The Mitla Pass (, ) is a pass snaking in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, wedged between mountain ranges to the north and south. It is located about east of

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

. It is the monotonous ride through here and Nekhel, a wilderness that provides the shortest route between

Nuweiba Nuweiba (also spelled: Nueiba; , ) is a coastal town in the eastern part of Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, located on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba. History Historically, it is in the Asian part of Egypt, and the area was inhabited by two different a ...

and

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. Buses carrying tourists to

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai, also known as Jabal Musa (), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the Mount Sinai (Bible), biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the thre ...

, St. Catherine's Monastery, and Feiran Oasis travel through there.

Wars between Israel and Egypt

Aerial view of the road through Mitla Pass dotted with wrecked Egyptian vehicles and armour after Israel air force attacks

Mitla Pass is a site of major battles between the militaries of

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

during the wars of

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, and

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

Mitla incident during the Suez War

During the Israeli invasion of Egypt in the Suez War of 1956 the pass was captured by the 202nd Brigade of the Israeli army, commanded by

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...

, without the approval of the Israeli leadership. Sharon faced elements of the Egyptian 2nd Brigade, which had prepared an ambush within the pass. Egyptians pinned down such famous Israelis as

Mordechai Gur Mordechai "Motta" Gur (; May 6, 1930 – July 16, 1995) was an Israeli politician and the 10th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. During the Six-Day War (1967), he commanded the brigade that penetrated the Old City of Jerusalem and b ...

and Uri Dan under fire throughout the afternoon of October 31, 1956.

Aharon Davidi Aharon Davidi (; 1927 – February 11, 2012) was an Israeli general and founder of the Sar-El volunteer program of the Israel Defense Forces, IDF. Biography He was Sabra (person), born in Mandatory Palestine as the youngest son of an immigrant fa ...

and

Rafael Eitan Rafael "Raful" Eitan (; 11 January 1929 – 23 November 2004) was an Israeli general, former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (Ramatkal) and later a politician, a Knesset member, and government minister. Early life Rafael Eitan was ...

sent in two companies to clear Egyptians from both sides of the pass between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. that evening. The Israelis suffered 40 casualties and about 120 wounded, while the Egyptians suffered 260 casualties. Sharon was criticized for this.

Yom Kippur War

During the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

, on October 14, 1973, the Egyptians tried to reach the pass with elements of their Fourth Armored Division, but their offensive was halted by IDF armor and air power. Figures of Egyptian tank losses vary with the source consulted. ''The Two O'Clock War'' gives the Israeli figure but the Egyptian one is lower.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Landforms of Egypt Mountain passes of Egypt Six-Day War Suez Crisis Yom Kippur War

Wars between Israel and Egypt

Mitla incident during the Suez War

Yom Kippur War

See also

References

Further reading

External links