Portraying Valor: Celebrating The 6th Of October War Heroes And Their Stories
Edited by Belal Nawar
The 6th of October 1973 War was an epic confrontation between Egypt and Israel, in which the Egyptian army restored the Sinai Peninsula. The Egyptian Army launched an unexpected assault against Israeli troops In the occupied Sinai. The army crossed the Suez Canal with the help of the Air Force, forcing the Israelis across to the other side of the international waterway. With that in mind, we wish to look back at key figures who contributed to the success of the 6th of October War.
Amr Tolba
Amr Tolba was an Egyptian spy who was placed in Israel by the Egyptian Military Service as an Egyptian Jew under the name of Moshe Zaki Ravi. He managed to become one of the front-line soldiers in the Israeli army and helped with exact locations, timings, and plans of the Israeli strategy in regard to the Bar-Lev line. If it wasn’t for this hero, the Egyptian military soldiers would not have known the insides of the Israeli plans. He risked his life for his country and placed himself with the enemy and was even martyred dressed up as an Israeli soldier. Egyptian soldiers found his body and took it back, honoring his death for his country.
Mohamed Ali Fahmy
Known as the “Father of the Egyptian Air Defense”, Mohamed Ali Fahmy is mostly known for his planning and management of the Egyptian Air Defense Command during the Attrition War and 6 October war and for building “the Egyptian Missile Wall.” He made the Air Defense a separate branch of the Armed Forces and raised five new Air Defense Brigades and two new Air Defense Divisions; plus established an Air Defense Academy in 1970 for the training of young officers and conscripts.
Mohamed Abdel Atty Attia
While the success of the war is based on great teamwork, there are people who stand out on their own. Mohamed Abdel Atty Attia was one of these people. He earned the nickname of “Tank Hunter” or “Saeed El Dababat” because of the number of tanks he managed to destroy. On October 8th, 1973, the first missile launched by Abdel Atty hit an Israeli tank and destroyed it, followed by the destruction of 13 other tanks. Before they knew it, they were surrounded by over 190 armored brigades from the Israeli services, but that didn’t stop him. Abdel Atty along with his fellow soldiers adjusted their missiles to the maximum elevation and managed to destroy around 27 of the enemy tanks and all armored brigades.
Gamal Mahmoud Aly
Destroying the dam and crossing over to the enemy lines was a major problem during the 6th of October war. While there were many ideas for using helicopters and firing squads, it wasn’t a practical solution. Gamal Mahmoud Aly was the genius behind the idea of using high pressured water to destroy it and get the Egyptian squads to cross over.
Ahmed Hamdy
Ahmed Hamdi was an Egyptian engineer who was in charge of the preparation of a group of soldiers. He had to install a bridge that will assure the safe transfer of the third Army to the other side of the Suez Canal. He was also known as “The Pure Hand” because he detonated thousands of land bombs before they exploded. He was martyred while installing the bridge as he had chosen to be caught in the action with his fellow engineers and soldiers rather than give orders from afar.
Saleh Mahran
Let us not forget the hero, who announced the news to millions of Egyptians. Saleh Mahran was the radio presenter whose voice was a cue to the celebration. Mahran was the one who very calmly announced the success of the war and the safety of the Egyptian armies.
