The War in October: What Happened in 1973? - Part 1 | Featured Documentary
The War in October: What Happened in 1973?
Al Jazeera examines three weeks of war from which both Arabs and Israelis claimed to emerge victorious.
‘The War in October’ is a landmark, three-part documentary series, marking the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.
The story of the war has never been thoroughly explored. What exactly happened in those three weeks in October 1973? Both Arabs and Israelis still claim to be the victors today.
The films feature men and women who planned and fought in the three-week war that took place on both the Egyptian and Syrian fronts. Egyptians, Israelis, Syrians and other participants in the Iraqi, Jordanian, Algerian, Moroccan and Palestinian militaries are all included. The series also hears from diplomats and defence officials from the US, the former Soviet Union and Europe.
EPISODE 1 Part 2: The Crossing
EPISODE 2: The Heat of Battle
Episode two begins in the heat of battle of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War 50 years ago.
Egyptian tanks had made a successful amphibious crossing of the Suez Canal and retaken part of the Sinai. And in the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967, a fierce battle raged between Syrian and Israeli forces.
In the first five days of the war, Israeli losses alone in the Golan Heights amounted to 250 tanks and hundreds of men.
These decisive opening days of the war saw both sides make significant gains but at the same time, suffer heavy losses.
It was a battle that would continue for several more months – and five decades later, the political fallout from this conflict is still being felt in parts of the Middle East.
EPISODE 3: The Battle and Beyond
In the last of a three-part series marking 50 years since the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, soldiers and politicians relive the battle and beyond.
The term “shuttle diplomacy” was first used to describe US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s meetings in Moscow, Egypt and Israel, when all the parties involved sought a diplomatic solution to the conflict. At the same time, a massive US airlift began to carry weapons to Israel, while Arab armies were equipped with the latest Soviet armaments.
The war of weapons, diplomacy and a media battle was at its most intense for three weeks – but it took 243 days for both sides to sign a peace agreement. Both Egypt and Israel still claim to be the victors today.