Armed Forces Day

Armed Forces Day, public holiday observed in Egypt on October 6, celebrating the day in 1973 when combined Egyptian and Syrian military forces launched a surprise attack on Israel and crossed into the Sinai Peninsula, which marked the beginning of the October (Yom Kippur) War.

(Read Britannica’s 1980 interview with Anwar Sadat.)

Egyptian Pres. Anwar Sadat planned the attack in an attempt to bolster Egyptian and Arab morale and to regain control of the Sinai territory that had been lost to Israel during the June (Six-Day) War in 1967. The plan met with initial success when more than 80,000 Egyptian soldiers crossed the Bar Lev line—massive fortifications built by the Israelis to withstand such attacks. The Egyptian forces held the territory for two days before being forced to pull back after an Israeli counterattack entirely surrounded the Egyptian Third Army. Although the assault by Egypt and Syria was ultimately unsuccessful, the initial regaining of the Sinai territory was a source of pride, representing the first Arab military victory over Israel since the Six-Day War. It eventually led Egypt and Israel to negotiate the 1977 Camp David Accords, brokered by U.S. Pres. Jimmy Carter. As a result of the accords, the Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egyptian control.

Celebrations on Armed Forces Day typically include parades and other events staged by the military, as well as patriotic television shows, songs, and fireworks displays. The holiday took on additional meaning after the 1981 assassination of President Sadat during an Armed Forces Day parade in Cairo.