The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under
Ahmed ‘Urabi
Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet.
Etymology
The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It ended a
nationalist uprising against the
Khedive Tewfik Pasha
Mohamed Tewfik Pasha ( ar, محمد توفيق باشا ''Muḥammad Tawfīq Bāshā''; April 30 or 15 November 1852 – 7 January 1892), also known as Tawfiq of Egypt, was khedive of Egypt and the Sudan between 1879 and 1892 and the sixth rule ...
. It established firm British influence over Egypt at the expense of the Egyptians, the French, and the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, whose already weak authority became nominal.
Background
In 1881, an Egyptian army officer,
Ahmed ‘Urabi
Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet.
Etymology
The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
(then known in English as Arabi Pasha), mutinied and initiated a coup against
Tewfik Pasha
Mohamed Tewfik Pasha ( ar, محمد توفيق باشا ''Muḥammad Tawfīq Bāshā''; April 30 or 15 November 1852 – 7 January 1892), also known as Tawfiq of Egypt, was khedive of Egypt and the Sudan between 1879 and 1892 and the sixth rule ...
, the
Khedive of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
and
Sudan, because of grievances over disparities in pay between Egyptians and Europeans, as well as other concerns. In January 1882 the British and French governments sent a "Joint Note" to the Egyptian government, declaring their recognition of the Khedive's authority. On 20 May, British and French warships arrived off the coast of Alexandria. On 11 June, an
anti-Christian riot occurred in Alexandria that killed 50 Europeans. Colonel ‘Urabi ordered his forces to put down the riot, but Europeans fled the city and ‘Urabi's army began fortifying the town. The French fleet was recalled to France. A British ultimatum was rejected and its warships began a -hour
bombardment of Alexandria
The Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt by the British Mediterranean Fleet took place on 11–13 July 1882.
Admiral Beauchamp Seymour was in command of a fleet of fifteen Royal Navy ironclad ships which had previously sailed to the harbor of ...
on 11 July.
Reasons for the invasion
The reasons why the British government sent a fleet of ships to the coast of Alexandria is a point of historical debate. In their 1961 essay ''
Africa and the Victorians
''Africa and the Victorians: The Official Mind of Imperialism'' is a 1961 book by Ronald Robinson and John Andrew Gallagher, with contributions from Robinson's wife, Alice Denny. The book argues that British involvement in the Scramble for Afric ...
'',
Ronald Robinson
Ronald "Robbie" Edward Robinson, FBA (3 September 1920 – 19 June 1999) was a distinguished historian of the British Empire who between 1971 and 1987 held the Beit Professorship of Commonwealth History at the University of Oxford.
After schoo ...
and
John Gallagher argue that the British invasion was ordered in order to quell the perceived anarchy of the ‘Urabi Revolt, as well as to protect British control over the
Suez Canal in order to maintain its shipping route to the Indian Ocean.
A.G. Hopkins rejected Robinson and Gallagher's argument, citing original documents to claim that there was no perceived danger to the Suez Canal from the ‘Urabi movement, and that ‘Urabi and his forces were not chaotic "anarchists", but rather maintained law and order.
He alternatively argues that British Prime Minister
William Gladstone's cabinet was motivated by protecting the interests of British bondholders with investments in Egypt as well as by pursuit of domestic political popularity. Hopkins cites the British investments in Egypt that grew massively leading into the 1880s, partially as a result of the Khedive's debt from construction of the Suez Canal, as well as the close links that existed between the British government and the economic sector.
He writes that Britain's economic interests occurred simultaneously with a desire within one element of the ruling Liberal Party for a militant foreign policy in order to gain the domestic political popularity that enabled it to compete with the Conservative Party.
Hopkins cites a letter from
Edward Malet
Sir Edward Baldwin Malet, 4th Baronet (10 October 1837 – 29 June 1908) was a British diplomat.
Edward Malet came from a family of diplomats; his father was Sir Alexander Malet, British minister to Württemberg and later to the German Co ...
, the British consul general in Egypt at the time, to a member of the
Gladstone Cabinet offering his congratulations on the invasion: "You have fought the battle of all Christendom and history will acknowledge it. May I also venture to say that it has given the Liberal Party a new lease of popularity and power."
John Galbraith and
Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid-Marsot Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid-Marsot (born 1933) is an Egyptian-born historian, professor of history at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has written on the history of Egypt since the eighteenth century.[Edward Malet
Sir Edward Baldwin Malet, 4th Baronet (10 October 1837 – 29 June 1908) was a British diplomat.
Edward Malet came from a family of diplomats; his father was Sir Alexander Malet, British minister to Württemberg and later to the German Co ...]
in which he portrayed the Egyptian government as unstable to his superiors in the cabinet.
On Galbraith and al-Sayyid-Marsot's reading, Malet naïvely expected he could convince the British to intimidate Egypt with a show of force without considering a full invasion or occupation as a possibility.
They also dwell on Admiral
Beauchamp Seymour, who hastened the start of the bombardment by exaggerating the danger posed to his ships by ‘Urabi's forces in his telegrams back to the British government.
Course of the war
British bombardment
![VOGT(1883) p245 BOMBARDEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA - JULY 1882](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/VOGT%281883%29_p245_BOMBARDEMENT_OF_ALEXANDRIA_-_JULY_1882.jpg)
The British fleet bombarded Alexandria from 11 to 13 July and then occupied it with marines. The British did not lose a single ship, but much of the city was destroyed by fires caused by explosive shells and by ‘Urabists seeking to ruin the city that the British were taking over.
Tewfik Pasha
Mohamed Tewfik Pasha ( ar, محمد توفيق باشا ''Muḥammad Tawfīq Bāshā''; April 30 or 15 November 1852 – 7 January 1892), also known as Tawfiq of Egypt, was khedive of Egypt and the Sudan between 1879 and 1892 and the sixth rule ...
, who had moved his court to Alexandria during the unrest, declared ‘Urabi a rebel and formally deposed him from his positions within the government.
‘Urabi's response
‘Urabi then reacted by obtaining a
fatwa from
Al Azhar
Al-Azhar Mosque ( ar, الجامع الأزهر, al-Jāmiʿ al-ʾAzhar, lit=The Resplendent Congregational Mosque, arz, جامع الأزهر, Gāmiʿ el-ʾazhar), known in Egypt simply as al-Azhar, is a mosque in Cairo, Egypt in the historic ...
shaykhs which condemned Tewfik as a traitor to both his country and religion, absolving those who fought against him. ‘Urabi also declared war on the United Kingdom and initiated conscription.
British order of battle
![VOGT(1883) ALEXANDRIA AND THE NILE-DELTA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/VOGT%281883%29_ALEXANDRIA_AND_THE_NILE-DELTA.jpg)
The British army launched a probing attack at
Kafr El Dawwar
Kafr El Dawwar ( ar, كفر الدوار, lit=town of the farm ) is a major industrial city and municipality on the Nile Delta in the Beheira Governorate of northern Egypt. Located approximately 30 km from Alexandria, the municipality h ...
in an attempt to see if it was possible to reach Cairo through Alexandria. Afterwards, they determined it would not be possible to reach Cairo from this direction as Egyptian defences were too strong. In August, a British army of over 40,000, commanded by
Garnet Wolseley
Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, (4 June 183325 March 1913), was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a series of successes in Canada, W ...
, invaded the
Suez Canal Zone. He was authorised to destroy 'Urabi's forces and clear the country of all other rebels.
The engineer troops had left England for Egypt in July and August 1882. The engineers included pontoon, railway and telegraph troops.
[
Wolseley saw the campaign as a logistical challenge as he did not believe the Egyptians would put up much resistance.]
Order of battle
In modern use, the order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the arme ...
of the British Expeditionary Force
* Commander: Lieutenant General Sir Garnet Wolseley
* Chief of Staff: Lieutenant General Sir John Adye
* 1st Division (Lt Gen GHS Willis)
* 1st Brigade (Maj Gen HRH The Duke of Connaught)
** 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards
"Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it."
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = Slow: " Scipio"
, mascot =
, equipment =
, equipment ...
** 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards
The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...
** 1st Battalion, Scots Guards
The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the E ...
* 2nd Brigade (Maj Gen Gerald Graham
Lieutenant General Sir Gerald Graham, (27 June 1831 – 17 December 1899) was a senior British Army commander in the late 19th century and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that ...
VC)
** 1st Battalion, The Buffs (East Kent Regiment)
** 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's)
** 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's)
** 2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment ...
*Divisional Troops
** 19th Hussars (2 Sqns)
** 2nd Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959.
The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd (Cornwall Light ...
** A Battery, 1st Field Brigade, Royal Artillery
** D Battery, 1st Field Brigade, Royal Artillery
** 24 Field Company, Royal Engineers
** 12 Company, Army Commissariat and Transport Corps
** 1 Bearer Company, Army Hospital Corps (Half)
** 3 Field Hospital, Army Hospital Corps
* 2nd Division (Lt Gen Sir Edward Hamley)
*3rd (Highland) Infantry Brigade (Maj Gen Sir Archibald Alison)
** 2nd Battalion, Highland Light Infantry
The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fus ...
** 1st Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)
** 1st Battalion, Cameron Highlanders
** 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders
Gordon may refer to:
People
* Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters
* Gordon (surname), the surname
* Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War
* Clan Gord ...
* 4th Brigade (Maj Gen Sir Evelyn Wood VC)
** 1st Battalion, The Royal Sussex Regiment
The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot ...
** 1st Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte's)
** 1st Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment
The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...
** 1st Battalion, The King's Shropshire Light Infantry
*Divisional Troops
** 19th Hussars (2 Sqns)
** 3rd Battalion, The King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...
** I Battery, 2nd Field Brigade, Royal Artillery
** N Battery, 2nd Field Brigade, Royal Artillery
** 26 Field Company, Royal Engineers
** 11 Company, Army Commissariat and Transport Corps
** 2 Bearer Company, Army Hospital Corps (Half)
** 4 Field Hospital, Army Hospital Corps
** 5 Field Hospital, Army Hospital Corps
*Indian Contingent (Maj Gen Sir Herbert Macpherson VC)
** 1st Battalion, Manchester Regiment
The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th ...
** 1st Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders
** 7th Bengal Infantry
** 20th Punjab Infantry
** 29th Baluch Infantry
** 7 (Mountain) Battery, Northern Division, Royal Garrison Artillery
** (plus their own Commissariat, Engineers etc.)
*Cavalry Division (Maj Gen Drury Curzon Drury Lowe)
* 1st (Heavy) Cavalry Brigade (Brig Gen Sir Baker Creed Russell)
** Household Cavalry Composite Regiment (1 Sqn each from the 1st Life Guards
The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated ...
, 2nd Life Guards
The 2nd Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated ...
and Royal Horse Guards)
** 4th Dragoon Guards
The 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as the Earl of Arran's Regiment of Cuirassiers. It was renamed as the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards in 1788 and service for two centuries, inclu ...
** 7th Dragoon Guards
The 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1688 as Lord Cavendish's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards for Princess Charlotte in 1788. ...
*2nd (Bengal) Cavalry Brigade (Brig Gen H. C. Wilkinson)
** 2nd Bengal Cavalry
** 6th Bengal Cavalry
The 6th King Edward's Own Cavalry was a cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1842 and in 1921 was amalgamated with the 7th Hariana Lancers to form the 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry.
History
The 6th King Edward's Own ...
** 13th Bengal Lancers
*Division Troops
** N Battery, A Horse Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery
The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link r ...
** Mounted Infantry Battalion (formed from Mounted Coys of line infantry battalions)
** 17 Company, Army Commissariat and Transport
** 6 Field Hospital, Army Hospital Corps
*Army Troops
** Naval Brigade
** Battalion, Royal Marine Light Infantry
** G Battery, B Horse Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery
** F Battery, 1st Field Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
** H Battery, 1st Field Brigade, RFA
** C Battery, 3rd Field Brigade, RFA
** J Battery, 3rd Field Brigade, RFA
*" T Battery, 3rd Field Brigade, RFA
** Royal Marine Artillery
** 1 Battery, London Division, Royal Garrison Artillery
** 4 Battery, London Division, RGA
** 5 Battery, London Division, RGA
** 5 Battery, Scottish Division, RGA
** 6 Battery, Scottish Division, RGA
*Army Train
** A (Bridging) Troop, Royal Engineers
** C (Telegraph) Troop, RE
** Railway Troop, RE
** 8 Field Company, RE
** 17 Field Company, RE
** 18 Field Company, RE
** A Company, Queen's Own Madras Sappers and Miners
** I Company, QOMS&M
** 8 Company, Army Commissariat and Transport Corps
** 15 Company, ACT Corps
** Auxiliary Company, ACT Corps
** 2 Bearer Company, Army Hospital Corps
** 1 Field Hospital, AHC
** 3 Field Hospital, AHC
** 7 Field Hospital, AHC
** 8 Field Hospital, AHC
** Army Post Office Corps (M Company 49th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers
The Post Office Rifles was a unit of the British Army, first formed in 1868 from volunteers as part of the Volunteer Force, which later became the Territorial Force (and later the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army). The unit evolved ...
)
Battle of Kafr El Dawwar
This battle took place on 5 August 1882 between an Egyptian army, headed by Ahmed Orabi, and British forces headed by Sir Archibald Alison. Seeking to ascertain the strength of the Egyptian's Kafr El Dawwar position, and to test local rumours that the Egyptians were retreating, Alison ordered a probing attack on the evening of the 5th. This action was reported by Orabi as a battle, and Cairo was full of the news that the advancing British had been repulsed; however most historians describe the action merely as a reconnaissance in force which was never intended as a serious assault on the Egyptian lines. Regardless, the end result was that the British abandoned any hope they may have had of reaching Cairo from the north, and shifted their base of operations to Ismailia instead.
Wolseley arrived at Alexandria on 15 August and immediately began to organize the movement of troops through the Suez Canal to Ismailia
Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, includi ...
. This was quickly accomplished; Ismailia was occupied on 20 August without resistance.
Battle of Tell El Kebir
Ismailia was quickly reinforced with 9,000 troops, with the engineers put to work repairing the railway line from Suez. A small force was pushed along the Sweet Water Canal
Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketone ...
to the Kassassin
Kassassin ( ar, القصاصين) is a village of Lower Egypt by rail west of Ismailia, a major city on the Suez Canal.
Battle of Kassassin Lock
At the Sweet Water Canal, on August 28, 1882 the British force was attacked by the Egyptians, l ...
lock arriving on 26 August. There they met the enemy. Heavily outnumbered the two battalions with 4 guns held their ground until some heavy cavalry arrived when the force went onto the offensive, forcing ‘Urabi to fall back with heavy casualties.[
The main body of the army started to move up to Kassassin and planning for the battle at Tell El Kebir was undertaken. Skirmishing took place but did not interfere with the build up. On 12 September all was ready and during that night the army marched to battle.][
13 September – ‘Urabi redeployed to defend ]Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
against Wolseley. His main force dug in at Tell El Kebir, north of the railway and the Sweet Water Canal
Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketone ...
, both of which linked Cairo to Ismailia
Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, includi ...
on the canal. The defences were hastily prepared as there was little time to arrange them. ‘Urabi's forces possessed 60 pieces of artillery and breech loading rifles. Wolseley made several personal reconnaissances, and determined that the Egyptians did not man outposts in front of their main defences at night, which made it possible for an attacking force to approach the defences under cover of darkness. Wolseley sent his force to approach the position by night and attacked frontally at dawn.
Surprise was not achieved; rifle fire and artillery from redoubts opened up when the range was . Continuing the advance, the defending troops were hampered by the smoke from their weapons blocking their vision of the advancing British. The three battalions arrived in the enemy trenches all together and with little loss, resulting in a decisive victory for the British.[
Officially losing only 57 troops while killing approximately two thousand Egyptians, the British army had more casualties due to heatstroke than enemy action.] The ‘Urabi forces were routed, and British cavalry pursued them and captured Cairo, which was undefended.
Power was then restored to the Khedive, the war was at an end and the majority of the British army went to Alexandria and took ship for home, leaving, from November, just an army of occupation.[
Lieutenant ]William Mordaunt Marsh Edwards
Major William Mordaunt Marsh Edwards, (7 May 1855 – 17 September 1912) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonweal ...
was awarded a Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
for his gallantry during the battle.
British military innovations
Railway
During the build up to the battle at Tell El Kebir the specially raised 8th Railway Company RE operated trains carrying stores and troops, as well as repairing track. On the day of the battle they ran a train into Tell El Kebir
Tell El Kebir ( ar, التل الكبير lit."the great mound") is 110 km north-north-east of Cairo and 75 kilometres south of Port Said on the edge of the Egyptian desert at the altitude of 29 m. Administratively, it is a part of the Ism ...
station between 8 and 9 am (13 September) and "found it completely blocked with trains, full of the enemy's ammunition: the line strewn with dead and wounded, and our own soldiers swarming over the place almost mad for want of water" (extract from Captain Sidney Smith's diary). Once the station was cleared they began to ferry the wounded, prisoners and troops with stores to other destinations.
Telegraph
In the wake of the advancing columns, telegraph lines were laid on either side of the Sweet Water canal. At 2 am (13 September) Wolseley successfully sent a message to the Major General Sir H. Macpherson VC on the extreme left with the Indian Contingent and the Naval Brigade. At Tell El Kebir a field telegraph office was established in a saloon carriage, which Arabi Pasha had travelled in the day before. At 8:30 am (13 September) after the victory at the battle of Tell El Kebir, Wolseley used the telegram to send messages of his victory to Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
; he received a reply from her at 9.15 am the same day. Once they had got connected to the permanent line the Section also worked the Theiber sounder and the telephone
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
.
Army Post Office Corps
The forerunners of Royal Engineers (Postal Section) made their debut on this campaign. They were specially raised from the 24th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers (Post Office Rifles
The Post Office Rifles was a unit of the British Army, first formed in 1868 from volunteers as part of the Volunteer Force, which later became the Territorial Force (and later the Territorial Army). The unit evolved several times until 1921, aft ...
) and for the first time in British military history
The military history of the United Kingdom covers the period from the creation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain, with the political union of England and Scotland in 1707, to the present day.
From the 18th century onwards, with the expansio ...
, post office clerks trained as soldiers, provided a dedicated postal service to an army in the field. During the battle of Kassassin
Kassassin ( ar, القصاصين) is a village of Lower Egypt by rail west of Ismailia, a major city on the Suez Canal.
Battle of Kassassin Lock
At the Sweet Water Canal, on August 28, 1882 the British force was attacked by the Egyptians, l ...
they became the first Volunteers ever to come under enemy fire.
Aftermath
‘Urabi's trial
Prime Minister Gladstone initially sought to put ‘Urabi on trial and execute him, portraying him as "a self-seeking tyrant whose oppression of the Egyptian people still left him enough time, in his capacity as a latter-day Saladin, to massacre Christians." After glancing through his captured diaries and various other evidence, there was little with which to "demonize" ‘Urabi in a public trial. His charges were down-graded, after which he admitted to rebellion and was sent into exile.
British occupation
British troops then occupied Egypt until the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1922 and Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936, giving gradual control back to the government of Egypt.
Hopkins argues that Britain continued its occupation of Egypt after 1882 in order to guarantee British investments: "Britain had important interests to defend in Egypt and she was prepared to withdraw only if conditions guaranteeing the security of those interests were met—and they never were." Consistent with this view, investment in Egypt increased during the British occupation, interest rates fell, and bond prices rose.
See also
* Egypt Medal
The Egypt Medal (1882–1889) was awarded for the military actions involving the British Army and Royal Navy during the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War and in the Sudan between 1884 and 1889.
Resentment at increasing British and other European involve ...
* Khedive's Star
The Khedive's Star was a campaign medal established by Khedive Tewfik Pasha to reward those who had participated in the military campaigns in Egypt and the Sudan between 1882 and 1891. This included British forces who served during the 1882 Anglo- ...
* List of conflicts in the Near East
This is a list of conflicts in the Near East arranged; first, chronologically from the epipaleolithic until the end of the late modern period ( – c. AD 1945); second, geographically by sub-regions (starting from east to west; then, south to n ...
References
Further reading
* Barthorp, Michael. ''The British Army on Campaign: vol 4: 1882–1902'' (Osprey Publishing, 1988).
* Halvorson, D. "Prestige, prudence and public opinion in the 1882 British occupation of Egypt." ''Australian Journal of Politics and History'' (2010) 56#3, 423–440
online free
* Hopkins, Anthony G. "The Victorians and Africa: a reconsideration of the occupation of Egypt, 1882." ''Journal of African History'' 27.2 (1986): 363–391.
* Langer, William L. ''European alliances and alignments, 1871–1890'' (1950) pp 251–80.
* Mowat, R.C. "From Liberalism to Imperialism: The Case of Egypt 1875–1887", ''Historical Journal,'' Vol 16, No.1 (Mar., 1973), pp. 109–124
online
* Mulligan, William. "Decisions for Empire: Revisiting the 1882 Occupation of Egypt." ''English Historical Review'' 135.572 (2020): 94-126.
* Newsinger, John. "Liberal Imperialism and the Occupation of Egypt in 1882." ''Race & Class'' 49.3 (2008): 54–75.
* Reid, Donald Malcolm. "The 'Urabi revolution and the British conquest, 1879–1882", in M.W. Daly, ed., The Cambridge History of Egypt, vol. 2: Modern Egypt, from 1517 to the end of the twentieth century (1998) pp. 217=238.
* Robinson, Ronald, and John Gallagher. ''Africa and the Victorians: The Climax of Imperialism'' (1961) pp 76–159
online
* al-Sayid-Marsot, A. "The Occupation of Egypt", in A. Porter (ed), ''The Oxford History of the British Empire: The Nineteenth Century: Volume III'' (Oxford, 1999)
* Schölch, Alexander. "The ‘Men on the Spot’ and the English Occupation of Egypt in 1882." ''Historical Journal'' 19.3 (1976): 773–785.
* Thomas, Martin, and Richard Toye. "Arguing about intervention: a comparison of British and French rhetoric surrounding the 1882 and 1956 invasions of Egypt." ''Historical Journal'' 58.4 (2015): 1081–1113.
Primary sources
* Cromer, Earl of. ''Modern Egypt'' (2 vol 1908
online free
1220pp, by a senior British official
* Malet, Edward. '' Egypt, 1879–1883'' (London, 1909), by a senior British officia
online
External links
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090528172537/http://members.fortunecity.com/78blencowest/ch14.htm Autobiography of Sir John Stokes*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anglo-Egyptian War
'Urabi revolt
Egypt–United Kingdom relations
Anglo 1882
Egyptian 1882
Invasions
Conflicts in 1882
1882 in Egypt
1882 in the United Kingdom
19th-century military history of the United Kingdom
British colonisation in Africa
Invasions of Egypt
African resistance to colonialism