Published: 21 September 2023
Last updated: 5 March 2024
Though it ended in a stalemate, the war was heralded as a military victory in Egypt. Sadat later turned it into a political triumph in 1979 by regaining its lost Sinai territory.
On October 6, Egypt will celebrate, undoubtedly with considerable pomp and ceremony, the 50th anniversary of the most significant “victory” against Israel in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
This triumphal attitude was reiterated by Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi during last year’s celebration. He described the war as “the glorious October victory, a day of pride and dignity, a day that represented proof of the capabilities of Egyptians in overcoming the toughest moments of the nation's history”.
“This day was designed to be eternally carved not only in the consciousness of the Egyptian people but also in the consciousness of the entire Arab nation and all peace-loving peoples in the world,” he insisted.
However, the reality is not as straightforward as the glorified mainstream Egyptian narrative implies.
It is true that the joint Arab surprise attack so caught Israel on the backfoot that many of its top brass feared that the annihilation of their young state was afoot, and some even considered deploying the nuclear “bomb in the basement”.
It is also true that Egypt’s crossing of the Suez Canal was spectacular and that the use of simple water cannons to penetrate the supposedly “impenetrable” Israeli fortifications on the other side displayed a genius of low-tech resourcefulness.
The military outcome was far better than the catastrophic defeat that Israel had inflicted on the Arabs six years earlier.
