page_title: Battle of Ismailia
section_title: Third and fourth days
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Ismailia / Battle / Third and fourth days
caption_attribution_description: Colonel Osama Ibrahim, commander of the 139th Sa'iqa Group. His unit fought during the Yom Kippur War, and assisted in defending Ismailia.
context_page_description: The Battle of Ismailia took place between the Egyptian Army and the Israeli Defense Forces during the last stages of the Yom Kippur War during October 18–22, 1973, south of the city of Ismailia, on the west bank of the Suez Canal in Egypt. The battle itself took place as part of the larger IDF-launched Operation Abiray-Lev, in an attempt to seize Ismailia and thereby sever the logistical and supply lines of most of Egypt's Second Field Army across the Suez Canal.
  Breaking out of their newly established bridgehead west of the Canal at the northern end of the Great Bitter Lake, the IDF launched an offensive from Deversoir toward Ismailia. A combined force of Egyptian paratroopers and commandos fought a delaying battle, falling back upon defensive positions further north under increasing pressure from IDF infantry and armor. By October 22, they were occupying a last line of defense, including positions along the Ismailia canal. Though outnumbered, they repulsed a final Israeli effort to capture the city; a United Nations ceasefire was then imposed, bringing the battle to an end.
context_section_description: Starting at sunrise on October 20, the Israeli Air Force launched aerial attacks for the duration of the day, targeting Ismailia, the nearby al-Galaa' army base, and Jebel Mariam. Close air support was also provided to advancing ground forces. Israeli aircraft employed ordnance fitted with time fuses, as well as napalm to demoralize Egyptian troops. Shazly left Ismailia that evening, returning to Cairo where he presented a grim evaluation of the military situation to GHQ. His recommendation to withdraw armored forces to counter the Israeli threat on the west bank created a serious command crisis, and ultimately no withdrawal took place.
  Sharon renewed his division's attack that day, moving north from Serabaeum on a three brigade front, with Matt on the right, Erez in the center, and Reshef on the left. The advance spanned the entire area between the Suez Canal on the east and the Sweetwater Canal on the west. By dawn, both Touscan and Ain Ghasin were under attack. The 89th Battalion had concentrated all its forces at the Touscan strong point, where it was hard-pressed by superior Israeli armored and mechanized forces. Azmy reported the situation to Second Army headquarters, and requested permission to detonate a nearby bridge on the Sweetwater Canal and flood the area before the advancing Israelis. Khalil however issued strict orders not to do so, since the canal was a crucial source of drinking water to civilians all the way up to Suez city. The situation was deteriorating for the paratroopers however, and Azmy soon had the bridge destroyed and broke down sections of nearby irrigation canals, flooding the entire area and submerging Israeli tanks up to their hulls in muddy water. This led to the paratroopers of Matt's brigade spearheading the advance in the center instead, while the armored brigades were forced to have their mechanized infantry push ahead on foot. The Touscan position remained under heavy air and artillery attack, and by midday it was surrounded. Losses due to death and injury left the battalion with some 120 paratroopers still able to fight.
  Meanwhile, the 81st Battalion was able to hold Ain Ghasin until the afternoon, when it retreated to Nefisha. As for the reconstituted 85th Battalion, it was ordered to occupy Jebel Mariam, Heneidac and Touscan. The battalion's commander, Lt. Col. Monsif, found during a reconnaissance that Touscan was surrounded by large Israeli forces and under heavy fire, and so limited his battalion's defenses to Jebel Mariam and Heneidac only, occupying the former with the battalion's main forces, including two companies of paratroopers, and placing a single company at Heneidac.
  The 139th Sa'iqa Group, having had its mission confirmed by GHQ, began moving southward from Ismailia at sunset. Both battalions advanced in columns, each pushing a company ahead as a vanguard. Col. Ibrahim sent four patrols ahead to reconnoitre, and only one returned; the rest were considered missing. As the Sa'iqa group moved south, they encountered groups of Egyptian paratroopers from the 81st and 89th Battalions, retreating northward under Israeli pressure. When the unit neared Ain Ghasin they were ambushed by an Israeli force. An intense firefight took place as the vanguard engaged the Israelis, after some of their transports had been hit. Soldiers disembarked their vehicles and took cover in nearby farms and orchards. The vehicles and transports were turned back with great difficulty, and the entire Sa'iqa group soon began to retreat to a position south of the village of Abu 'Atwa, itself roughly 3 kilometres south of Ismailia. Ibrahim called for artillery support, but the Israelis were jamming and interfering his radio net, and communicated with him in Arabic. This led to Israeli artillery fire falling on his forces instead. The Egyptians suffered few casualties though, due to the density of the mango trees, which minimized the hit radius of artillery rounds and provided cover from shrapnel.
caption: Osama Ibrahim, commander of the 139th Sa'iqa Group.
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