Operation Badr (1973)

Operation Badr (1973)
Part of the Yom Kippur War/October War
Egyptian vehicles cross the Suez Canal over one of the bridges, October 7, 1973.
Date October 6–8, 1973 Location Sinai peninsula, Egypt Result Decisive Egyptian victory
Belligerents
Israel	Egypt
Commanders and leaders
David Elazar Shmuel Gonen Albert Mandler Abraham Adan Ariel Sharon	Ahmed Ismail Ali Saad El Shazly Saad Mamoun Abdul Munim Wassel
Strength
October 6: 1 Division 300–360 tanks 8,000 infantry (460–600 in Bar Lev Line) October 8: 3 Divisions 640 tanks	October 6: 32,000 infantry 1:00am, October 7: 200 tanks October 8: 5 divisions 90,000 infantry, 980 tanks
Casualties and losses
400 tanks destroyed 950 killed 2000 wounded	280 killed 20 tanks destroyed (October 6–7)

Operation Badr
Operational scope	Strategic
Planned by	Egyptian General Headquarters
Objective	Cross Suez Canal, destroy Bar Lev Line, establish bridgeheads, repel Israeli counteroffensives.
Executed by	18th, 2nd and 16th Infantry Divisions of the Second Army. 7th and 19th Infantry Divisions of the Third Army.
Outcome	Tactical surprise achieved, all objectives accomplished.

Operation Badr (Arabic: عملية بدر‎‎; ʻAmaliyat Badr) or Plan Badr (خطة بدر; Khitat Badr) was the code name for the Egyptian military operation to cross the Suez Canal and seize the Bar-Lev Line of Israeli fortifications on October 6, 1973. Launched in conjunction with a Syrian assault on the Golan Heights, this attack marked the start of the Yom Kippur War.

Operation Badr was preceded by training exercises starting in 1968, operational planning from 1971 onwards and a deception operation. In the opening stages of the attack, known as The Crossing (العبور; al-'obour), combat engineers used water cannons to rapidly clear numerous passages through the sand wall lining the east bank of the canal, laid bridges and operated ferries, allowing armor to cross. Egyptian infantry assaulted the Bar-Lev fortifications and were counterattacked by Israeli armor and infantry.

The attack surprised the Israelis, and by October 7 the crossing was complete, and the east bank of the canal was occupied by five Egyptian infantry divisions. The infantry proceeded to establish defensive positions in bridgeheads spanning the 160 kilometres (99 mi) front. Following a lull in the fighting on October 7, Israeli armor reserves arrived at the front and launched a counterattack opposite the city of Ismailia. The Egyptian forces were successful in employing anti-tank weapons to repel the Israeli armor and advanced once more. By the end of October 8, Egypt occupied a strip of territory along the entire east bank of the canal to a depth of approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi).

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