The Battle of Tel el Kebir
Thursday, June 25, 2020
In the old days, if one wanted to sail from Europe--the Mediterranean, say, or the Atlantic coast--to the Indian Ocean, one had first to sail around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope. This was originally and more realistically named the "Cape of Storms," but was optimistically renamed by the King of Portugal who looked forward to trade with India.
For a sailor, it was one of the world's most important landmarks; they often referred to it simply as "the Cape," the most prominent among all the world's capes.
But in November of 1869 the French Suez Canal Company opened that waterway between Africa and Asia to shipping. Think about it: no longer did ships have to circumnavigate Africa to get from, say, Italy to the Persian Gulf!
This ease of travel played an important role not only in trade, but also in the international machinations of the European countries involved in the colonization of Asia. Travel from England to India or Australia was cut by over 7,200 kilometers!
The downside of this was that European countries also required peace and stability in the area if their shipping was to continue unmolested. Thus, when Ahmed Urabi, an officer of the Egyptian army, led a revolt of discontented Egyptian officers against the local Anglo-French supported administration, the United Kingdom moved to quash the rebellion and protect its interests in the country, and in particular the Suez Canal.
It undertook the 1882 bombardment of Alexandria, followed by an invasion that led to a British occupation of the country. The Battle of Tel El Kebir was fought between the Egyptian army (led by Urabi) and the British military near Tell El Kebir (note the slightly different spelling).
A tell or tel is an artificial mound covering the remains of human habitation. In the battle, ancient ruins at Tell El Kebir ("the Great Mound") were fortified with trenches by the Egyptian troops.
The British attacked at dawn on September 13, 1882, and made short work of the Egyptians, who had nearly 2,000 dead or wounded. The British marched on and took Cairo. Egypt was theirs, and the canal was secure.