Egypt

Egypt, having been occupied by the British since 1882, became a British protectorate in 1914. The protectorate was ended in February 1922 by a declaration of independence under which the country became a constitutional monarchy with universal male suffrage. However, pending negotiations, responsibility for four matters—defence, the security of the empire's communications, the protection of foreign interests and of minorities, and the Sudan—still rested with the British government. This rendered independence almost meaningless, and even after the signing of the Anglo–Egyptian Treaty of August 1936, the year when King Farouk (1920–65) ascended the throne, the British still retained certain rights. These included the right to continue to defend the Suez Canal, a vital artery to Australasia and British Far East possessions, until the Egyptian Army—which, on the outbreak of war, comprised eleven infantry battalions, one regiment of light tanks and another of armoured cars—was capable of doing so. A clause in Article 7 of the Treaty, which the UK invoked on 1 September 1939, stated that in the event of war the king would give ‘all the facilities and assistance in his power, including the use of ports, aerodromes, and means of communication’. In effect, this resulted in the country's virtual occupation by British forces. Alexandria was the main base of the British Mediterranean fleet throughout the war and the HQ of the C-in-C, Middle East Command, was situated in the capital, Cairo.

At the start of the war, the Egyptian prime minister, Ali Mahir, led a coalition of independents and Sa'adists which had been formed from an anti-British wing of the Wafd nationalist party. Ali Mahir became military governor of the country, which was divided into four military districts, martial law was proclaimed, strict monetary and economic measures and censorship were imposed, German nationals were arrested, and diplomatic relations with Germany were severed. But Ali Mahir was basically pro-Axis, as was Farouk, and Egypt did not declare war on Germany. Diplomatic relations were also severed with Italy in June 1940, when Italy entered the war, but again Ali Mahir refused to declare war. He acted only reluctantly against Italian citizens and property in Egypt, and ordered Egyptian Army frontier guards not to fire on Italian troops.

Farouk was no constitutional monarch. He wielded considerable political power and he was popular with his people, but his country was occupied by the British and real power lay with the British ambassador, Miles Lampson. On 23 June 1940 Farouk was forced by the British to dismiss Ali Mahir, and it was not until this had happened that the Italian legation staff left the country. The opposition Wafd party, though nationalists, wished to co-operate with the British and the British wanted it to form a government, but Farouk, whose power the Wafdists had tried to curb, opposed this. Instead, a compromise prime minister, Hasan Sabri, was appointed who continued to hedge his country's bets. On 17 September 1940 Italian troops invaded Egypt (see Western Desert campaigns) but, despite an earlier declaration that it would declare war if the country were invaded, the Egyptian government maintained a state of non-belligerency. The Italians were subsequently driven back by the British, but air raids on Alexandria caused alarm—650 civilians were killed in one during June 1941—and the shortage of foodstuffs spread internal discontent.

In November 1940 Sabri died and was replaced by Husayn Sirry, whose coalition government the Wafdist opposition refused to join. During that winter domestic conditions deteriorated sharply. There was a severe shortage of basic commodities, the black market flourished, and the introduction of rationing failed to cure the problem. The government then restricted the amount of land that could be cultivated for cotton so that more food could be grown, but so acute was the shortage of bread in January 1942 that some Cairo bakeries were stormed by hungry mobs.

The same month a crisis developed when two ministers resigned, the British forced the government to sever relations with Vichy France, and Farouk, who had not been consulted, accused the government of infringing his royal prerogative. Axis forces in the desert were now approaching Egypt and amid cries from demonstrators in the streets of ‘Forward Rommel; long live Rommel’, Sirry resigned on 2 February. The British insisted that Farouk ask Mustafa al-Nahhas, head of the Wafd, to form a government, but the king wavered and prevaricated. British troops and armoured cars then surrounded the royal palace and Lampson demanded Farouk's abdication. Instead, Farouk ac cepted a Wafdist government under Nahhas, a decision that was shortly afterwards endorsed by a general election.

Nahhas was firmly pro-British. Ali Mahir was put under house arrest in April 1942 and when Rommel's Axis forces advanced into Egypt in mid- 1942 Nahhas interned suspects and closed the Royal Automobile Club of Egypt where pro-Axis sentiments were openly expressed by the more fashionable members of society. Throughout 1942 anti-British sentiment remained strong, especially in the Egyptian Army whose one-time chief of staff, Aziz al-Masri, was a prominent supporter of the Axis cause, and pro-Axis sympathizers and agents (see Kondor mission) were constantly trying to undermine the British war effort. But in November El Alamein was fought and won and the war moved away from Egypt. However, despite the antagonism of Farouk, who twice tried to dismiss him, and twice had to be dissuaded by the British, Nahhas remained in power until October 1944. By then the British had lost interest and Farouk replaced him with the Saadist leader Ahmad Mahir. In February 1945 Mahir, who had just obtained parliament's approval to declare war on Germany and Japan, was assassinated, and it was his successor who made the declaration of war on 26 February, allowing Egypt to become a founding member of the United Nations (see San Francisco conference).

The rise of nationalism in the country became more marked once an Axis invasion—viewed, despite anti-British sentiment, with some trepidation—was no longer a possibility; after further negotiations and Farouk's abdication in July 1952, the last British troops left Egyptian soil in 1954. See also anti-imperialism.

Bibliography

Cooper, A. , Cairo in the War, 1939–1945 (London, 1989).
Vatikiotis, E. J. , The Modern History of Egypt (rev. edn., London, 1980).
Warburg, G. , Egypt and the Sudan: Studies in History and Politics (London, 1985).