Golda Meir Israeli prime Minister during 1973 war, from her book "My Life".
" There is nothing hard for myself than to write about what happened in October. It had not been only a fearful military incident, but crisis which lived and will live inside till death.
I found myself suddenly in the greatest threat to which Israel had been exposed since its foundation. The shock was not only of the way they fight, but also that a number of bases doctrines that we believe in, had fallen in front of us.
We believed that a war in October is impossible. We believed that we will receive an early warning for all movements of the Egyptians and Syrians before the war, and then our absolute belief in our strength to prevent the Egyptians from crossing Suez Canal.
Now, I recall all these days, it is something that can not be described. It is enough that I say that I could not cry, I was walking most of the time in my office and sometimes I go to the operations room, as there had been continuous meetings, telephone calls from America, fearful news from the front and our losses tear my heart.
I remember that on Sunday, Dayan (Defence Minister) returned back from the Egyptian front, and asked to see me immediately and told me that the situation is very bad and there must be taken the defence positions and that Israel forces withdraw to a new defense line.
I was listening to him horribly....the Egyptians crossed the Canal" - Golda Meir