By Ibrahim Nafie The phrase "the October generation" was coined by President Sadat on the occasion of appointing Hosni Mubarak, the commander of the Air Force during the October War, as his vice-president. It refers to the generation of Egyptians who experienced defeat in 1967 and who assumed the task of nurturing Egypt back to health and preparing it for the war of October 1973. As we cast our minds back 25 years, we can only wonder how the devastating defeat of 1967 was transformed, within only six years and three months, to the victory of 1973. After '67, many analysts predicted it would take two generations for the Arabs to recover from their military catastrophe. Others were more pessimistic, suggesting that recovery from the shock of defeat would occupy a century. Such pessimism was not unfounded. Following the defeat the Arabs lost much of their international political standing. The shock plunged Arab societies into profound political and social crisis, a result of the loss of confidence in their political and military leaders. The enemy had occupied a swath of Arab territory four times the size of Palestine and, in Egypt, enemy forces had barricaded themselves behind two of the most formidable barriers in the history of warfare: the Suez Canal and the Bar Lev line. The October generation, however, refused to bow to such predictions. They were determined to recover every inch of occupied Sinai. Initiative, self-confidence, creativity, openness to the age, attention to detail and hard work were the cornerstones of their approach to the challenge before them. These self-same principles would later form the articles of the charter of the October generation, led by President Hosni Mubarak, in its battle for peace and its struggle to equip Egypt for the 21st century. Rebuilding self-confidence after the Six Day War was the most formidable challenge, particularly in light of the propaganda spread by Western and Israeli media. "The Egyptian soldier," they suggested, "was unable to comprehend the arts of modern warfare." The October generation worked between June 1967 and October 1973 to restore morale. This period, which saw the battles of Ras Al-Ish and the sinking of an Israeli destroyer in Eilat, gave a healthy, if surprising, injection of self-assurance. Already, at this early phase, the fact that a large naval destroyer was sunk by a single missile launched from a small craft caused ripples in the usually staid world of military strategists. Then came the phases of deterrence (September '68-February '69) and the War of Attrition (March 1969-August 1970), during which Egyptian special forces infiltrated enemy lines and inflicted a steady stream of losses in material and personnel. In August 1970, a cease-fire was concluded, ushering the phase of no war-no peace. During this period (August 1970-October 1973) many people, failing to realise the significance of the intensive programme of military training and planning that was underway, gave way to despair. It was during this period that the metal of the October generation began to shine. In over 300 manoeuvres, replicating the conditions in the canal zone, they perfected the strategies that would be employed on 6 October. In addition, our armed forces built the world's first integrated air defence system. They conceived of new methods for combat, a new operational logistic. They installed an extensive artillery stockade to provide cover during the crossing. Our air force was restructured from top to bottom, its personnel trained to unprecedented levels of performance. Initiative and surprise were the key elements of our strategy in the October War, thereby turning the tables on Israel which in the three previous wars had exploited these elements in order to capitalise on its technological edge and put the Arabs on the defensive. Learning from experience, the October generation was intent on waging an offensive war in which for once we would set the agenda and force the enemy into a prolonged engagement that it would be unable to sustain. This spirit of initiative and maintaining the offensive continues to manifest itself, in our battle for peace and development, under the leadership of Hosni Mubarak. The other major challenge facing the October generation was technological, though obviously it would not be with modern technology alone that we would win the war. Rather, our offensive had to bring into play a comprehensive operational conception that would capitalise on our available technology within a cohesive armaments network honed towards the tactical and logistical objectives of battle. That Egyptian soldiers did enter the war with new weapons was part of the element of surprise. That we put into effect a highly coordinated and finely-tuned operation drawing on our combined offensive and defensive forces; on our infantry, artillery and aircraft; on approaches from the land, sea and air, was part of the miracle of our victory. Numerous commentators have paid homage to this aspect of the October War. The Observer wrote: "A year or two ago, Israel appeared to have a big lead in the race for military technology. The Egyptians -- from their experience in the War of Attrition in 1969 -- had come to realise the importance of technology in combat, and now, after the battles of October 1973, it appears that they have caught up with Israel and passed it in the field of missile and electronics technology." The Guardian wrote: "The Israeli's confidence in their technological advantage over the Arabs in the field of armaments has crashed like a plane in the face of the remarkable success of the Egyptians' use of anti-aircraft technology and tanks." Even the Israelis had to admit Egypt's military prowess during the war. One Israeli general recalled: "Egyptian soldiers were coming at us in wave after wave. We shot at them and they still advanced. The battlefield was drenched in blood and still they kept coming." Another Israeli general remarked: "We cannot help but to concede the ingenuity of Egyptian planning, the precision of their calculations and the mastery in which they carried out their plans. On the morning of 7 October we were taken by surprise with five full divisions of Egyptian soldiers on the eastern bank of the canal." The war bequeathed to us a generation of fighters and of engineers, of officers and of soldiers who left an indelible mark on the creative use of modern technology in ways that had never been contemplated in the countries that produced this technology. The October War marked a turning point in the history of the Middle East conflict, heralding the transition from the battle for liberation to the battle for peace. But its implications go much deeper. The spirit that motivated the October generation has come to guide our drive in all realms of political, social and economic activity and to inspire our dreams for development and progress.
