the package also include the US pilots.

So your saying US pilots participated in combat during the Yom Kippur War?:confused:

[gf0012-aust]

This war saw the largest airlift operation ever commited by the US since world war 2. also US release their only operational squadron equip with Maverick missiles and lend it to Israel. since there's no time to train Israeli pilots to use the missile, the package also include the US pilots.

The Egyptians initially tried to ameliorate their air war losses by blaming the americans and implying that they were "reflagged" USN 5th Fleet aircraft, they couldn't work out how the Israelis could maintain high sortie rates when their own russian aircraft were either getting shot down or were failing maint turn arounds - this was comprehensively rejected by the Soviets who were monitoring the US Med Fleet.

Its an urban myth still popular in some parts but fails the credibility tests.

[Big-E]

Its an urban myth still popular in some parts but fails the credibility tests.

That's funny that you say that, I'm watching Myth Busters right now. Maybe we should do a show and see if the IAF could actually run that many sorties without US 6th fleet.:p:

[long live usa]

didint brezhnev send nixon a letter in the middle of the night of oct 23-24 he asked that American and soviet forces be sent to make sure both sides honer the cease fire and said that if the Americans can not work with us on this matter they would take steps to insure isreal did honer the cease fire,so basically they were making a threat to intervine in the war on eygypts side,America quickly increased the DEFCON level from four to three and kissinger along with other high ranking members of staff approved a letter to sadat to drop the the request for soviet assistance saying if the soviets intervined than so would America,eygypt agreed ending the crisis although it is doubtful the soviets would have intervined as they did not want to start a 3rd world war over the matter and accepted an arab defeat

[umair]

My 2 cents. In the mideast, the Syrians have always made the most noise and been the last ones to fight. All they did was rhetoric, in 67, 73 and the war of attrittion. Infact they were the main instigators of the Six Day war with all their political war mongering and sloganeering. When push came to shove, they were the ones who contributed the least to the Arab efforts in all the Arab-Israel conflicts. I personally speakng have no respect for the Syrian leadership. I like the people but their leaders have been spineless loudmouths IMHO.
BTW to all I've always respected Israel's right to exist so don't start flaming me ok.

[Awang se]

The Soviet doctrine they operated under was poor to begin with and they could not execute that properly which equals the end result of the war, total defeat by a smaller force

Not really, Egypt and Soviet have a very good plan. Their initial plan call for a limited advance into Sinai. Simple saying is, they cross the canal (which itself a record breaking achievement) dug in and wait for the expected israel counterattack. they did crush one, maybe two israel counterattack. the real messmaker is Sadat himself. he throw out the soviet in 72, and he gave several controversial order that contradicted the need of his soldiers. one of this is his insistance for several Egyptian units to advance through Giddi and Mithla without SAM cover. with israel air power, it's obvious what happen next. this of course resulted in a creation of a gap of which Sharon used to cross westward, mopped up the SAMs and cutoff Egyptian 3rd Army.