Anglo-Egyptian War

Egypt was a country under growing foreign influence from global powers during the 19th century. In the early 1880s, the situation became explosive following the revolt of an army officer, Ahmed 'Urabi, against Tewfik Pasha, alongside the growth of anarchist numbers in the country. The British intervened with the support of other colonial powers to colonise Egypt and succeeded in crushing the Egyptian-Sudanese forces. The anarchists who attempted to join the revolt were cut off from the insurgent troops and were unable to do so.

Ultimately, the war ended with a significant British takeover and occupation, the trial and exile of 'Urabi, the firm entry of Egypt into the British colonial empire, and the crushing of the anarchist movement in Egypt for at least two decades. It established firm British influence over Egypt at the expense of the Egyptians, the French, and the Ottoman Empire, whose already weak authority became nominal.

History

General background

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 and Sudan, in order to end British and French influence over the country. 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-European 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. The British ultimatum was rejected, and the Egyptian forces began to wait for retaliation.

In parallel with these developments, there was a growing community of anarchists in the country, mostly drawn from Italian settlers. Despite their colonial roots, they viewed European colonisation with a very unfavourable eye, and one of their representatives traveled to the London Congress (1881) on behalf of Egypt, subscribing there to the programme backed by the famous anarchist Errico Malatesta, who supported founding a Black International and launching insurrections and revolts to spread the anarchist movement and carry out the social revolution. On the eve of the war, however, they were still divided into two opposing factions in Egypt.

Invasion and war

British bombardment and ‘Urabi's response

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, according to contemporary British sources, by ‘Urabists seeking to ruin the city that the British were taking over. 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.

After this bombardment, the two anarchist factions reunited; the faction of Andrea Costa, who had left Egypt in June, returned to the country. Meanwhile, ‘Urabi then reacted by obtaining a fatwa from Al Azhar 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.

First attacks and arrival of anarchists

The British Army launched a probing attack at 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, 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. Meanwhile, a group of at least six armed anarchists, composed of Malatesta, Cesare Ceccarelli, Gaetano Marocco (disputed relative of Alessandro ), and the Greek Apostolo Paolides, traveled to the country to activate Italian networks in support of the revolt and also to join forces with 'Urabi. Their goal was to reach him in Damanhur and either to convince him to become an anarchist so he could guide the revolt in that direction or to launch an anarchist revolt themselves. They tried to do so in the next month, intenting on several occasions and points to cross the British lines separating them from 'Urabi's troops and provide support, without success.

Wolseley saw the campaign as a logistical challenge as he did not believe the Egyptians would put up much resistance.

Battle of Kafr El Dawwar

This battle took place on 5 August 1882 between an Egyptian army under Ahmed 'Urabi and British forces headed by Sir Archibald Alison. 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 'Urabi as a battle, and Cairo was full of the news that the advancing British had been repulsed; however most historians describe the action as a reconnaissance-in-force that was never intended to seriously assault Egyptian lines. Regardless, the British abandoned the idea of reaching Cairo from the north, and shifted their base of operations to Ismailia.

Wolseley arrived at Alexandria on 15 August and immediately began to move troops to and through the Suez Canal, to Ismailia, which 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 to the Kassassin lock arriving on 26 August. There they met the enemy. Heavily outnumbered, the two battalions with four guns held their ground until some heavy cavalry arrived when the force went onto the offensive, forcing ‘Urabi to fall back 5 miles (8.0 km) 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.

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 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.

Surprise was not achieved; rifle fire and artillery from redoubts opened up when the range was 600 yards (550 m). 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.

The British Army lost 900 troops while killing approximately two thousand Egyptians. Some British troops captured by Egyptians were brutally tortured to death. 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 was awarded a Victoria Cross for his gallantry during the battle.

Aftermath

‘Urabi's trial and repression of anarchists

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 downgraded, after which he admitted to rebellion and was sent into exile.

The revolt had a grim outcome for the anarchist movement in Egypt, the repression targeting them was accelerated by the British, and many were forced into exile. Historian Costantino Paonessa wrote that this war:

Marked [the end] of the first two decades of the history of Italian working-class associationism in Egypt. It would not be until the end of the century that a true resurgence of the labor movement would occur among Italian, European, and Egyptian workers in the country.

British occupation

British troops then occupied Egypt until the Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence 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.

The 1936 treaty was abrogated by the Wafdist government in 1951 and sponsored guerrilla attacks by Egyptian Nationalists of British troops in the Suez Canal Zone. That started the Suez Emergency which resulted in 450 military deaths for the British and pressured them to sign the 1954 Anglo-Egyptian evacuation agreement which led to the final withdrawal of all British troops from Egypt, ending the British occupation of Egypt.