Egypt, owing to the geographical position, ranks rather as the most easterly of the Western powers than the most westerly of the Eastern countries. While entirely independent, this historic land, balanced between the Moslem and Christian worlds, is allied to Great Britain and promptly fulfilled all her treaty obligations when war broke out. While she did not immediately declare herself at war with Germany, she broke aff diplomatic relations.
One of the most potent defences of Egypt is a negative one, the lack of water. It has been estimated that about seven-eighths of the country is desert, the rich land of the delta and the narrow strips of cultivation bordering the Nile being enclosed in a vast stretch of sand and rock, indistinguishable from other parts of the Sahara Desert. Egypt is thus very well adapted to defend itself and that vital link between oceans—the Suez Canal—which it is one of the Royal Army's tasks to guard.
During the last war with Germany, as in this present struggle, British forces, including Australian and New Zealand contingents, besides Indian cavalry and infantry, were assembled alongside Egypt's troops to defend the Suez Canal. In February, 1915, Turkish forces advanced to the Canal, hoping to cross it with pontoons, but were driven back with loss. Another attack in March of the same year was similarly repulsed.
t suffered considerably during the earlier part of the last struggle at the hands of German agents. Martial law had to be proclaimed to meet this menace, and the Egyptian army took over the responsibility of policing the frontier with the Sudan.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.