Egypt Armed Forces

By | January 3, 2022

Army. – The balance of the war in 1930 amounted to Egyptian pounds. 1,785,000, equal to ITL. 169.500.000 and 4.6% of the general budget. Balanced force 22,000 men, including about 1000 officers. The supreme commander of the army is the king, who exercises his power through the minister of war, assisted by an advisory body, the “Superior War Council”.

The army consists of: troops (infantry, cavalry, artillery, genius, Meharist corps, irregular Arab corps) and services (transport, health, veterinary, police station, artillery, communications, recruiting districts, military penal establishments, military schools). The troops include: 10 Egyptian infantry battalions (including 1 of the royal guard), 6 Sudanese battalions, one battalion Equatorial, three mounted companies (2 of forklifts, one of the horses), the mounted machine gun company, 1 company armed trucks. Cavalry: 3 squadrons (2 Egyptians, 1 of which from the royal guard, and the Sudanese). Artillery: 3 batteries someggiate (with mountain guns 10 pounds), 1 fortress company (with guns, 12 pounds and 1 / 2, rapid fire), 1 Sudanese machine gun battery. Genius: 2 Egyptian digging companies, 1 Sudanese digging company, the works section. Meharist Corps: 3 Meharist companies and 1 company of mounted infantry. There are two irregular Arab corps: one from the east (4 infantry companies, 1 Meharist company, 1 swathe artillery section, 1 position artillery section); one of the West (3 infantry companies, two companies of infantry mounted on horses, 1 Meharists company, one section mounted artillery, theposition artillery section); they are used for border surveillance. The units of the various weapons are united in 2 mixed brigades and in mixed autonomous groups, of different composition, the latter in charge of the surveillance of sensitive areas. About 2200 men await the services, of which 300 are officers. For Egypt military, please check militarynous.com.

Military service is compulsory, but attenuated by various temperaments (exemptions, also as a privilege, subject to redemption in money; attenuations for social, family and study reasons). Of the annual Egyptian contingent (whose revenue is approximately 140,000 men), no more than 3,000 men are incorporated annually by lottery. The conscription period for the Egyptians is 3 years; Sudanese volunteers commit themselves to a 10-year detention; special ferme have the members of the equatorial battalion, of the Meharist corps and of the irregular Arab corps. The non-commissioned officers are drawn from the troop soldiers, following courses completed at the corps. The officers are indigenous and British. The former come, for the most part, from the two recruiting schools in Cairo and el-Kharṭūm (courses lasting 2 years); some of the best are then sent for further education in British schools of application and warfare. The latter come from the English army; they must possess certain physical requirements and know the Arabic language; they are admitted into the Egyptian army for an initial two-year experiment period; they can then remain there for another 10 years, achieving higher ranks in the hierarchy than they held in the English army. The number of British officers (exclusively superiors and generals) is increasingly decreasing, thanks to the training of indigenous cadres with adequate professional skills. they must possess certain physical requirements and know the Arabic language; they are admitted into the Egyptian army for an initial two-year experiment period; they can then remain there for another 10 years, achieving higher ranks in the hierarchy than they held in the English army. The number of British officers (exclusively superiors and generals) is increasingly decreasing, thanks to the training of indigenous cadres with adequate professional skills. they must possess certain physical requirements and know the Arabic language; they are admitted into the Egyptian army for an initial two-year experiment period; they can then remain there for another 10 years, achieving higher ranks in the hierarchy than they held in the English army. The number of British officers (exclusively superiors and generals) is increasingly decreasing, thanks to the training of indigenous cadres with adequate professional skills.

In addition to the Egyptian army, there is a corps of English troops in Egypt and Sūdān, for the security of the areas adjacent to the Suez Canal and for the repression of possible troubles in the Sūdān (administered, jointly, by England and ‘Egypt) of 8 line infantry battalions, 1 assault tank corps, 6 artillery batteries, 3 cavalry regiments (about 10,000 men).

Navy. – Egypt has only some units for the coastal and customs surveillance service, among which are noteworthy: el – ‛ Am ī r F ā r ū q, launched in 1926, of 950 tons. and 18 knots; Raq ī b (bought from England), launched in 1917, of 613 tons. and 22 knots; ‛ Abd ul – Mun ‛ im, launched in 1902, of 610 tons. and 13 knots; el – Am ī rah Fawziyyah, launched in 1929 and under construction (1931); es – Soll ū m (bought from England), headlight service officer, launched in 1917, of 1290 tons. and 16 knots; the royal yacht el – Ma ḥ r ū sah (1865), modernized in 1905 and recently, of 4560 tons. and 16 knots.

Military aviation. – There are various projects being studied for the creation of an Egyptian military air fleet. In any case, England will seek to ensure control of the air activity, both through personnel and through supplies of material. It now holds 4 squadrons there, located in the main airfields.

Egypt Armed Forces