Emek Habacha (lit. The Valley of Tears) is one of the most famous symbols, and a relatively positive one, of the Yom Kippur War.
This area in the northern Golan, near the deserted Syrian town of Konitrah, was where the Syrian forces directed their primary penetration efforts, because of the convenient passage for armored vehicles. Syria did indeed sent the bulk of their forces there. But the IDF, which was well aware of that in advance, based on intelligence and strategic assessments, placed the bulk of its defense forces in this region, a decision which certainly proved itself during the war.
This is actually the only area were the defense forces kept their line entirely. This as opposed to the Southern Golan Heights and the Sinai fronts which broke, and were able to eliminate the enemy forces only after the IDF reserve forces arrived a few days later.
This is one reason why this battle has become so famous, with several books and videos published on it. An additional reason is the commander of Battalion 77 which fought in the area, Avigdor Kahalani one of the war’s most famous heroes – who managed to hold the front with only the regular forces.
After the war he was awarded a medal for his heroic performance in this battle, and later became a politician and Member of Knesset .
The battle lasted about 4 days, with 150 Israeli tanks fighting against 470 Syrian tanks. The IDF lost 70 armored vehicles compared to over 500 Syrian vehicles which were destroyed.
After holding the front, the IDF counterattacked and captured an area of about 400 square kilometers.
The battle symbolizes in many ways the entire war: a complete surprise, fierce battles against enemy with far more forces, many casualties among our forces, eventually blocking the attack and successfully counter-attacking.
