Egyptian wars of the 20th century did not end with brilliant victories, despite their sometimes successful start.
The Egyptian army is numerous, its personnel numbering almost half a million people. If a million reservists are added to the main staff, then we can conclude that this country has a huge military potential. None of the countries of the African continent or the Middle East has such armed forces.
Egypt's wars with Israel have become an example of how you can lose with overwhelming superiority in manpower and technology. The first of them took place already in 1948 and ended in defeat, which caused the dissatisfaction of the officers with King Farouk. The underground organization founded by Nasser and Naguib came to power in 1952. The new government achieved the real sovereignty of the country by signing an agreement with Great Britain in 1954.
The outcome of the next war between Egypt and 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 increasesize of the Egyptian contingent. At the beginning of the intervention (1962), it was 5 thousand troops, and by 1965 it had reached 55 thousand. Despite such an impressive presence, the effectiveness of military operations was low. 15 infantry divisions and two more (tank and artillery), not counting the soldiers of the special forces, experienced a constant shortage of supplies. The officers complained about the topographic deficit, which indicates a low level of logistical readiness.
11 years after the second war between Egypt and Israel began the third, later called the six-day war. Having guessed the intentions of the enemy, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces, abbreviated Tsakhal) launched a series of preemptive strikes on Egyptian airfields, headquarters and communication centers. Part of the country's territory, namely the entire Sinai Peninsula, was lost (temporarily).
In 1969-1970, the confrontation with the main enemy passed into a passive phase, called the "war of attrition". She did not reach 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 desert, then continued the pursuit until they stopped a hundred kilometers from Cairo. Egypt was saved from complete defeat 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 practically ineffectual.for both sides.
The Second Corps of the Egyptian Army took part in Operation Desert Storm on the side of the anti-Iraqi coalition. He was not entrusted with responsible tasks, but where it was required to designate a military presence, he coped with the task quite well.
The catastrophic situation in the field of education became the misfortune of the Egyptian army, as well as the whole country. Of the three years spent in military service, an illiterate soldier learns to write and read for a year. It is difficult to count on the fact that having mastered these, certainly useful skills, he will immediately be able to control modern weapons systems.
In January 2011, the world's leading information channels broadcast reports from which one could conclude that there was a war in Egypt. In fact, an Islamic revolution took place, Mohammed Morsi came to power, who later became the legitimate president. Ground forces maintained order in Cairo. If not for the decisive actions of the army command, a civil war could have broken out in the country.
In Egypt, 2013 was marked by yet another government coup. This time, the military toppled Morsi and Adli Mansour, the chief constitutional judge, took over the government. The Egyptian military continues to engage in domestic politics. Perhaps in this field they will achieve greater success than on the battlefield.
