The wars of Egypt and the role of the military in the fate of the country

The wars of Egypt of the twentieth century did not end with brilliant victories, despite their sometimes good start.

The Egyptian army is plentiful, its personnel number almost half a million people. If a million reservists are added to the main structure, then we can conclude that the country has a huge military potential. Such armed forces are not possessed by any of the countries of the African continent or the Middle East.

The wars of Egypt with Israel became an example of how you can lose, possessing overwhelming superiority in manpower and technology. The first of them occurred already in 1948 and ended in defeat, which caused discontent of the officers by King Farouk. The underground organization created by Nasser and Nagib came to power in 1952. The new government achieved real sovereignty of the country, signing in 1954 an agreement with Britain.

The outcome of Egypt's next war with Israel in 1956 was also unsuccessful, but it showed the continuity of Nasser's policy towards this country.

The civil war in Yemen was accompanied by a constant increase in the size of the Egyptian contingent. At the beginning of the intervention (1962), it was 5,000 troops, and by 1965 it reached 55,000. Despite such an impressive presence, the effectiveness of military operations was not high. 15 infantry divisions and two more (tank and artillery), not counting the fighters of special forces, experienced a constant shortage of supplies. The officers complained about the topographic deficit, which indicates a low level of material and technical preparedness.

In 11 years after the second Egyptian war, Israel began the third, later called the six-day war. Having unraveled the enemy's intentions, the IDF (the Israeli Defense Army, abbreviated as Tsakhal) dealt a series of pre-emptive strikes against Egyptian airfields, headquarters and communications centers. Part of the country's territory, namely the entire Sinai Peninsula, was lost (temporarily).

In 1969-1970, confrontation with the main enemy passed into a passive phase, called the "war of attrition." She did not achieve her goal.

Next was the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The Egyptian army successfully crossed the Suez Canal and rushed to Jerusalem, but was stopped and turned back. The Israelis drove the enemy through the wilderness, then continued the persecution until they stopped a hundred kilometers from Cairo. From complete defeat, Egypt was saved by the intervention of the USSR, which constantly and generously supplied the regional ally with weapons.

Today, few people remember the 1977 North African conflict with Libya. It was fleeting and almost inconclusive for both sides.

The second corps of the Egyptian army took part in Operation Deserted Storm on the side of the anti-Iraqi coalition. Responsible tasks were not assigned to him, but where he was required to designate a military presence, he coped with the task perfectly.

The misfortune of the Egyptian army, as of the whole camp, was a disastrous situation in the field of education. Of the three years spent in military service, an illiterate soldier learns to write and read a year. It is difficult to expect that having mastered these, of course, useful skills, he can immediately manage modern weapons systems.

In January 2011, the world's leading information channels broadcast reports, from which it could be concluded that there is a war in Egypt. In fact, there was an Islamic revolution, Mohammed Mursi, who later became a legitimate president, came to power. Order in Cairo was supported by ground forces. If it were not for the decisive actions of the army command, a civil war could break out in the country.

In Egypt, 2013 is marked by another government coup. This time the military overthrew Mursi, and the government was headed by Adly Mansour, the chief constitutional judge. The Egyptian military continues to engage in domestic politics. Perhaps in this field they will achieve greater success than on the battlefields.