866:) arrived at 4:30, half an hour late, and then was forced to land one kilometer west of the fort. It joined the secondary attack group in its advance against the fortification. The mixed force came under heavy fire, and the battalion commander, Ali al-Mezahi was killed. The Sa'iqa company east of the fort finally succeeded in breaching the fort's defenses under heavy fire; the company commander was hit several times but continued to lead his men. The secondary force also managed to reach the fort's northern sand embankment. The fighting became intense, and the Egyptians picked up a radio signal sent by the garrison commander in which he detailed his men's precarious position and requested immediate assistance, especially air support. Despite the initial success achieved, Salah did not have his reserves on either side of the fort join the attack. With sunrise, Israeli aircraft began attacking Egyptian troops. Two
633:. Soon all three tanks were either destroyed or damaged, so the combat engineers proceeded to breach the minefield on their own. Israeli aircraft began strafing and bombing the Egyptian forces for over two and a half hours while encountering no resistance, leading to the destruction of all six tanks and five vehicles. The Israelis bombed Egyptian forces at the minefield and on an area of the strip stretching two kilometers towards Port Fouad. Under fire from the air and from the fort, the attack bogged down to a complete halt before the Egyptians began to retreat. Salah ordered his battalion to assume defensive positions east of Port Fouad to repel any Israeli counterattack and to regroup.
707:, as well as studying routes of approach through the marshes. The attacking forces began moving to their positions at 19:00 on October 14, taking advantage of the darkness. The secondary attack force took up position east of Port Fouad while the main force reached its position east of the fort through the marshes in four waves. The march was extremely difficult to cross due to the nature of the terrain and the high concentration of salt, which meant the soldiers had to traverse the marshes barefoot. Towards midnight, the Egyptians began harassing the fort's garrison with
897:– who were supposedly promised in support of the attack but never arrived – be sent to protect the retreating forces. Artillery fire was used to provide cover. Khalid instructed Salah to have his forces retreat to their original defensive positions east of Port Fouad to reorganize, and to defend against counterattacks at all costs. Throughout October 15, troops that had retreated through the lake continued to arrive at the defensive positions, where Israeli counterattacks were repulsed with the help of artillery. At 8:00 that morning, two Egyptian
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566:, were Egyptian commando forces). The Sa'iqa company would join the attack via a naval landing and would be separated into two groups. One group would land four kilometers east of Budapest to isolate it and prevent Israeli reinforcements from reaching the fort. The other group would land one kilometer east of Budapest, and then attack the fort. The main assault would come from the west, to be carried out by the battalion and the six tanks. The battalion would attack from
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The secondary attack force approaching from the west opened fire to draw the garrison's attention. The main force advanced towards the fort, spearheaded by the Sa'iqa company. The
Egyptians managed to reach the fort and surprise its garrison. Soon the company was on the verge of entering the fort. The naval force however, due to bad sea conditions (
585:. Only ten were received however, and on October 3, Second Army informed Khalid that there were no more dinghies available, and that he would have to improvise. Khalid resorted to renting two fishing boats. Consequently, the Sa'iqa company was tasked with simply isolating the fort; no attack from the east would be carried out.
873:
The
Israelis reinforced the fort with two tank companies. They came up against the Sa'iqa company isolating the fort. In the ensuing firefight, the company leader and every platoon commander were killed as the Egyptians were caught in open ground, bereft of any cover. There were also many casualties,
861:
At 3:00 AM on
October 15, the reinforced company (less one platoon) began moving out of Port Said in preparation for its landing. At 3:30, the fire preparation began against the fort. It was carried out by the 135th Brigade's artillery and an additional artillery battalion. At 4:00, the attack began.
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The
Egyptians, under heavy and effective fire from the Israelis inside the bunkers, ceased entering the fort. The Sa'iqa company to the east, under concentrated Israeli tank fire and aerial bombardment, was finally overwhelmed by the Israeli reinforcements, which proceeded towards the fort, opening
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tactical bombers attacked Fort
Budapest. The bombers were moderately accurate, some of the bombs finding their targets and others landing outside the fort's perimeter. Budapest was also targeted by an artillery barrage, beginning at 14:05. While the fire preparation was underway, the Sa'iqa company
694:
platoon. The main attack would be launched from the east by a Sa'iqa company and a company from al-Mezahi's battalion as the first echelon. Other units of al-Mezahi's battalion would conduct a secondary attack from the west, while one company remained in reserve near Port Fouad along with a Sa'iqa
643:
Salah planned to attempt another attack against
Budapest on October 8, and al-Mezahi, whose battalion would carry out the second attempt, took the necessary preparations. The attack was canceled however, due to heavy Israeli aerial attacks against Port Said throughout the night of October 7/8. The
698:
Salah presented his plan to Maj. Gen. Khalid on the morning of
October 13. Khalid authorized the attack and informed Second Army. The 103rd Sa'iqa Battalion spent the night of October 12/13 and October 14 preparing for the attack; reconnoitering the area around the fort by means of
610:
moved out of Port Said to conduct its landing east of the fort. At the same time the main attacking force began moving from its positions east of Port Fouad. In the lead were three T-34s with mine flails to breach the minefield, closely followed by
455:. Despite significant setbacks caused by poor sea conditions, the second attack was on the verge of success when the Israeli Air Force once again intervened, and this, coupled with Israeli reinforcements, repelled the Egyptian attack.
640:(as the company was sailing in civilian fishing boats). The company managed to prevent Israeli reinforcements from reaching the fort, destroying a number of tanks and vehicles. It also captured six Israeli soldiers.
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fire on the main force. Consequently, all
Egyptian forces east of the fort attempted to retreat through the marshes. The Israelis attempted to hamper the retreat by dropping smoke capsules over the area from four
684:. The boats however had been sent without necessary maintenance of the boats themselves or their engines. With the arrival of these reinforcements and equipment, Salah began to lay a plan of attack.
518:, the main route of approach for an attacker was by land over the strip, which spanned 170 metres (190 yd) at its widest. Alternatively, the fort could be attacked via the salt marshes, or by a
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company. A reinforced company (less one platoon) of al-Mezahi's battalion would land by sea directly upon the
Israeli fort. The attack would be preceded by a 30-minute-long fire preparation.
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Sector did not launch another attack to capture the fort. Thus
Budapest remained the only Israeli fortification of the Bar Lev Line to remain under Israeli control. Four months after the
211:
687:
As in the first attempt, a Sa'iqa company from the 103rd Battalion would occupy positions four kilometers east of Budapest to isolate the fort. It would be supported by an
483:. Fort Budapest was the strongest of all the Bar Lev positions due to its strategic location; the fort had control over the coastal road connecting Port Fouad to
268:
644:
Sa'iqa company continued to hold its positions east of Budapest for four days, until Salah decided to withdraw it due to the casualties it had sustained.
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The Budapest garrison also had the advantage of terrain. Located on a narrow strip of land bounded to the north by the Mediterranean, and to the south by
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21:
475:. Unlike all other Bar Lev Line fortifications, Budapest was not located on or immediately east of the Suez Canal. Rather, it was located on the
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The Sa'iqa company achieved the only discernible success of the attack. It managed to land four kilometers east of the fort without facing any
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On October 11, the Port Said Sector was reinforced with the 103rd Sa'iqa battalion of the 139th Sa'iqa Group. The battalion had arrived from
522:
landing. However the marshes could only be traversed on foot and then only very slowly, while a naval landing was subject to sea conditions.
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to breach the Israeli minefield, eight amphibious armored vehicles, a 120 mm mortar company, and a company of the 128th Sa'iqa Group (
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to the east. The fort had exceptional engineering preparations and a considerable amount of weaponry. The fort incorporated nine
605:, over 200 Egyptian aircraft participated in an air strike against various Israeli targets in the Sinai. As part of the strike,
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Sector, an Egyptian military command independent of the Second Field Army to the south. The commander of the sector,
542:
Salah 'Abd el-Halim. The 135th was also tasked with capturing another position, Fort Orkal, so Salah committed one
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882:. The lack of visibility caused injuries as men tripped and were trampled during the retreat through the marshes.
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strafed the secondary force and made several bombing runs against it, while helicopters attacked the main force.
904:
flew over the battlefield. On arriving over the fort, one was shot down by ground fire, and the other withdrew.
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Omar Khalid, assigned the task of capturing the fort to the 135th Independent Infantry Brigade, commanded by
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924:, the commander of Fort Budapest, led the protests against the Israeli government's handling of the war.
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Bar-Lev Line. Fort Budapest can be seen at the northern part of the line, east of the other forts
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Ali al-Mezahi to capture Budapest. However, Salah had the following reinforcements: six obsolete
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As soon as the lead T-34s reached the minefield, they came under heavy fire from the fort's
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to a depth of 600 metres (660 yd). On October 6, the fort was garrisoned by an
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Israeli flag flown at Fort Budapest throughout the war, currently preserved in the
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but the Sa'iqa destroyed twenty Israeli tanks and half-tracks during the battle.
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439:. The first attempt took place at noon on October 6, 1973, with the start of
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intervention. The second attempt took place on October 15, at the onset of
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1082:
The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East
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Capturing Fort Budapest fell within the responsibility of the
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To allow the Sa'iqa company to perform its landing, the
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467:, an elaborate chain of fortifications built by
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479:, 16.5 kilometres (10.3 mi) south-east of
463:Fort Budapest was the northernmost fort of the
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912:The second Egyptian attempt was the last; the
451:, the Israeli military operation to cross the
1103:(in Arabic) (First ed.). Dar al-Shuruq.
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1101:Military Battles on the Egyptian Front
581:Sector was to be supplied 24 assault
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622:of the battalion, was a platoon in
601:On October 6, at 14:00, as part of
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618:. Behind these, forming the first
427:to capture Fort Budapest, part of
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16:1973 battle of the Yom Kippur War
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407:The ruined Fort Budapest in 1973
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885:The sector's command contacted
507:, under the command of Captain
423:) refer to two attempts by the
734:Second Battle of Fort Budapest
663:Israeli Armored Corps memorial
471:along the eastern bank of the
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1131:Battles of the Yom Kippur War
54:First Battle of Fort Budapest
1080:Rabinovich, Abraham (2005).
1136:October 1973 events in Asia
358:Egyptian Missile Bases Raid
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449:Operation Stouthearted Men
1048:Hammad (2002), pp.666–667
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974:Hammad (2002), p.659–660
944:Hammad (2002), p.645–646
719:rockets launched from a
574:under Egyptian control.
491:, and was surrounded by
413:Battles of Fort Budapest
614:, and then the advance
570:, the only part of the
526:Prelude to first attack
37:31.175278°N 32.446028°E
1099:Hammad, Gamal (2002).
821:Commanders and leaders
711:fire using a range of
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279:al-Mazzah Airport Raid
153:Commanders and leaders
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73:Fort Budapest in 1970
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844:1 infantry battalion
554:tanks equipped with
443:, but failed due to
175:1 infantry battalion
42:31.175278; 32.446028
828:Ali al-Mezahi
826:Salah 'Abd el-Halim
624:amphibious vehicles
384:International front
373:Scud missile attack
363:25th Brigade ambush
158:Salah 'Abd el-Halim
33: /
1084:. Schocken Books.
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846:2 Sa'iqa companies
705:aerial photographs
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739:Part of the
721:naval vessel
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391:Nickel Grass
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353:Abirey-Halev
348:Chinese Farm
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121:Belligerents
59:Part of the
28:32°26′45.7″E
25:31°10′31.0″N
18:
899:Sukhoi Su-7
864:sea state 4
703:groups and
689:AT-3 Sagger
680:boats from
556:mine flails
493:barbed wire
421:מעוז בודפשט
264:2nd Latakia
40: /
1125:Categories
1110:9770908665
928:References
920:, Captain
682:Alexandria
678:fiberglass
568:Port Fouad
562:, meaning
497:minefields
481:Port Fouad
473:Suez Canal
459:Background
453:Suez Canal
284:3rd Hermon
259:2nd Hermon
237:1st Hermon
914:Port Said
908:Aftermath
709:artillery
616:fireteams
579:Port Said
564:lightning
544:battalion
532:Port Said
306:Lahtzanit
839:Strength
759:Location
717:Katyusha
713:calibers
631:garrison
583:dinghies
505:platoons
501:infantry
485:el-Arish
368:Ismailia
343:Mansoura
170:Strength
90:Location
781:victory
779:Israeli
653:Prelude
620:echelon
489:bunkers
254:Latakia
248:Model 5
112:victory
110:Israeli
1107:
1088:
815:Israel
775:Result
727:Attack
701:patrol
667:Latrun
560:Sa'iqa
429:Israel
417:Hebrew
333:Baltim
316:Romani
147:Israel
132:
106:Result
830:(KIA)
803:Egypt
768:Egypt
764:Sinai
674:Cairo
607:IL-28
572:Sinai
520:naval
338:Sinai
327:Tagar
311:Ofira
135:Egypt
99:Egypt
95:Sinai
1105:ISBN
1086:ISBN
751:Date
692:ATGM
552:T-34
495:and
411:The
378:Suez
296:Badr
274:Gown
82:Date
665:at
431:'s
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