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54-583: In 1922, the Kingdom of Egypt was established under the rule of Fuad I . Fuad's administration began to modernise the armed forces. The modernisation programme was focused on mechanisation, building new military schools, enlisting more men, and reestablishing units. In 1928, the name of the Cavalry Corps was changed to the Royal Egyptian Cavalry Corps. The mechanisation process completely modernised

108-769: A final agreement. Representing the Wafd Party , Zaghlul was elected Prime Minister in 1924. He demanded that Britain recognize the Egyptian sovereignty in Sudan and the unity of the Nile Valley . On November 19, 1924, the British Governor-General of Sudan, Sir Lee Stack , was assassinated in Cairo and pro-Egyptian riots broke out in Sudan. The British demanded that Egypt pay an apology fee and withdraw troops from Sudan. Zaghlul agreed to

162-661: A government shortly thereafter. However, the humiliation meted out to Farouk, and the actions of the Wafd in cooperating with the British and taking power, lost support for both the British and the Wafd among both civilians and, more importantly, the Egyptian military . Most British troops were withdrawn to the Suez Canal area in 1947 (the British army maintained a military base there), but nationalist and anti-British sentiment continued to grow after

216-551: A neutral position, which accorded with elite opinion among the Egyptians. The Egyptian army did no fighting. It was apathetic about the war, with the leading officers looking on the British as occupiers and sometimes holding some private sympathies toward the Axis. In June 1940, the King dismissed Prime Minister Aly Maher, who got on poorly with the British. A new coalition government was formed with

270-665: A new railway was constructed from Kantara to Romani, and eastward through the Sinai to El Arish and Rafa on the border with the Ottoman Empire. A water pipeline was constructed along the same route by the Royal Engineers under the command of Brigadier General Everard Blair . The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery and Memorial is located outside of town. It was begun in February, 1916 and remained in use until late 1920. After

324-617: A number of strongpoints along the Bar Lev Line in a series of battles. On October 7, Egyptian Armoured units of the 2nd and 3rd Armies and Port Said Sector passed over the bridgeheads made by pontoons constructed by the Egyptian Combat Engineers and entered combat with the Infantry formations in several battles such as Battle of Firdan alongside the 2nd Infantry Division and the heavy Armoured battles of El Qantarah alongside

378-548: A small sum of cash. 30°3′N 31°13′E  /  30.050°N 31.217°E  / 30.050; 31.217 El Qantara, Egypt El Qantara ( Arabic : القنطرة , romanized :  al qantara , lit.   'the bridge') is a northeastern Egyptian city on both sides of the Suez Canal , in the Egyptian governorate of Ismailia , 160 kilometres (99 mi) northeast of Cairo and 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Port Said . The two parts of

432-467: The 170th Airborne Brigade of the Egyptian Airborne Corps , the 20th Commando Regiment (brigade) and a number of engineers, air defence, and other support units. The Egyptian force was unable to move up the first attack time after a request from overall commander U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf ; halted after 'desultory' Iraqi artillery fire; continued to move so slowly that on the morning of

486-524: The 18th Infantry Division . The Armoured Corps's most notable action throughout the war was the advance of the 12th Brigade of the 4th Armoured Division 22 kilometres deep into Sinai. After Iraq invaded Kuwait, Egypt joined the Coalition of the Gulf War . When the coalition was formed, Egypt established a 35,000 strong corps-sized force made up of the 4th Armoured Division (Egypt) , 3rd Mechanised Division ,

540-591: The Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936 , which required the United Kingdom to withdraw all troops from Egypt proper (excluding Sudan), except in the Suez Canal Zone (agreed to be evacuated by 1949), but permitted the return of British military personnel in the event of war. The Kingdom was plagued by corruption, and its subjects saw it as a puppet of the British, notwithstanding the bitter enmity between King Farouk and

594-658: The British Parliament approved the agreement and Egypt was asked to send another mission to London with full powers to conclude a definitive treaty. Adli Pasha led this mission, which arrived in June 1921. However, the Dominion delegates at the 1921 Imperial Conference had stressed the importance of maintaining control over the Suez Canal Zone and Curzon could not persuade his Cabinet colleagues to agree to any terms that Adli Pasha

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648-568: The Egyptian Revolution of 1952 . On 26 July, Farouk abdicated in favour of his seven-month-old son, Ahmed Fuad, who became King Fuad II . At 6pm the same day, the now former king departed Egypt on the royal yacht, along with other members of the royal family, including the new infant king. Following precedent for a sovereign under the age of majority, a Regency Council was formed, led by Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim . The Regency Council, however, held only nominal authority, as real power lay with

702-634: The North Yemen Civil War with a small military force, and then later with a large scale invasion force. The Egyptian Armoured Corps fought there extensively, with the 4th Armoured Division and armoured brigades supporting infantry divisions. Their most notable service there was during the Ramadan Offensive. Ibrahim El-Orabi reportedly commanded Armoured Corps forces in Yemen for a period. The Egyptian Armoured Corps were obliterated in Sinai during

756-595: The Revolutionary Command Council , led by Naguib and Nasser. Popular expectations for immediate reforms led to the workers' riots in Kafr Dawar on 12 August 1952, which resulted in two death sentences. Following a brief experiment with civilian rule, the Free Officers abolished the monarchy, and declared Egypt a republic on 18 June 1953, abrogating the constitution of 1923. In addition to serving as head of

810-584: The Six-Day War . After the Six Day War, the whole Armed forces went through a process of extensive training and modernisation to prepare for the October War . The Armoured Corps replaced the old T-54s, T-34s, and SU-100s with T-62s and BMP-1s , and got trained on newer tactics, new better commanders got in command and new units were formed. The Artillery Corps bombarded the Bar Lev Line fortifications at

864-583: The Sultanate of Egypt into the Kingdom of Egypt. Sarwat Pasha became prime minister . British influence, however, continued to dominate Egypt's political life and fostered fiscal, administrative, and governmental reforms. Britain retained control of the Canal Zone, Sudan and Egypt's external protection, the police, army, the railways and communications, the protection of foreign interests, minorities and Sudan pending

918-681: The 1990s. In 2018 armoured formations of the Egyptian Army included the 4th , 6th , 9th , and 21st Armoured Divisions, the 11th and 76th Independent Armoured Brigades, a further independent armoured brigade stationed in the Western Military Region , and two armoured brigades of the Republican Guard . An October 2019 report by the Israeli website nziv.net wrote that three of the four armoured divisions used M1 Abrams main battle tanks;

972-508: The 20,000-strong expeditionary force. They made use of M4 Shermans and the Vickers Mark II . The Armoured Corps involvement in the 1956 war began on October 29, 1956, when a reconnaissance regiment, followed by the 1st and 2nd armoured Groups (brigades) was ordered to cross the Suez Canal , from its location in the Deversoir area to the eastern side to counter Israeli advances. The plan

1026-663: The British themselves, who were determined to maintain their control over the Suez Canal . Other political forces emerging in this period included the Communist Party (1925), and the Muslim Brotherhood (1928), which eventually became a potent political and religious force. King Fuad died in 1936, and the throne passed to his 16-year-old son, Farouk . Rising nationalist sentiment in Egypt and Sudan, and British concern following Fascist Italy 's recent invasion of Abyssinia led to

1080-681: The Cavalry Corps whose units (except the Royal Guards) replaced their horses with armoured vehicles. By the late 1930s the whole Corps was mechanised. Rothwell writes that, at the end of August 1939, moves began to reinforce the Egyptian-Libyan frontier: "..Foremost in these moves was the Sudanese-manned Frontier Force of five squadrons mounted on Ford pick-ups. Two squadrons took up places at Siwa and others at Sollum. The frontier

1134-593: The Egyptian Auxiliary Police were observed helping the guerrillas. In response, on 25 January, General George Erskine sent British tanks and infantry to surround the auxiliary police station in Ismailia and gave the policemen an hour to surrender their arms in the grounds. The police were arming the guerrillas. The police commander called the Interior Minister, Fouad Serageddin , Nahas's right-hand man, who

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1188-406: The Egyptian government cut off the water and refused to allow food into the Suez Canal base, announced a boycott of British goods, forbade Egyptian workers from entering the base and sponsored guerrilla attacks. The situation turned the area around the Suez Canal into a low level war zone. On 24 January 1952, Egyptian guerrillas staged an attack on the British forces around the Suez Canal, during which

1242-654: The Egyptian population, played a minor role in the Second World War. When the war began in September 1939, Egypt declared martial law and broke off diplomatic relations with Germany. It did not declare war on Germany, but the Prime Minister associated Egypt with the British war effort. It broke off diplomatic relations with Italy in 1940, but never declared war, even when the Italian army invaded Egypt. King Farouk practically took

1296-592: The Independent Hassan Pasha Sabri as Prime Minister briefly, followed by Hussein Sirri Pasha . Following a ministerial crisis in February 1942, the ambassador Sir Miles Lampson , pressed Farouk to have a Wafd or Wafd-coalition government replace Hussein Sirri Pasha's government. On the night of 4 February 1942, British troops and tanks surrounded Abdeen Palace in Cairo and Lampson presented Farouk with an ultimatum . Farouk capitulated, Nahhas formed

1350-542: The King and the nationalist movement, this was intolerable, and the Egyptian Government made a point of stressing that Fuad and his son King Farouk I were "King of Egypt and Sudan". The government of Egypt was legally neutral in World War II. The army was not in combat. In practice the British made Egypt a major base of operations against Italy and Germany, and finally defeated them both. London's highest priority

1404-536: The Revolutionary Command Council, and Prime Minister , Naguib was proclaimed as Egypt's first President , while Nasser was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister. Ethnic Egyptians made up the majority of the population in Egypt. However, thousands of Greeks, Jews, Italians, Maltese, Armenians and Syro-Lebanese were present in Egypt. These communities were known as the Mutamassirun (Egyptianized). Despite

1458-449: The Suez Canal. According to the BBC, 'In October 1951 a tense stand-off between the British and Egyptian governments broke down over the number of UK troops stationed in the country. In response, the British government mobilised 60,000 troops in 10 days, in what was described as the biggest airlift of troops since World War Two.' As the British refused to leave their base around the Suez Canal,

1512-655: The United Kingdom during the Second World War, as evidenced by the Abdeen Palace incident of 1942 . This, coupled with the defeat in the Palestine War of 1948–1949, led to the 1952 Egyptian Revolution by the Free Officers Movement . Farouk abdicated in favour of his infant son Ahmed Fuad, who became King Fuad II . In 1953 the monarchy was abolished, and the Republic of Egypt was established. The legal status of Sudan

1566-528: The War. Anti-monarchy sentiments further increased following the disastrous performance of the Kingdom in the First Arab-Israeli War . The 1950 election saw a landslide victory of the nationalist Wafd Party and the King was forced to appoint Mostafa El-Nahas as the new Prime Minister. In 1951 Egypt unilaterally withdrew from the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936 and ordered all remaining British troops to leave

1620-475: The beginning of the October War . Supporting Infantry stormed the east bank of Suez Canal engaging Israel Defense Force personnel. Israeli reservist armoured forces began engaging the Egyptian forces, but were engaged by anti-tank squadrons using the AT-3 Sagger wire-guided anti-tank missiles. Israeli armoured units lost approximately 270-300 of 400 tanks to these anti-Tank Squadrons. Egyptian Infantry seised

1674-461: The city are connected by a high-level fixed road bridge, the Mubarak Peace Bridge . The bridge makes a connection between the division of Africa , and Asia , making El Qantara a Border town . El Qantara was built next to a site of an ancient city Sele ( Ancient Greek : Σελη , Coptic : ϩⲗⲗⲏ, ⲛⲗⲏ, ⲥⲉⲗⲏ , Ancient Egyptian : Ṯȝrw Tcharou ). During World War I , Kantara, as it

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1728-459: The fact these communities were foreigners, they took part in Egyptian society and were considered to be homogenous groups by Egyptian nationalists. The Mutammassirun community had most of its members leaving Egypt in the 1950s. After the Suez Crisis of 1956, more than 1,000 of 18,000 people who carried British or French nationality were expelled and were only allowed to take one suitcase with them and

1782-454: The first but not the second and resigned. With nationalist sentiment rising, Britain formally recognized Egyptian independence in 1922, and Hussein Kamel's successor, Sultan Fuad I , substituted the title of King for Sultan. However, the British influence in Egyptian affairs persisted. Of particular concern to Egypt was Britain's continual efforts to divest Egypt of all control in Sudan. To both

1836-580: The fourth, the 21st Armoured Division, deployed near the Libyan border in the Western Military Region, used older M60A1 and M60A3 Patton tanks. In addition, the armoured brigades of the mechanised divisions used the older T-55 and T-62 tanks. The same report said that all older Soviet T-series tanks, as well as some other MBTs, were to be replaced with T-90 tanks that Egypt planned to produce under Russian license in its own factories. The Armoured Corps

1890-549: The group was political leader, Saad Zaghlul , who would later become Prime Minister. When the group was arrested and deported to the island of Malta , demonstrations started to occur in Egypt. From March to April 1919, there were mass demonstrations that turned into uprisings. These are known in Egypt as the First Revolution . In November 1919, the Milner Commission was sent to Egypt by the British to attempt to resolve

1944-518: The military, and Sudan . Officially, Sudan was governed as a condominium of the two states, however, in reality, true power in Sudan lay with the United Kingdom. Between 1936 and 1952, the United Kingdom continued to maintain its military presence, and its political advisers, at a reduced level. The legal status of Egypt had been highly convoluted, due to its de facto breakaway from the Ottoman Empire in 1805, its occupation by Britain in 1882, and

1998-560: The names of 16 New Zealand World War I servicemen presumed killed in action at Rafa and Rumani. In 1961, panels bearing the names of 283 World War I Indian servicemen, interred in the now inaccessible Kantara Indian Cemetery, were affixed to the wall behind the Stone of Remembrance, forming the Kantara Indian Cemetery Memorial. The town's importance as a hospital centre was renewed during World War II when General Hospital No. 1

2052-452: The re-establishment of the Sultanate of Egypt (destroyed by the Ottomans in 1517) as a British protectorate in 1914. In line with the change in status from sultanate to kingdom, the title of the reigning Sultan, Fuad I , was changed from Sultan of Egypt to King of Egypt . Throughout the Kingdom's existence, Sudan was formally united with Egypt. However, actual Egyptian authority in Sudan

2106-583: The situation. In 1920, Lord Milner submitted his report to Lord Curzon , the British Foreign Secretary , recommending that the protectorate should be replaced by a treaty of alliance. As a result, Curzon agreed to receive an Egyptian mission headed by Zaghlul and Adli Pasha to discuss the proposals. The mission arrived in London in June 1920 and the agreement was concluded in August 1920. In February 1921,

2160-414: The third day of the war, still had not taken their first day's objectives; and could not reorient themselves in order to take up an invitation to join a ceremonial joint Arab entry into Kuwait City until Schwarzkopf was able to get Hosni Mubarak to give a direct order to the Egyptian commander to do so. A number of modernisation programmes were put in place for Egypt's older Soviet main battle tanks from

2214-459: The war, it was doubled in size to accommodate the remains of soldiers from makeshift cemeteries and desert battlefields, notably in Qatia , Rumani , Magdhaba , El Arish and Rafa . Formally designed in 1919 by Sir Robert Lorimer , the cemetery contains 1,562 Commonwealth burials from World War I and 110 from World War II. There are also 341 war graves of other nationalities. The Kantara Memorial bears

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2268-630: Was control of the Eastern Mediterranean, especially keeping the Suez Canal open for merchant ships and for military connections with India and Australia. Several battles of the North African campaign were fought on Egyptian soil, such as the Italian Invasion of Egypt , Battle of Sidi Barrani or the Battle of Mersa Matruh , First , Second Battles of El Alamein . The government of Egypt, and

2322-414: Was known. It saw much of downtown Cairo which the Khedive Ismail the Magnificent had rebuilt in the style of Paris, burned down. Farouk blamed the Wafd for the Black Saturday riot, and dismissed Nahas as prime minister the next day and replaced by Aly Maher Pasha . On 23 July 1952, the Free Officers Movement , led by Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser , toppled King Farouk in a coup d'état that began

2376-437: Was largely nominal due to United Kingdom's role as the dominant power in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan . As had been the case during the Khedivate of Egypt , and the Sultanate of Egypt, the Egyptian monarch was styled as the sovereign of "Egypt and Sudan". During the reign of King Fuad, the monarchy struggled with the Wafd Party , a broadly based nationalist political organisation strongly opposed to British influence in Egypt, and with

2430-413: Was located there from July 1941 to December 1945, and General Hospitals Nos. 41 and 92 at different periods. No. 8 Polish General Hospital was constructed adjoining the war cemetery. During the 1967 Six Day War , Israel captured the town. Egypt recaptured it at the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War during The Crossing , and held it until the ceasefire was negotiated. Egypt regained formal control over

2484-419: Was only resolved in 1953, when Egypt and United Kingdom agreed that it should be granted independence in 1956. During the Ottoman period, the country was administered as the Egypt Eyalet , followed by the autonomous tributary state of the Khedivate of Egypt ruled by the Muhammad Ali dynasty . In 1914, Khedive Abbas II sided with the Ottoman Empire and the Central Powers in the First World War , and

2538-411: Was prepared to accept. The mission returned to Egypt in disgust. In December 1921, the British authorities in Cairo imposed martial law and once again deported Zaghlul. Demonstrations again led to violence. In deference to the growing nationalism and at the suggestion of the High Commissioner , Lord Allenby , the UK recognized Egyptian independence in 1922, abolishing the protectorate, and converting

2592-473: Was promptly deposed by the British in favour of his uncle Hussein Kamel , creating the Sultanate of Egypt . Ottoman sovereignty over Egypt, which had been hardly more than a legal fiction since 1805, now was officially terminated. Hussein Kamel was declared Sultan of Egypt , and the country became a British protectorate . A group known as the Wafd (meaning "Delegation") attended the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 to demand Egypt's independence. Included in

2646-447: Was referred to by the Allied troops, was the site of Headquarters No. 3 Section, Canal Defences and Headquarters Eastern Force during the latter stages of the Defence of the Suez Canal Campaign and the Sinai Campaign of 1916 . The massive distribution warehouse and hospital centre supported and supplied all British, Australian and New Zealand operations in the Sinai from 1916 until final demobilization in 1919. Beginning in January 1916,

2700-399: Was smoking cigars in his bath at the time, to ask if he should surrender or fight. Serageddin ordered the police to fight "to the last man and the last bullet". The resulting battle saw the police station levelled and 43 Egyptian policemen killed together with 3 British soldiers. The Ismailia incident outraged Egypt. The next day, 26 January 1952, was "Black Saturday" , as the anti-British riot

2754-453: Was the legal form of the Egyptian state during the latter period of the Muhammad Ali dynasty 's reign, from the United Kingdom's recognition of Egyptian independence in 1922 until the abolition of the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan in 1953 following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 . Until the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936 , the Kingdom was only nominally independent, as the United Kingdom retained control of foreign relations, communications,

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2808-408: Was then almost entirely in Egyptian hands, in accordance with the treaty and the British strategy not to provoke the Italians. The southern desert flank was covered by the ‘South Western Force’ of Egyptian light tanks (six Mk VIB), motorised units and No. 1 Squadron, Royal Egyptian Air Force " equipped with Westland Lysanders . During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , Egyptian cavalry units were sent with

2862-400: Was to drive the division into Sinai and attack Cairo from the Northeast but this plan was quickly exposed and the division was sent to the Port Said front instead. Order of battle of the corps in 1956 was an armored division, 2 armored groups (brigades) and 1 training brigade. As the political and military situation worsened after the 1962 Yemeni coup d'état , Egypt decided to intervene in

2916-518: Was to standardize on the M1 series and the T-90. In 2020 the IISS Military Balance said that Egypt had 2,480 main battle tanks : 1,130 M1A1 Abrams; 300 M60A1; 850 M60A3; and 200 T-62. There were an additional 840 T-54/T-55 and 300 T-62 all in store (IISS 2020, p345). 4. http://group73historians.com/مقالات-عسكرية/1029-1-991 Kingdom of Egypt The Kingdom of Egypt ( Arabic : المملكة المصرية , romanized :  Al-Mamlaka Al-Miṣreyya , lit.   'The Egyptian Kingdom')

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