Part of "The World at War" series. The Yom Kippur War began when Egypt and Syria invaded Israel on two fronts during the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Their early successes were due in part to the surprise attack but also to a renewed Egyptian fighting force that had planned the invasion with great ingenuity and foresight. Only when the Israelis took out the Syrian antiaircraft defense did the tide begin to turn on that front, while their surprise attack through Africa left Egyptian forces stranded on the east bank of the Suez Canal. The war closed with a disappointed President Anwar Sadat negotiating with Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula.