The battle itself took place as part of the larger IDF-launched Operation Abiray-Lev, in an attempt to seize Ismailia and thereby sever the logistical and supply lines of most of Egypt's Second Field Army across the Suez Canal.

Breaking out of their newly established bridgehead west of the Canal at the northern end of the Great Bitter Lake, the IDF launched an offensive from Deversoir toward Ismailia.

A combined force of Egyptian paratroopers and commandos fought a delaying battle, falling back upon defensive positions further north under increasing pressure from IDF infantry and armor.

The Egyptians registered a tactical and strategic victory in the defense of Ismailia, stopping an encirclement of their large forces on the east bank of the Suez Canal and ensuring their supply lines remained open.

It succeeded in crossing the Suez Canal and establishing bridgeheads on the east bank in Israeli-occupied Sinai, and counter-attacks launched by Israeli reserves were unsuccessful.

After several days of heavy fighting, they were able to secure the roads to the canal, and by October 18 had two bridges laid down at Deversoir, at the northern end of the Great Bitter Lake.

There were five strong points between the Great Bitter Lake and the Ismailia Canal, from north to south: a pumping station at Deversoir, the village of Serabaeum, Touscan, Heneidac and Jebel Mariam.

[11] The 182nd Paratrooper Brigade, comprising the 81st, 85th and 89th Battalions (each composed of three companies) under the command of Colonel Ismail Azmy, was assigned responsibility for defending the area south of Ismailia against an Israeli offensive.

Azmy arrived at Nafisha with the bulk of his brigade at midnight on October 17, where he was briefed by Brigadier General Abd el-Munim Khalil, commander of Second Army.

Sharon, wanting to expand the Israeli bridgehead northward, received permission to cross a third unit, an armored brigade under Colonel Amnon Reshef, to the west bank, and did so on October 19.

[note 2] Amnon Reshef's armored brigade completed its crossing that morning, and joined Sharon's division, just as the latter received actual approval to begin an offensive toward Ismailia.

The capture of Orcha caused the collapse of Egyptian defenses in the area; the paratroopers pulled back to the village of Ain Ghasin five kilometres north, and Azmy ordered the 89th Battalion to withdraw to the adjacent Touscan strong point, abandoning the ramparts at Serabaeum.

[36] Starting at sunrise on October 20, the Israeli Air Force launched aerial attacks for the duration of the day, targeting Ismailia, the nearby al-Galaa' army base, and Jebel Mariam.

[38] Sharon renewed his division's attack that day, moving north from Serabaeum on a three brigade front, with Matt on the right, Erez in the center, and Reshef on the left.

Azmy reported the situation to Second Army headquarters, and requested permission to detonate a nearby bridge on the Sweetwater Canal and flood the area before the advancing Israelis.

The situation was deteriorating for the paratroopers however, and Azmy soon had the bridge destroyed and broke down sections of nearby irrigation canals, flooding the entire area and submerging Israeli tanks up to their hulls in muddy water.

The Egyptians suffered few casualties though, due to the density of the mango trees, which minimized the hit radius of artillery rounds and provided cover from shrapnel.

The battle continued south of Lake Timsah in see-saw fashion, raging back and forth, but by nightfall on October 20 the Israelis had made no progress, and the Egyptian paratroopers were firmly in control of Touscan.

Gonen finally issued a peremptory order to Sharon to transfer troops to the east bank and conduct a full-scale attack to widen the corridor.

Gonen and Bar-Lev were now joined by Lieutenant General David Elazar, and ordered Sharon to renew the attack, this time transferring Reshef's brigade.

When his superiors remained adamant, Sharon bypassed the chain of command and contacted the Minister of Defense, Moshe Dayan, who called off any further attacks on the east bank.

[48] The 118th Mechanized Infantry Brigade was assigned positions occupying the bridges of the Ismailia Canal, and was to defend the city and nearby al-Galaa' army base.

The 85th Paratrooper Battalion was directly ordered by Khalil to "hold Jebel Mariam to the last bullet and the last man", due to its critical importance and dominance, overlooking Ismailia itself and the main approaches to the city.

While preparing defenses, the Sa'iqa were confronted with huge numbers of civilians, mainly farmers, fleeing northward with as many belongings and livestock as possible, cluttering and blocking roads.

[55][56] The combined Egyptian paratrooper-commando force managed to achieve a tactical and strategic victory at a time when Egypt's general situation on the battlefield was deteriorating, and GHQ was in a state of confusion.

[57][58] While the Egyptians attribute their successful defense of the city to their staunch resistance, Sharon would remain adamant after the war that he had failed to capture Ismailia due to Southern Command's interference.

[59] Captain Asa Kadmoni, who was awarded Israel's highest military decoration for his actions on October 18, later returned his medal as a protest against his government's defense policy.

Wishing to ensure there would be no more killing in his sector, Shamir instructed his men to cover him and, taking a soldier who spoke Arabic, went to the commandos, shouting "Cease-fire, peace" so as not to surprise the Egyptians.

Soon, the commandos and paratroopers would meet daily, drinking coffee, playing backgammon and soccer, getting to personally know each other, and occasionally holding a kumzits, with the Egyptians slaughtering a sheep and the Israelis presenting food parcels sent from home.

At one point, Ali told Shamir that he had permission to take him on a visit to Cairo, but Israeli intelligence officers suspected that the Egyptians wanted to get information out of him and ruled it out.