ABSTRACT
Analysis of Israel’s actions on the Day of Atonement reveal the traumatic impact of the surprise achieved by the Arabs. Surprise was an immediate test for Israel’s leadership, military machine and long-accepted strategic and operational assumptions. Trauma caused insecurity in both the political and military leadership. Politicians and senior commanders lost their self-confidence and few regained it during the war; even they only took hesitant steps. Henceforward most of their decisions were marked by exaggerated caution, atypical of Israel’s usual strategic thinking. Shock also stripped the covers off old established weaknesses.
