William Durupul

And this means that they have to move beyond this famous SAM missile umbrella.

I grew up with sound missiles.

Anyway, in the open desert, the Egyptian tanks, which are, you know, in their great numbers have crossed over, but have not advanced very far.

They now advance.

It is.

I mean, in a sense, it's good tank territory.

For most of it, it's fairly flat.

There are mountains, but you can drive around them.

But they are open to Israeli air attack.

And on a single afternoon on October the 14th, the Egyptians lose.

We don't know the exact numbers, but between 150 and 250 tanks are destroyed by the Israeli Air Force.

It's the largest tank battle since Kursk in 1943.

You have to go right back to the Second World War to find something like this.

And this is Sharon's moment.

He is commanding the 143rd Reserve Armored Division, and he finds a gap between the Egyptian Second and Third Armies near the Great Bitter Lake.

And he wants to cross the canal into Egypt itself.

The idea is that if you can cut through, you can isolate the Egyptians in the Sinai, cut them off.

And this plan, it is audacious to the point of recklessness.

He reaches the crossing point.

The Israeli forces have to fight through a place called Chinese Farm, which is a kind of Japanese-built agricultural station in the Sinai held by Egyptian commandos.