Sinai Front: Giddi Pass

During the afternoon of the 6th of October 1973 one of the assaulting Egyptian brigades, the 130th Marine Brigade, crossed the Canal and pushed straight on towards the passes in the Khatmia Mountains with the mission of securing the western …

1973-10-06

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During the afternoon of the 6th of October 1973 one of the assaulting Egyptian brigades, the 130th Marine Brigade, crossed the Canal and pushed straight on towards the passes in the Khatmia Mountains with the mission of securing the western entrances of these passes to prevent Israeli reinforcements from coming through. (Egyptian Commando units held the eastern entrances.) As the brigade approached the passes it broke up into three battalion size groups with the largest group heading for Giddi Pass. As this group arrived at the pass entrance, an Israelí tank battalion was just leaving the pass on its way to the Canal. Both sides were surprised and a rather short but violent meeting engagement erupted. The Egyptian PT-76 tanks, which were the main battle tank of the 130th, were no match for the Israeli M-60's and after suffering heavy casualties the Egyptians withdrew back towards the Canal. The Israelis, though victorious, did not pursue the Egyptians as they had to reorganized after the battle.

Giddi Pass, Sinai

The Operation Badr or Plan 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", 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 established defensive positions in bridgeheads spanning the 160-kilometre (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.

Wikipedia: Operation Badr (1973)

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