On October 6th, 1973 - the day of the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur - Egypt and Syria launched surprise attacks against Israeli positions on the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights. Their goal was to recapture land lost during the 1967 Six Day War, during which Egypt, Jordan and Syria had been humiliated by numerically inferior Israeli forces.
Ever mindful of possible retribution, during the years between the 1967 and 1973 conflicts, Israel spent time fortifying their lines in the Sinai along the Suez Canal. Though caught by surprise, the "Bar Lev" line held long enough to be relieved by Israeli...