Egyptian Army

The Egyptian Army is the largest service branch within the Egyptian military establishment and holds power in the current Egyptian government. It is estimated to number around 468,000, in addition to 480,000 reservists for a total of 948,000 strong.^[2] The modern army was created in the 1830s, and during the twentieth century has fought four wars with Israel (in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973). Furthermore, in 1991 Egyptian units took part in Operation Desert Storm, the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi occupation.

Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Ottoman and post Ottoman 1.2 Nasser 1.3 Sadat and Mubarak 2 Weapons inventory 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading

The modern Egyptian army was formed in the 1830s by Muhammad Ali of Egypt. He sought to split Egypt away from the Ottoman Empire, and to do this he brought in European weapons and expertise and built an army that defeated the Sultan andseized control over Egypt, Syria, and parts of Arabia.^[3] The Egyptian Army was involved in the following wars during the Muhammad Ali Dynasty:

• The Greek War of Independence
• The 1831 Egyptian-Ottoman War
• The First Turko-Egyptian War
• The Second Turko-Egyptian War
• The Syrian War

But the Europeans intervened on the Sultan's behalf, and following their intercession the Egyptian army languished until Britain took control of Egypt in the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War. Egypt was involved in the long-running 1881-99 Mahdist War in the Sudan.

In 1946, the British officers were ousted and Egyptians took full control.^[4] The Free Officers Movement of the Army, masterminded by Nasser seized power from KingFarouk of Egypt in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. During the Cold War, the army actively fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the 1956 Suez Crisis, the North Yemen Civil War from 1962 to 1967, the 1967 Six Day War, the 1969-1970 War of Attrition, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and the 1977 Libyan–Egyptian War.

Within three months of sending troops to Yemen in 1962, Nasser realized that this would require a larger commitment than anticipated. By early 1963, he would begin a four-year quest to extricate Egyptian forces from Yemen, using an unsuccessful face-saving mechanism, only to find himself committing more troops. A little less than 5,000 troops were sent in October 1962. Two months later, Egypt had 15,000 regular troops deployed. By late 1963, the number was increased to 36,000; and in late 1964, the number rose to 50,000 Egyptian troops in Yemen. Late 1965 represented the high-water mark of Egyptian troop commitment in Yemen at 55,000 troops, which were broken into 13 infantry regiments of one artillery division, one tank division and several Special Forces as well as paratroop regiments. All the Egyptian field commanders complained of a total lack of topographical maps causing a real problem in the first months of the war.

Before the June 1967 War, the army divided its personnel into four regional commands (Suez, Sinai, Nile Delta, and Nile Valley up to the Sudan).^[5] The remainder of Egypt's territory, over 75%, was the sole responsibility of the Frontier Corps. After the 1967 debacle, the army was reorganized into two field armies, the Second Army and the Third Army, both of which were stationed in the eastern part of the country.

It has been argued that only the relatively good performance of the Egyptian Army in the 1973 war, especially in the Suez Crossing and in theBattle of Suez, which allowed the Egyptians to claim a level of victory and take part in the 1977 Camp David Accords without losing face. Yet despite the impressive crossing of the Suez Canal (Operation Badr), The army had an estimated strength of 320,000 in 1989. About 180,000 of these were conscripts.^[6] Beyond the Second Army and Third Army in the east, most of the remaining troops were stationed in the Nile Delta region, around the upper Nile, and along the Libyan border. These troops were organized into eight military districts. Commando and paratroop units were stationed near Cairo under central control but could be transferred quickly to one of the field armies if needed. District commanders, who generally held the rank of major general, maintained liaison with governors and other civil authorities on matters of domestic security.

Decision making in the army continued to be highly centralized during the 1980s.^[6] Officers below brigade level rarely made tactical decisions and required the approval of higher-ranking authorities before they modified any operations. Senior army officers were aware of this situation and began taking steps to encourage initiative at the lower levels of command. A shortage of well-trained enlisted personnel became a serious problem for the army as it adopted increasingly complex weapons systems. Observers estimated in 1986 that 75 percent of all conscripts were illiterate when they entered the military.

Since the 1980s the army has built closer and closer ties with the United States, as evidenced in the bi-annual Operation Bright Starexercises. This cooperation eased integration of the Egyptian Army into the Gulf War coalition of 1990-91, during which the Egyptian II Corps under Maj. Gen. Salah Mohamed Attia Halaby, with 3rd Mechanised Division and 4th Armoured Division, fought as part of the Arab Joint Forces Command North.^[7]

The Army conducted Exercise Badr '96 in 1996 in the Sinai.^[8] The exercises in the Sinai were part of a larger exercise that involved 35,000 men in total. According to Arabic Wikipedia, the army was able to transfer half the equipment to the Egyptian army in Sinai in six hours and was able to reach a state of alert in eleven minutes.

Today conscripts without a college degree serve three years as enlisted soldiers.^{[citation needed]} Conscripts with a General Secondary School Degree serve two years as enlisted soldiers. Conscripts with a college degree serve one year as enlisted or three years as a reserve officer.

Egypt's varied army weapons inventory complicates logistical support for the army. National policy since the 1970s has included the creation of a domestic arms industry (including the Arab Organization for Industrialization) capable of indigenous maintenance and upgrades to existing equipment, with the ultimate aim of Egyptian production of major ground systems.^[9] This target was finally met with the commencement of M-1 Abrams production in 1992.^[10] (Egypt had received permission to build an M-1 factory in 1984.) Prior to this, large acquisitions had included nearly 700 M-60A1 main battle tanks from the US from March 1990, as well as nearly 500 Hellfire anti-tank guided missiles.

Cairo Fire

The Cairo Fire (Arabic: حريق القاهرة‎), also known as Black Saturday,^[3][4] was a series of riotsthat took place on 26 January 1952, marked by the burning and looting of buildings in Downtown Cairo. The direct trigger of the riots was the killing by British occupation troops of 50 Egyptianauxiliary policemen in the city of Ismaïlia in a one-sided battle a day earlier.^[4] The spontaneous anti-British protests that followed these deaths were quickly seized upon by organized elements in the crowd, who burned and ransacked large sectors of Cairo amidst the unexplained absence of security forces.^[3] The perpetrators of the Cairo Fire remain unknown to this day, and the truth about this important event in modern Egyptian history has yet to be established.^[5] The disorder that befell Cairo during the 1952 fire has recently been compared to the chaos that followed theanti-government protests of 28 January 2011, which saw genuine demonstrations take place amidst massive arson and looting, an inexplicable withdrawal of the police and organized prison-breaking.^[6]

Contents [hide] 1 Background 2 Events 3 Damage 4 Aftermath 5 Conspiracy theories 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External links

In 1952, the British military occupation of Egypt was entering its 70th year, but was limited to the Suez Canal zone. On the morning of 25 January 1952, Brigadier Exham, the British commander, issued a warning to Egyptian policemen in Ismaïlia, demanding that they surrender their weapons and leave the canal zone entirely. By doing so, the British aimed to get rid of the only manifestation of Egyptian governmental authority in the canal zone. They also wanted to end the aid the police force was providing to the anti-British fedayeen groups. The Ismailia Governorate refused the British request, a refusal that was reiterated by interior minister Fouad Serageddin. As a result, 7,000 British soldiers equipped with machine guns, tanks and armour surrounded the governorate building and its barracks, where nearly 700 Egyptian officers and soldiers sought refuge. Armed only with rifles, the Egyptians refused to surrender their weapons. The British commander thus ordered his troops to bombard the buildings. Vastly outnumbered, the Egyptians continued to fight until running out of ammunition. The confrontation, which lasted two hours, left 50 Egyptians dead and 80 others injured. The rest were taken captive.^[7]

The following day, news of the attack in Ismaïlia reached Cairo, provoking the ire of Egyptians. The unrest began at Almaza Airport, when workers there refused to provide services to four British airplanes. It was followed by the rebellion of policemen in the Abbaseya barracks, who wished to express their solidarity with their dead and captured colleagues in Ismaïlia. Protesters then headed towards the university building, where they were joined by students. Together they marched towards the Prime Minister's office to demand that Egypt break its diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom and declare war on it. Abdul Fattah Hassan, the Minister of Social Affairs, told them that the Wafdistgovernment wished to do so, but faced opposition from King Farouk I. As a result, protesters went to Abdeen Palace where they were joined by students from Al-Azhar. The crowd expressed its discontent towards the king, his partisans and the British.^[8]

The first act of arson took place in Opera Square, with the burning of Casino Opera. The fire spread to Shepheard's Hotel, the Automobile Club, Barclays Bank, as well as other shops, corporate offices, movie theaters, hotels and banks.^[8] Fueled by anti-British and anti-Western sentiment, the mob concentrated on British property and establishments with foreign connections,^[3] as well as buildings popularly associated with Western influence.^[4] Nightclubs and other estalishments frequented by King Farouk I were equally targeted. The fires also reached the neighbourhoods of Faggala, Daher, Citadel, as well as Tahrir Square and Cairo Train Station Square. Due to the prevailing chaos, theft and looting occurred, until the Egyptian Army arrived shortly before sunset and managed to restore order.^[8] The Army was alerted belatedly, after most of the damage had already occurred.^[3]

Most of the destruction, the extent of which was unforeseen by everyone,^[3] occurred between 12:30 pm and 11 pm.^[1] A total of £3.4 million damage was done to British and foreign property.^[3] Nearly 300 shops were destroyed, including some of Egypt's most famous department stores, such as Cicurel, Omar Effendi and the Salon Vert. The damage tally also included 30 corporate offices, 13 hotels (among which Shepheard's, Metropolitan and Victoria), 40 movie theaters (among which Rivoli, Radio, Metro, Diana and Miami), eight auto shows, 10 arm shops, 73 coffeehouses and restaurants (including Groppi's), 92 bars and 16 social clubs. As for the human casualties, 26 people died and 552 suffered injuries such as burns and bone fractures. Thousands of workers were displaced due to the destruction of the aforementioned establishments.^[1]

The events were seen at the time as evidence of the Egyptian government's inability to maintain order.^[4] They almost caused another British military occupation, although this outcome was averted by the Egyptian Army's restoration of order.^[3] Prime Minister Mustafa el-Nahhasinitially presented his resignation, which was refused by King Farouk I.^[9] The Wafdist government of el-Nahhas and the king blamed each other for the failure to call in troops earlier.^[3] The Council of Ministers imposed martial law throughout the country, and ordered the closure of schools and universities. El-Nahhas was appointed military commander-in-chief, and proclaimed a curfew in Cairo and Giza from 6 pm to 6 am. He also issued an order banning public gatherings of five or more persons, with offenders facing imprisonment.^[9]

The king was holding a banquet at Abdeen Palace for nearly 2,000 military officers when the disturbances took place.^[9] The banquet had been organized to celebrate the birth of his son Ahmad Fuad.^[5] The following day, the king dismissed the Wafdist government, a decision which slightly eased tensions with the British.^[9] However, the series of short-lived cabinets he appointed afterward failed to restore public confidence in the monarchy.^[4] The resultant political and domestic instability throughout the ensuing six months was among the factors that paved the way for the Free Officers coup.^[2] The Cairo Fire pushed the Free Officers to advance the date of their planned coup, which took place on 23 July 1952.^[9] The coup resulted in the forced abdication of Farouk I and the abolition of the monarchy a year later. It also reignited anti-British hostilities, which led to the signing of the Anglo-Egyptian Evacuation Agreement in 1954. The last British soldier stationed in Egypt left the country on 18 June 1956.^[9]

No one was arrested during the disorder.^[8] It appears that there were organized elements in the crowd, both left-wing and right-wing.^[3]According to official sources as well as eyewitnesses, the disturbances had been masterminded beforehand, and the groups responsible for it were highly skilled and trained. This was evidenced by the speed and precision with which the fires were ignited. The perpetrators held tools to force open closed doors, and used acetylene stoves to melt steel barriers placed on windows and doors. They executed their plan in record time through the use of nearly 30 cars.^[10] The timing was also another clear indication of the careful planning behind the arson. Saturday afternoon was chosen due to the weekend closure of offices and department stores, as well as the post-matinée closure of movie theaters.^[1]

Although some of the country's politicians may have been implicated in the initial outbreak of violence,^[3] it has never been fully determined who started the Cairo Fire.^[4] Historians still disagree about the identity of the initiators of the disturbances, leading to several conspiracy theories.^[5] Some believe King Farouk I masterminded the disorder to get rid of the government of el-Nahhas. Others support the idea that the British instigated the chaos to punish the government of el-Nahhas for its unilateral abrogation of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty in 1951.^[10]Alternative theories put the blame on the Muslim Brotherhood or the Egyptian Socialist Party, formerly known as Misr al-Fatat.^[4]Nevertheless, no material evidence has ever appeared to incriminate a specific group. Following the 23 July 1952 coup, an inquiry was opened to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Cairo Fire, but failed to identify the real perpetrators. The Cairo Fire thus remains an unsolved mystery.^[10]

Conspiracy theories

No one was arrested during the disorder.^[8] It appears that there were organized elements in the crowd, both left-wing and right-wing.^[3]According to official sources as well as eyewitnesses, the disturbances had been masterminded beforehand, and the groups responsible for it were highly skilled and trained. This was evidenced by the speed and precision with which the fires were ignited. The perpetrators held tools to force open closed doors, and used acetylene stoves to melt steel barriers placed on windows and doors. They executed their plan in record time through the use of nearly 30 cars.^[10] The timing was also another clear indication of the careful planning behind the arson. Saturday afternoon was chosen due to the weekend closure of offices and department stores, as well as the post-matinée closure of movie theaters.^[1]

Although some of the country's politicians may have been implicated in the initial outbreak of violence,^[3] it has never been fully determined who started the Cairo Fire.^[4] Historians still disagree about the identity of the initiators of the disturbances, leading to several conspiracy theories.^[5] Some believe King Farouk I masterminded the disorder to get rid of the government of el-Nahhas. Others support the idea that the British instigated the chaos to punish the government of el-Nahhas for its unilateral abrogation of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty in 1951.^[10]Alternative theories put the blame on the Muslim Brotherhood or the Egyptian Socialist Party, formerly known as Misr al-Fatat.^[4]Nevertheless, no material evidence has ever appeared to incriminate a specific group. Following the 23 July 1952 coup, an inquiry was opened to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Cairo Fire, but failed to identify the real perpetrators. The Cairo Fire thus remains an unsolved mystery.^[10]