History

In 1516 A.D, the Turkish Army under the command of Ottoman Sultan "Selim I" defeated the Egyptian Army led by Sultan Al-Ghoury in the battle of “Marg Dabek” to the north of "Aleppo" and proceeded towards Egypt invading it in a 1517 A.D. Ever since, Egypt did not have its own national Army as it had been a territory under Turkish rule for invasion 218 years when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Egypt during the French in 1798 A.D, a date in history marking the beginning of the modern history of Egypt.

In 1805 A.D, Mohamed Ali Pasha ruled Egypt dreaming to establish an empire
that could inherit the feeble Ottoman Empire.Thus, In 1923 A.D,
he started to establish an army, mainly from Egyptians.
His Army was organized into six brigades, each one of five battalions with
the strength of 800 soldiers each. This was accomplished by sept. 1824 A.D. ,
then, a number of french officers topped by colonel Sief - known as
the French soliman pasha - were assigned to train the army .

Mohamed Ali also established the first Ministry of War in Egypt during
the period of 1821 -1822 A.D.The first military display organized in Egypt,
was inspected by Mohamed Ali on Dec. 26th,1826 A.D. Mohamed Ali set up a number of military schools starting from 1822 A.D: the Staff School in 1825 A.D, the Navy School in the same year, Military Band School in 1827 A.D,
Cavalry School and Artillery School 1831 A.D, the Infantry School in 1832 A.D, and the Military Engineers School in 1844 A.D. He also founded a large number of Academic Military Missions to Europe and initiated the military industries of weapons, ammunition and military uniforms to supply the army with its provisions.
It`s worth mentioning that in 1839 A.D. the Egyptian ground forces
reached 23588 soldiers & that of navy soldiers reached up to 1600,
whereas the number of navy warship was about 32 .

The Egyptian Army faught fiercely against the Turkish Forces in the Battle of
“Nasibain” in June 1839 A.D, the Egyptian Army was about to reach “Constantinople” the capital of Turkey, when the Western countries swiftly interfered lest the influence of Mohamed Ali would extend to Europe.
In 1840 A.D, “London Conference” was held to put an end to the conflict
between Egypt and Turkey. In line with the conference resolutions,
the Ottman Sultan issued a decree in 1840 A.D, that stipulated the inheritance of Mohamed Ali’s family as rulers of Egypt and Sudan. The second main resolution of the conference was to limit the number of
the Egyptian Army to 18000 soldiers at the most, the thing that brought
Mohamed Ali`s dream of an empire to an end.
The successors of Mohamed Ali adopted his policy and did not adhere to
the number of soldiers imposed by the London Conference resolutions,
instead they worked on increasing and strengthening the Army power.
Moreover, they established military schools, new army units,
and military industries to produce rifles, canons and swords. In addition,
they imported heavy weapons from France, England and America.

A field cannon used during the reign of “Mohamed Ali” (1805-1848 A.D.)

A seashore cannon used during the reign of Mohammad Ali

The Army's strength reached its peak during the reign of “Khedive Ismail” in 1863 A.D.
But, he was forced to reduce the size of his Army and to close down some
of his military schools by the end of his reign, as a result of the financial crisis.
In mid 1882 A.D The British colonized Egypt after a fierce battle against
the Egyptian army led by Orabi pacha near Cairo.


Orabi The leader of the army	Ahmed Orabi leading the Egyptian army against the Khedive Taufik an the British invasion in Egypt in 1882 A.D.

The non - stopping conflicts between the British Occupation
authority & the ruling authorities, casted its negative effects
on the development & competence of the army, nevertheless,
it tookpart in the military expedition to restore Sudan
in 1896 -1898 A.D.

Wahabian War in 1811 A.D.:
Mohamed Ali extended his power over the Arabian Peninsula and
the Egyptian Forces reached the Arabian Gulf.
The Egyptian Army campaign to Sudan in 1820 A.D.
The occupation of Cyprus in 1823 A.D.
The occupation of the Island of Crete in 1824 A.D.
Morea War in Greece on Jan. 13th, 1825 A.D.
The Egyptian campaign to the Eastern Mediterranean countries
where the Turkish Army was defeated.


Members of the revolutionary council	President Gamal Abd EL-Nasser

One of the six principles adopted by the 1952 Revolution, is the establishment
of a strong national army, and as a result, Egypt signed the withdrawal agreement with the U.K. in 1954. In compliance with the evacuation treaty,
the British troops withdrew from Egypt in 1956. In 1955, Egypt concluded
a treaty with Czechoslovakia to supply the Egyptian Armed Forces with modern weapons.

On the 26th of July 1956, the Suez canal was nationalized, the thing that led to the tripatrite agression by England, France and Israel. This ordeal has only made Egypt more determined to build a strong national army capable of defending the vital interests of the country and maintaining the integrity of its territories. On June 5th 1967
Egypt was attacked by Israel, in a bid to destroy the Eegyptian army &
dwarf Egyptian efforts in assisting Arab cases especially the Palestinian case.
Despite the bitterness of defeat, the destruction of the main assets of the Army and the occupation of Sinai, Egypt swiftly restored its strength
and strong will, declaring the continuation of war struggle to liberate
the occupied land. On July 1st 1967, less than one month after the Israeli aggression, the remarkable battle of Ras El -Ush took place where a limited force with the size of a Ranger Platoon stopped.
Israeli armoured convoy causing severe casualties forcing Israel to retreat.
On July 14th 1967 the Egyptian Air Force attacked the Israeli Forces
assembled to the East of the Suez Canal bringing about serious casualties
and damages to the Israeli Forces. On Octber 21st 1967, the Egyptian Navy Missile Boats destroyed the Israeli destroyer “ Eilat” in front of Port Said coast, the sort of navy battle referred to as the first navy battle where missiles were used. Hereafter, the Egyptian Armed Forces worked against the clock on the reorganization, rearmament and training plan to regain its strength along with waging the attrition war against the Israeli Forces to the east of the Suez Canal where all assets of ground, air and navy weapons were used.
As a result of the attrition war Israel was forced to construct a fortified defensive line along the confrontation front with the Egyptian Forces in the Suez Canal area under the name of “Barlev Line”, moreover, the Israeli government accepted the U.S Secretary of State initiative known as “Rogers Initiative” to cease fire in the Suez Canal front, after what befell on the Israeli Forces.
During that time, Egypt started the planning and preparation for October War 1973, that was interrupted by the death of the late President Gamal Abd El-Nasser on Septmber 28th 1970.
President Sadat tookover, and worked on the warplan identifing a military political objective.

On Oct. 6th,1973 the Egyptian Armed Forces assaulted the Suez Canal
after the Air Force strike against the Israeli Forces positions in Sinai,
the artillery also made the most massive preparations known in history.
Hereafter, the Armed Forces crossed the Suez Canal and seized
“Barlev Line” destroyed the Israeli sequential attacks and managed
a group of air, sea and land combined operations efficiently,
the matter that led to the glorious victory of the Armed Forces.


The crossing of tanks and the vehicles of the army in Suez Canal on 6th October 1973.	The raising of the Egyptian flag on the Eastern bank of the Suez Canal on 6th October,1973.

October war paved the way for the negotiations between Egypt and Israel.
During that period, President Sadat made his historic visit to Jerusalem on November 19th 1977 where his initiative was crystalised in achieving peace between Arabs & Israel. President Sadat exerted tremendous efforts on the peace track until the treaty of Camp David was signed in Washington on March 14th 1979 with the participation of the USA. In Octber 1981, President Sadat was assassinated by some elements opposing his policy.
Vice-President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak took over, working on the peace track & restoring every inch of the usurbed land, this was accomplished when
the Egyptian flag hoisted proudly over Taba on march 19th 1989.

Ever since President Mubarak took office in 1981, a comprehensive development plan in all fields accompanied by an ambitious plan to develop and modernize the Armed Forces on scientific basis, with updated technologies to be a capable power that protects peace and secures its foundations.

President Mubarak has always been keen to attend various patriotic occasions
celebrated by the Armed Forces. Moreover, he is highly concerned with
the welfare of the armed forces personnel, thus a large number of projects
were inaugurated: military hospitals, education institutes, new military social
clubs and military facilities aiming at providing proper service for
the Armed Forces personnel and their families.
.