Anglo-Egyptian War: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|1882 armedBritish conflictconquest inof Egypt}}

| partof = the [[UrabiʻUrabi Revoltrevolt]] and [[Scramble for Africa]] and [[dissolution of the Ottoman Empire]]

| place = [[Khedivate of Egypt|Egypt]]

| territory =* [[Mahdist War|British occupationintervention ofin EgyptSudan]]

| commander1 = {{ubl|{{flagicon|UKGBI}} [[Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley|Garnet Wolseley]]|{{flagicon|UKGBI}} [[Beauchamp Seymour, 1st Baron Alcester|Beauchamp Seymour]]|{{flagicon image|Egypt flag 1882.svg}} [[Tewfik Pasha]]}}

| commander2 = {{ubl|{{flagicon image|Egypt flag 1882.svg}} [[Ahmed ‘Urabi]]|{{flagicon image|Egypt flag 1882.svg}} [[Mahmoud Fehmy]]|{{flagicon image|Egypt flag 1882.svg}} [[Mahmoud Sami El el-Baroudi|Mahmoud El el-Baroudi]]}}

| casualties1 = {{ubl|80–90800–900 killed|600+ wounded<ref>There are no exact British casualty figures. The official [[War Office]] history gives a total of 83 killed, 607 wounded and 30 'missing', not including Royal Navy losses at Alexandria. Colonel J. F. Maurice, ''Military History of the Campaign of 1882 in Egypt'' (HMSO, 1887: new ed. 1908) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.285063/page/n133/mode/2up Appendix VI]. See, however, Peter Duckers, ''Egypt 1882: Dispatches, Casualties, Awards'' (Spink, 2001).</ref>}}

The '''British conquest of Egypt (1882)''', also known as the '''Anglo-Egyptian War''' ({{Lang-ar|الاحتلال البريطاني لمصر|translit=al-iḥtilāl al-Brīṭānī li-Miṣr|lit=British occupation of Egypt}}), occurred in 1882 between [[Khedivate of Egypt|Egyptian]] and [[Turco-Egyptian Sudan|Sudanese]] forces under [[Ahmed ‘Urabi]] and the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]. It ended a [[‘Urabi Revolt|nationalist uprising]] against the [[Khedivate of Egypt|Khedive]] [[Tewfik Pasha]]. It established firm British influence over Egypt at the expense of the Egyptians, the [[French colonial empire|French]], and the [[Ottoman Empire]], whose already weak authority became nominal.

In 1881, an Egyptian army officer, [[Ahmed ‘Urabi]] (then known in English as Arabi Pasha), mutinied and initiated a coup against [[Tewfik Pasha]], the [[khedive of Egypt|Khedive]] of [[Khedivate of Egypt|Egypt]] and [[TurkishTurco-Egyptian Sudan|Sudan]], because of grievances over disparities in pay between Egyptians and Europeans, as well as other concerns. In January 1882 the British and [[French Third Republic|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 [[Bombardment of Alexandria#Origins|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 {{frac|10|1|2}}-hour [[bombardment of Alexandria]] on 11 July.

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]]'', [[Ronald Robinson]] and [[John Andrew Gallagher|John Gallagher]] argue that the British invasion was ordered in order to quell the perceived anarchy of the ‘Urabi‘[[Urabi revolt|Urabi Revolt]], as well as to protect British control over the [[Suez Canal]] in order to maintain its shipping route to the [[Indian Ocean]].<ref name=robinson>{{cite book|last=Robinson|first=Ronald|title=Africa and the Victorians: The Official Mind of Imperialism|year=1961|publisher=Macmillan|location=London|author2=Gallagher, John}}</ref>

[[A. G. Hopkins|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 "[[Anarchism|anarchists]]", but rather maintained law and order.<ref name=hopkins />{{rp|373–374}} He alternatively argues that British Prime Minister [[William Ewart Gladstone|William Gladstone]]'s [[Second Gladstone ministry|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.<ref name=hopkins />{{rp|379–380}} He writes that Britain's economic interests occurred simultaneously with a desire within one element of the ruling [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] for a [[militant]] foreign policy in order to gain the domestic political popularity that enabled it to compete with the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]].<ref name=hopkins />{{rp|382}} Hopkins cites a letter from [[Edward Malet]], the British consul general in Egypt at the time, to a member of the [[Second Gladstone ministry|Gladstone Cabinetcabinet]] 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."<ref name=hopkins>{{cite journal|last1=Hopkins|first1=A. G.|title=The Victorians and Africa: A Reconsideration of the Occupation of Egypt, 1882|journal=The Journal of African History|date=July 1986|volume=27|issue=2|pages=363–391|jstor=181140|doi=10.1017/S0021853700036719|s2cid=162732269 }}</ref>{{rp|385}}

[[John Semple Galbraith|John Galbraith]] and [[Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid-Marsot]] make a similar argument to Hopkins, though their argument focuses on how individuals within the British government bureaucracy used their positions to make the invasion appear as a more favourable option. First, they describe a plot by [[Edward Malet]] in which he portrayed the Egyptian government as unstable to his superiors in the cabinet.<ref name=galbraith>{{cite journal|last=Galbraith|first=John S.|author2=al-Sayyid-Marsot, Afaf Lutfi|title=The British Occupation of Egypt: Another View|journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies|date=November 1978|volume=9|issue=4|doi=10.1017/S0020743800030658|jstor=162074|pages=471–488|s2cid=162397342 }}</ref>{{rp|477}} 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.<ref name=galbraith />{{rp|477–478}} They also dwell on Admiral [[Beauchamp Seymour]], who they claim 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.<ref name=galbraith />{{rp|485}}

The British fleet bombarded Alexandria from 11 to 13 July and then occupied it with [[Royal Marines|marines]]. The British did not lose a single ship, but much of the city was destroyed by fires caused by explosive shells and, according to contemporary British sources, by ‘Urabists seeking to ruin the city that the British were taking over.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Bombardment of Alexandria (1882)|work=Old Mersey Times|url=http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/index.html|access-date=2007-10-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008011419/http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/index.html|archive-date= 8 October 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Tewfik Pasha]], who had moved his court to Alexandria during the unrest, declared ‘Urabi a rebel and formally deposed him from his positions within the government.

The [[British armyArmy]] launched a probing attack at [[Battle of Kafr El Dawwar|Kafr El Dawwar]] 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, 1st Viscount Wolseley|Garnet Wolseley]], invaded the [[Suez Canal Zone]]. He was authorised to destroy 'Urabi's forces and clear the country of all other rebels.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Spiers|first=Edward|date=2018|title=Intervention in Egypt|url=https://www.manchesteropenhive.com/view/9781526137913/9781526137913.00012.xml|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=9781526137913}}</ref>

Wolseley saw the campaign as a logistical challenge as he did not believe the Egyptians would put up much resistance.<ref name="Kochanski">{{cite book |first=Halik |last=Kochanski |title=Sir Garnet Wolseley: Victorian Hero |date=January 1999 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=9781852851880}}</ref>

* [[History of the British 1st Division between 1809–1909|1st Division]] (Lt Gen GHS Willis)

* [[1st (Guards) Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Brigade]] (Maj Gen HRH [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|The Duke of Connaught]])

* [[2nd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|2nd Brigade]] (Maj Gen [[Gerald Graham]] VC)

* Divisional Troops

* [[2nd Division (United Kingdom)|2nd Division]] (Lt Gen [[Edward Bruce Hamley|Sir Edward Hamley]])

* 3rd (Highland) Infantry Brigade (Maj Gen [[Sir Archibald Alison, 2nd Baronet|Sir Archibald Alison]])

* [[4th Brigade (United Kingdom)|4th Brigade]] (Maj Gen [[Evelyn Wood (British Army officer)|Sir Evelyn Wood]] VC)

* Divisional Troops

* Indian Contingent (Maj Gen [[Herbert Taylor MacPherson|Sir Herbert Macpherson]] VC)

* Cavalry Division (Maj Gen [[Drury Curzon Drury-Lowe|Drury Curzon Drury Lowe]])

* [[1st Cavalry Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st (Heavy) Cavalry Brigade]] (Brig Gen [[Baker Russell|Sir Baker Creed Russell]])

* 2nd (Bengal) Cavalry Brigade (Brig Gen H. C. Wilkinson)

* Division Troops

* Army Troops

* " T Battery, 3rd Field Brigade, RFA

* Army Train

This battle took place on 5 August 1882 between an Egyptian army, headedunder by[[Ahmed Urabi|Ahmed Orabi,'Urabi]] and British forces headed by [[Sir Archibald Alison, 2nd Baronet|Sir Archibald Alison]]. Seeking toTo 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'Urabi 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 whichthat was never intended asto a seriousseriously assault on the Egyptian lines. Regardless, the end result was that the British abandoned anythe hope they may have hadidea 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 organizemove thetroops movementto of troopsand through the [[Suez Canal]], to [[Ismailia]]., This was quickly accomplished; Ismailiawhich was occupied on 20 August without resistance.<ref name="HCRE2">{{cite book |last=Porter |first=Whitworth |title=History of the Corps of Royal Engineers |volume=II |year=1889|publisher=The Institution of Royal Engineers |location=Chatham}}</ref>{{rp|67}}

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]] to the [[Kassassin]] lock arriving on 26 August. There they met the enemy. Heavily outnumbered, the two [[Battalion|battalions]] with 4four guns held their ground until some heavy cavalry arrived when the force went onto the offensive, forcing ‘Urabi to fall back {{convert|5|mi|km}} with heavy casualties.<ref name=HCRE2/>{{rp|67–68}}

The main body of the army started to move up to [[Kassassin]] and planning for the battle at [[Tell El Kebir]] was undertaken. [[Skirmisher|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.<ref name=HCRE2/>{{rp|68}}

On 13 September –, ‘Urabi redeployed to defend [[Cairo]] against Wolseley. His main force dug in at Tell El Kebir, north of the railway and the [[Ismaïlia Canal|Sweet Water Canal]], both of which linked Cairo to [[Ismailia]] 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.

OfficiallyThe losingBritish Army onlylost 57900 troops while killing approximately two thousand Egyptians,. theSome British armytroops hadcaptured moreby casualtiesEgyptians duewere tobrutally heatstroketortured thanto enemy actiondeath. <ref name="Kochanski"/>{{rp|130}} The ‘Urabi forces were routed, and British cavalry pursued them and captured Cairo, which was undefended.

During the build upbuildup to the [[Battle of Tell El Kebir|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 (13 September) they ran a train into [[Tell El Kebir]] station between 8 and 9&nbsp;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.<ref name=porter>{{cite book|last=Porter|first=Whitworth|author-link=Whitworth Porter|title=History of the Corps of Royal Engineers, Vol. II|year=1889|publisher=[[Longmans, Green and Co.]]|location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/historycorpsroy00watsgoog}}</ref>

In the wake of the advancing columns, telegraph lines were laid on either side of the Sweet Water canal. At 2&nbsp;am (on 13 September), Wolseley successfully sent a message to the Major General Sir [[Herbert Taylor MacPherson|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&nbsp;am (on 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]]; he received a reply from her at 9.15&nbsp;am the same day. Once they had got connected to the permanent line, the Section also worked the [[Theiber sounder]]{{explanation needed|date=January 2023}} and the [[telephone]].<ref name=porter />

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]]) and for the first time in [[British military history]], post office clerks trained as soldiers, provided a dedicated [[Military mail|postal service to an army]] in the field. During the battle of [[Kassassin]] they became the first Volunteers ever to come under enemy fire.<ref name=wells>{{cite book|last=Wells|first=Edward |title=Mailshot – A History of the Forces Postal Services|year=1987|publisher=Defence Postal & Courier Services |location=London |isbn=0951300903}}</ref>

Prime Minister [[William Ewart Gladstone|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-gradeddowngraded, after which he admitted to rebellion and was sent into exile.<ref name=hopkins />{{rp|384}}

{{main|British occupationHistory of Egypt under the British}}

* Mulligan, William. "Decisions for Empire: Revisiting the 1882 Occupation of Egypt." ''English Historical Review'' 135.572 (2020): 94-12694–126.

* 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.&nbsp;217=238217–238.

[[Category:'UrabiAnglo-Egyptian War| revolt]]