Editing Yom Kippur War (section)

===Failed Israeli counter-attack===
[[File:destroyed m60.jpg|thumb|An Israeli [[M60 Patton]] tank destroyed in the Sinai]]

On 7 October, David Elazar visited Shmuel Gonen, commander of the Israeli [[Southern Command (Israel)|Southern Command]]—who had only taken the position three months before at the retirement of Ariel Sharon—and met with Israeli commanders. The Israelis planned a cautious counterattack for the following day by [[Avraham Adan]]'s [[162nd Division (IDF)|162nd Armored Division]].{{sfnp|Gawrych|1996|pp=41–42}} The same day, the IAF carried out [[Operation Tagar]], aiming to neutralize [[Egyptian Air Force]] bases and its missile defense shield.<ref name="Dunstan and Lyles, p. 64">Dunstan and Lyles, p. 64.</ref><ref name="israeled.org">[http://www.israeled.org/PrimarySource/Memcon_Dinitz_Kissinger_100773.pdf] {{dead link|date=February 2016}}</ref>

Seven Egyptian airbases were damaged, with the loss of two [[A-4 Skyhawk]]s and their pilots. Two more planned attacks were called off because of the increasing need for air power on the Syrian front. The IAF carried out additional air attacks against Egyptian forces on the east bank of the canal, reportedly inflicting heavy losses. Israeli jets had carried out hundreds of sorties against Egyptian targets by the following day, but the Egyptian SAM shield inflicted heavy losses. IAF aircraft losses amounted to three aircraft for every 200 sorties, an unsustainable rate. The Israelis responded by rapidly devising new tactics to thwart the Egyptian air defenses.<ref name="Dunstan and Lyles, p. 64" /><ref name="israeled.org" />

[[File:Egyptian and Israeli Tanks Destroyed Near the Suez Canal During Yom Kippur War, 1973.jpg|thumb|right|Wrecks of Israeli and Egyptian armour stand directly opposed one another in a testament to the ferocity of the combat near the Suez Canal.]]
On 8 October, after Elazar had left, Gonen changed the plans on the basis of unduly optimistic field reports. Adan's division was composed of three brigades totaling 183 tanks. One of the brigades was still en route to the area, and would participate in the attack by noon, along with a supporting mechanized infantry brigade with an additional 44 tanks.{{sfnp|Gawrych|1996|pp=43–44}}{{sfnp|Rabinovich|2004|p=234}} The Israeli counterattack was in the direction of the Bar Lev strongpoints opposite the city of [[Ismailia]], against entrenched Egyptian infantry. In a series of ill-coordinated attacks which were met by stiff resistance from Egyptian tanks, artillery, and infantry armed with anti-tank rockets, the Israelis were repulsed with heavy losses.{{sfnp|Gawrych|1996|pp=44–52}}

An initial Israeli attack by some 25 tanks broke through the first Egyptian troops and managed to come within {{convert|800|m|ft}} of the canal before coming under withering fire. The Israelis lost 18 tanks within minutes and most of the commanders were killed or wounded. This was followed by a second attack by elements of two Israeli brigades, which had communication and coordination problems. The Egyptians allowed the Israelis to advance and then encircled them in a prepared [[kill zone]] before opening fire, wiping out most of the Israeli force within 13 minutes. The Egyptians destroyed over 50 Israeli tanks and captured eight intact.{{sfnp|Gawrych|1996|pp=44–52}}

That afternoon, Egyptian forces advanced once more to deepen their bridgeheads, and as a result the Israelis lost several strategic positions. Further Israeli attacks to regain the lost ground proved futile.{{sfnp|Gawrych|1996|pp=44–52}} Towards nightfall, an Egyptian counterattack was repulsed with the loss of 50 Egyptian tanks by the Israeli 143rd Armored Division, which was led by Ariel Sharon, who had been reinstated as a division commander at the outset of the war. Gawrych, citing Egyptian sources, documented Egyptian tank losses up to 13 October at 240.{{sfnp|Gawrych|2000|pp=192, 208}}