Egyptian Army
The Egyptian Army is the largest service branch in the Egyptian Armed Forces. The modern army was started by Muhammad Ali Pasha (ruled 1805–1849), the founder of modern Egypt.
| Egyptian Army | |
|---|---|
| File:Flag of the Army of Egypt.svg Egyptian Army insignia | |
| Country | 22x20px Egypt |
| Type | Army |
| Role | Land warfare |
| Size | 310,000 active[1] |
| March | "We painted the face of our nation on our hearts." (Arabic: رسمنا على القلب وجه الوطن, rasamna ala al qalb wagh al watan) |
| Commanders | |
| Second Field Army | Major General Mohammed el-Shahat |
| Third Field Army | Major General Osama Askar |
The most significant engagements by this army in the 20th century were in Egypt's five wars with the State of Israel (in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1967–1970, and 1973). In one of those wars, the Suez Crisis of 1956, the army also struggled against the forces of Britain, and France.
The Egyptian army also engaged in the North Yemen civil war, and the brief Libyan-Egyptian War in July 1977. Its last major engagement was Operation Desert Storm, the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi occupation in 1991, in this operation, the Egyptian army was the second-largest of the allied forces.
In 2014, the army had about 310,000 soldiers, approximately 90,000–120,000 of them are professionals, while the rest are conscripts.
Ranks and insignia
Commissioned officers
| Commissioned Officer rank insignia of the Egyptian Army | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lieutenant | First Lieutenant | Captain | Major | Lieutenant Colonel | Colonel | Brigadier | Major General | Lieutenant General | Colonel General | Field Marshal |
| Arabic: ملازم | Arabic: ملازم أول | Arabic: نقيب | Arabic: رائد | Arabic: مقدم | Arabic: عقيد | Arabic: عميد | Arabic: لواء | Arabic: فريق | Arabic: فريق أول | Arabic: مشير |
 | ||||||||||
Enlisted personnel
| Warrant Officer rank insignia | Non-commissioned Officer rank insignia | Enlisted rank insignia | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Warrant Officer | Warrant Officer | First Sergeant | Sergeant | Corporal | Private |
| Arabic: مساعد أول | Arabic: مساعد | Arabic: رقيب أول | Arabic: رقيب | Arabic: عريف | Arabic: جندى |
Egyptian Army Media
- ModernEgypt, Farouk I in Military Uniform, DHP13655-10-17 01.jpg
King Farouk I of Egypt inspecting army units in Abdeen Square
- Flag of the Army of Egypt (1922-1952).svg
flag of the Army of the Kingdom of Egypt (1922–1958).
- Free Officers, 1953.jpg
Members of the Free Officers gathered after the revolution. From left to right: Zakaria Mohieddin, Abdel Latif Boghdadi, Kamel el-Din Hussein, Gamal Abdel Nasser (seated), Abdel Hakim Amer, Muhammad Naguib, Youssef Seddik and Ahmed Shawki
- Egyptian Soldiers - 1955.tif
Egyptian soldiers during a military parade in 1955
- Egyptian army in sanaa 1962.jpg
Egyptian army in Sanaa in 1962
- Ground force dispositions of the United Arab Republic (Egypt) as of 1 January 1967.png
DIA estimate of Egyptian Army dispositions as of 1 January 1967. Comparison with Dupuy 1978 reveals some errors, such as the location of the 6th Mechanised Division, which was in the Sinai.
- Egyptian soldiers with carts.jpg
Egyptian soldiers on the east bank. Notice the carts. Pulled by two men, these transports greatly assisted in the movement of weapons and matériel on the east bank, while no vehicles had yet crossed.
- Bridge Crossing.jpg
Egyptian forces crossing the Suez Canal on 7 October
- Egyptian M113 APCs during Operation Desert Shield.JPEG
Egyptian soldiers with M113 armored personnel carriers during a demonstration for visiting dignitaries, part of Operation Desert Shield.
- 2025 Moscow Victory Day Parade 52.jpg
Egyptian Army on Red Square in Moscow during the Victory Day parade on 9 May 2025
Cyclone military exercise between special forces of Indian Army and Egyptian Army
References
- ↑ International Institute for Strategic Studies (3 Feb 2014). The Military Balance 2014. London: Routledge. pp. 315–318. ISBN 9781857437225.
Further reading
- Steve Rothwell, Military Ally or Liability, The Egyptian Army 1936-42 Archived 2021-12-05 at the Wayback Machine, accessed February 2009