Celebrations of the glorious October 6’s victory are around the corner. This victory that showed the world the undaunted heroism of the Egyptian armed forces who dared to face death and enshrined the timeless ballad of love of every Egyptian to his homeland, Egypt. On its issue of 11th of October, 1973, New Yorker magazine stated “It was the only time in four Arab-Israeli wars that the Egyptians had the better of the Israelis.Tactically, the crossing was bold and ingenious (dissolving giant defensive sand berms with high-pressure water hoses; erecting pontoon bridges; commandos crossing the canal in exposed rubber dinghies)” This war indeed demonstrated a brilliance that surpassed the world’s thinking and expectations when the Egyptian army managed to execute a complex military plan crossing the impregnable Bar Lev Line that defied the Egyptian minds: How can one cross the sand berm that starts from the Suez Canal and extends 12 kilometers deep into the peninsulalong the entire eastern bank facing the canal, it rose 20-22 meters, with a 45-degree slope. It contained 20 fortified points, each with 15 soldiers, and fixed platforms for tanks for emergency shelling. Its base had pipes that empty into the Suez Canal to ignite its surface with napalm upon any attempt by the Egyptians to cross it. Additionally, there were 22 defensive positions and 26 fortified points, consisting of several underground floors, capable of withstanding aerial bombardment and heavy artillery fire, though Israel has repeatedly declared that it was impossible to cross the Bar Lev line that she considered more fortified than the French Ligne Maginotconstructed by the French after World War I, it was claimed that anyone attempting to cross this [Bar Lev Line] would surely die. Western military experts even asserted that it could only be destroyed by an atomic bomb! The daunting challenge was to breach it and cross the canal in the shortest possible time with minimal casualties. It was estimated that creating gaps in the 12-15 meter-high sand berm would take up to 12-15 hours and result in as many as 20,000 casualties. The world seemed to have no solution to this equation until the brilliant, determined, and courageous Egyptian mind stepped in. Major General BaqiZaki Youssef, may God have mercy on him, proposed a groundbreaking idea: a water cannon using pressurized water to remove any sandy or earthen obstacle in a short time, at a low cost, and with minimal casualties. This innovation was destined to pave the way for victory.
Thus, on the 6th of October, 1973, the Israeli illusion crumbled within a few hours. More than 30,000 Egyptian soldiers crossed the canal in just 3 hours! Several breaches were created at the sand berm using water pumps to pave the way for armored vehicles. United Press reported that Israel’s abandonment of the fortified Bar Lev Line on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal was the worst military setback in its history. The German magazine Der Spiegel stated that the Egyptian crossing of the Bar Lev Line made the entire Arab nation shake off the humiliation it had endured since 1967.
The Egyptian contribution did not stop at the level of thought, but extended to sacrificing of life. In the book “The Shortcoming,” written by seven prominent Israeli journalists, they described the Egyptian soldier and his bravery: “The Egyptians fought with suicidal scenes; they came towards us from a few meters away, and aimed their light anti-tank guns at our tanks, and feared nothing!! They would literally roll between the wheels after each shell, take cover under roadside bushes, and reload their guns with new rounds!!! Despite the injury of a large number of Egyptian commandos, their colleagues did not flee but continued to engage in a disruptive battle, a suicidal battle against the tanks, as if they were determined to pay with their lives to prevent the tanks from passing!!! The armored troops were forced to engage in battle with them, firing their machine guns from atop the tanks. Truly, we had never faced soldiers of this caliber of bravery and steadfastness in any of the wars with the Egyptians before.”
I congratulate you all on the 51st anniversary of the glorious October victories. May God bless our beloved Egypt, protect its heroes and noble people, and preserve its lands from all evil. Stories of “Beautiful Egypt” can never end!
The General Bishop
President of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
