The Yom Kippur War was fought from October 6 (the day of Yom Kippur) to October 26, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Egypt and Syria. The War began with a surprise joint attack by Egypt and Syria into the Sinai and Golan Heights, respectively, which had been captured by Israel six years earlier during the Six-Day War. The Egyptians and Syrians advanced during the first 24–48 hours, after which momentum began to swing in Israel's favor. By the second week of the war, the Syrians had been pushed entirely out of the Golan Heights. In the Sinai to the south, the Israelis had struck at the "hinge" between two invading Egyptian armies, crossed the Suez Canal (where the old cease-fire line had been), and cut off an entire Egyptian army just as a United Nations cease-fire came into effect. The war had far-reaching implications for many nations. The Arab world, which had been humiliated by the lopsided defeat of the Egyptian-Syrian-Jordanian alliance during the Six-Day War, felt psychologically vindicated by its string of victories early in the conflict. This vindication paved the way for the peace process that followed, as well as liberalizations such as Egypt's infitah policy. The Camp David Accords which came soon after led to normalized relations between Egypt and Israel—the first time any Arab country had recognized the Israeli state. Egypt, which had already been drifting away from the Soviet Union, then left the Soviet sphere of influence almost entirely.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1867: U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska for 7.2 million U.S. dollars from Russia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Seward)

1912: Sultan Abdelhafid signed the Treaty of Fez, making Morocco a French protectorate. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Morocco)

1940: World War II: Wang Jingwei was installed by Japan as head of the puppet government in China. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Jingwei)

1954: The Toronto Transit Commission launched the first subway system in Canada. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Transit_Commission)

1964: Merv Griffin's game show Jeopardy! made its debut on television. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeopardy%21)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"Nothing can be surprising any more or impossible or miraculous, now that Zeus, father of the Olympians has made night out of noonday, hiding the bright sunlight, and . . . fear has come upon mankind. After this, men can believe anything, expect anything." -- Archilochus (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Archilochus)