Yom Kippur War (30th July 1974)

Introduction

On October 6th, 1973, Egypt and Syria, declared war on Israel. In the immediate aftermath Israel repulsed both the Syrians and the Egyptians at both the Golan heights and in the Sinai Peninsula, both of which Israel then controlled (following the Six Day War, see link at the bottom) – with small exchanges of territory on both sides. This conflict also saw as a result the rise in oil price which came as a result of OPEC, limiting supply of oil and embargoing some nations, most notably the USA– as a result the economies of the oil-reliant west saw severe shortages of oil and there was a major economic downturn in these states. Some western nations refused to support President Richard Nixon’s action, to avoid the costly oil embargo.

The day is 30th June 1974 in this scenario – with considerable tensions still present geopolitically and full scale war and stalemate continuing in the war itself.

Countries with Specific Interest:

Israel, USA, USSR (and satellites), UK, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, West Germany, Netherlands, Kuwait.

Countries with Particular Interests

Six Day War – Previous war, which (amazingly) lasted Six Days, it occurred in 1967 and resulted in the occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza strip, Sinai and the Golan heights by Israel.

OPEC – Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a de facto predominantly Middle Eastern cartel that periodically restricts the supply of Petroleum to inflate its price.

Suggested Reading

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis , https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/oil-embargo — Oil Crisis

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39960461 — Six Day War and Important Middle Eastern Context

https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/yom-kippur-war — Yom Kippur War