Who was Israel's chief of general staff at the start of the Yom Kippur War?

Israel's chief of general staff at the start of the Yom Kippur War was David Elazar.

Known by his nickname “Dado,” Elazar became the Israel Defense Forces’ ninth chief of staff on January 1, 1972. He was therefore the senior uniformed commander when Egypt and Syria launched their coordinated surprise attack on October 6, 1973, during Yom Kippur.

Before becoming chief of staff, Elazar had commanded Israel’s Northern Command and played a major role in the 1967 capture of the Golan Heights. On the morning of the 1973 attack, he argued for a broad reserve mobilization and favored preemptive action against Syria, but Defense Minister Moshe Dayan opposed a preemptive strike.

A common mix-up is Haim Bar-Lev, who had been chief of staff before Elazar and later returned during the war as a special adviser. Elazar resigned in 1974 after the Agranat Commission criticized the military’s preparation, although many Israelis also credited his wartime leadership with helping turn the conflict around.