Battle of Suez

The Battle of Suez was fought on October 24–25, 1973 between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army in the Egyptian city of Suez. It was the closing battle of the Yom Kippur War, before a ceasefire took effect.

On October 23, with the imminent arrival of UN observers to the front, Israel decided to capture Suez, assuming it would be poorly defended. An armored brigade and an infantry battalion from the Paratroopers Brigade were committed to the task, and entered the city without a battle plan. The armored column was ambushed and suffered heavy losses, while the paratroopers came under intense fire, with many trapped inside a local building. The armored column and part of the infantry were evacuated during the day, while the main paratrooper battalion eventually managed to leave the city and return to Israeli lines. This battle is considered a rare example of defenders successfully repelling an attack in urban warfare.