The Second Field Army is a

military formation Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation ...

of the Egyptian Army, formed in 1968. Army headquarters is at

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 ...

. It is usually commanded by a field commander of Lieutenant-General rank of at least 34 years' service, and reports directly to the Army General Headquarters and General Staff. During the 1973

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, the army commander was Lieutenant General

Saad Mamoun Lieutenant General Mohammed Saad Eddin Mamoun, usually known in English as Saad Mamoun (14 May 1922 – 28 October 2000), was an Egyptian war hero and was the commander of the Egyptian Second Army during the Yom Kippur War. He was commissioned i ...

. The army's troops crossed the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

during Operation Badr, the opening offensive of the war, along with the Third Army. Just before the

Battle of the Chinese Farm A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 1973, it included on its southern flank the 21st Armoured Division commanded by Brigadier General

Ibrahim El-Orabi Ibrahim Abdel Ghafour El Orabi ( ar, إبراهيم عبد الغفور العرابي , ); 20 May 1931 – 18 September 2019) was an Egyptian Army Lieutenant General and the 13th and former Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces. H ...

and the 16th Infantry Division commanded by Brigadier General Abd Rab el-Nabi Hafez. In addition to being division commander Hafez also commanded forces within his division's bridgehead over the Suez Canal, which included the 21st Armoured Division. Orabi's unit included the 1st Armoured Brigade commanded by Colonel Sayed Saleh, the 14th Armoured Brigade commanded by Colonel Othman Kamel, and the 18th Mechanized Brigade commanded by Colonel Talaat Muslim. Hafez's 16th Division included the 16th Infantry Brigade, commanded by Colonel Abd el-Hamid Abd el-Sami', as well as the 116th Infantry and the 3rd Mechanised Brigades.

Trevor N. Dupuy Trevor Nevitt Dupuy (May 3, 1916 – June 5, 1995) was a colonel in the United States Army and a noted military historian. Early life Born in Staten Island, New York, the son of accomplished illustrator and artist, Laura Nevitt Dupuy, and noted ...

writes the 182nd Parachute Brigade was assigned to Second Army. After the Battle of the Chinese Farm, Ismaila was under threat. The 182nd Parachute Brigade, comprising the 81st, 85th and 89th Battalions (each composed of three

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

) under the command of Colonel Ismail Azmy, was assigned responsibility for defending the area south of Ismailia against an Israeli offensive. Azmy arrived at Nafisha with the bulk of his brigade at midnight on October 17, where he was briefed by Brigadier General Abd el-Munim Khalil, commander of Second Army. Khalil identified the west bank strong points as objectives for the

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

s to secure, as the ramparts could be used to provide fire support to Egyptian forces on the east bank. The paratroopers would also hold Serabaeum and the bridges there over the Sweetwater Canal.Hammad (2002), pp.426–428O'Ballance (1997), p.235

Twenty-first century

President Mohamed Mursi attempted to strengthen his ties with the armed forces. Accompanied by Defence Minister

Abdul Fatah al-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi; (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian mil ...

, he greeted soldiers during his visit to the 6th Armoured Division of the Second Army, near

, some 75 miles north of Cairo, on October 10, 2012. In mid-2015, Second Army elements stationed in Ismailia were deployed to

Sheikh Zuweid Sheikh Zuweid (also spelled Sheikh Zoweid, Shaykh Zuwayd, or Sheikh Zouède; ar, الشيخ زويد , , Greek: ''Bitulion'') is a Bedouin town in the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt near the border with the Gaza Strip. It is situated bet ...

to combat the

Sinai Insurgency The Sinai insurgency is an ongoing insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, that was commenced by Islamist militants against Egyptian security forces, which have also included attacks on civilians. The insurgency began during the Egyptian C ...

. It is assigned to defend the Northern Suez Canal.

Operation Badr Order of Battle, 1973

''See Dani Asher, The Egyptian Strategy for the Yom Kippur War: An Analysis, 2009, p.11'' * Second Field Army (Northern Canal Zone) - Maj Gen Sa'adeddin Ma'moun : Chief of Staff - Maj Gen Tayseer Aqad : Chief of Artillery - Maj Gen Abd Al-Halim Abu-Ghazala * ''18th Infantry Division''* - Brig Gen Fuad 'Aziz Ghali ** 90th Infantry Brigade ** 134th Infantry Brigade ** 136th Mechanized Infantry Brigade * '' 2nd Infantry Division''* - Brig Gen Hassan Abu Sa'ada ** 4th Infantry Brigade ** 120th Infantry Brigade ** 117th Mechanized Infantry Brigade * ''16th Infantry Division''* - Brig Gen Abd Rab el-Nabi Hafez ** 16th Infantry Brigade - Abdel-Hamid Abdel-Sami ** 112th Infantry Brigade ** 3rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade * ''21st Armored Division'' - Brig

** 1st Armored Brigade: Mohamed Taufik Abu Shady (killed), replaced by Sayyid Saleh ** 14th Armored Brigade*: Othman Kamel ** 18th Mechanised Brigade: Talaat Muslim * ''23rd Mechanised Division'' - Brig Gen Ahmad 'Aboud El Zommer (Killed), Hassan Abdel-Latif ** 24th Armored Brigade* ** 116th Mechanised Brigade - Hussein Ridwan (killed) ** 118th Mechanised Brigade * 15th Independent Armored Brigade* - Col Tahseen Shanan

Formations in 2018

*Headquarters (Ismailia) ** 6th Armoured Division, headquarters in

** 7th Mechanized Division ** 16th Mechanized Division ***3rd Mechanized Infantry Brigade ***16th Mechanized Infantry Brigade ***57th Armored Brigade ***41st Medium Range Artillery Brigade. ** 18th Mechanized Division ***A Divisional artillery brigade * Independent 135th Mechanized Infantry brigade * Two Independent Long Range Artillery brigades * Three Engineer brigades

Previous Commanders

*Mohammed Faraj Shahat (March 2014 - April 2015). *Ahmed Wasfi (July 2012 - March 2014). *

Mohammed Farid Hegazy Lieutenant General Mohammed Farid Hegazy (born 1954) is the former Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Previously he was Chief of Staff and then Commander of the Second Field Army The Second Field Army (第二野战军), initially kno ...

(July 2010 - July 2012). *Imbabi (January 2009 - July 2010). *Abraham Nsouha (January 2008 - January 2009). *Ahmed Hussein Mustafa (January 2006 - January 2008). *Mustafa Ahmed al-Sayed (September 2004 - January 2006). *Abdul Jalil Fakhrani (December 2001 - September 2004). *Sabri (November 1999 - December 2001). *Hamdi Wahiba (1991 - November 1999) (promoted to Lieutenant General and served as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces). * Magdi Hatata (1991 - 1993) (promoted to Lieutenant General and served as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces). * Mohammed Hussein Tantawi (1987 - 1988) (later promoted to

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

and served as

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

). *Safi al-Din Abu Hnav (1981-1983) (served as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces). * Ahmed Salahuddin Abdul Halim (1981 - 1983) (promoted to Lieutenant General).Commander of the 31 thunderbolt Brigade and Commander of the Thunderbolt Units in Yemen, 1964; Commander of the 135th Independent Infantry Brigade in Port Fouad during the

, 1973; Commander, Port Said Sector, 1973-1974; divisional commander, 23rd Mechanised Division? 1975 - 1976; Chief of Staff of the Second Field Army 1980-1981; Army Commander, 1981-83. *

(1980 - 1981) (promoted to Lieutenant General and served as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces). * Fouad Aziz Ghali (Command began on December 1973 - 1980, later promoted to Lieutenant General). * Abdel Moneim Khalil (The second period from October 16, 1973 - December 1973). *

(January 1972 - October 16, 1973) (Promoted to Lieutenant General). * Abdel Moneim Khalil (The first period from September 1969 - January 1972) * Ahmed Abdul Salam Tawfik (March 9, 1969 - September 1969). *Adli Said (Command ended on March 9 1969). *

Ahmad Ismail Ali Ahmad Ismail Ali ( ar, أحمد إسماعيل علي) (14 October 1917 – 26 December 1974) was the Commander-in-Chief of Egypt's army and minister of war during the October War of 1973, and is best known for his planning of the attack across ...

(the first commander of the Second Army from November 1968 - March 1969) (Later Army Chief of Staff, Chief of Intelligence,

and promoted to

Twenty-first century

Operation Badr Order of Battle, 1973

Formations in 2018

Previous Commanders

References

See also