Egyptian declaration of war on the German Empire and Japan
The declaration of war by the Kingdom of Egypt on the German Empire and Japan took place on February 24, 1945 during the Second World War and formally entered into force on February 26 , when King Faruq signed it.
prehistory
The Kingdom of Egypt with Sudan was granted independence by its protecting power Great Britain in 1922 and was therefore no longer part of the British Empire , but was still partially under its influence. From 1933 the new monarchy pursued an anti-Nazi foreign policy and, for example, condemned the Nuremberg race laws against Jews . But relations with Great Britain and the fascist kingdom of Italy , which had waged a bloody colonial war in Libya since 1923 , also remained tense.
With the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, King Faruq proclaimed the armed neutrality of Egypt and in the same month ordered the general mobilization of the army. On June 10, 1940, Italy began attacks on Egyptian-British positions in Sudan (see East Africa campaign ), but without formally declaring war on Egypt.
On June 13, 1940, in response to the invasion, the Egyptian parliament broke off all diplomatic relations with Italy and on September 13 with the German Reich . Shortly thereafter, Great Britain invoked the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, which allowed the occupation of the country if the Suez Canal were threatened . The Egyptian army offered little resistance.
On September 9, Italy officially declared war on Egypt and attempted to invade Egyptian-British troops in a multi-front war . The German Reich followed on April 14, 1941. Egypt retained its neutrality despite the presence of German-Italian troops on its soil and strong British pressure due to internal tensions. The majority of the Egyptian general staff, most of the army and a considerable part of the Egyptian-Sudanese aristocracy around Faruq had sympathy for the Axis powers . It was only when Italy changed sides in September / October 1943 that there were signs of a turnaround.
reasons
With the total defeat of the last two important Axis powers, Germany and Japan, in the spring of 1945, the Egyptian government under Prime Minister Ahmad Mahir Pascha saw the possibility of clearly declaring its commitment to the Allied camp , whose support one in turn recognized the Egyptian claims to the Sudan and the withdrawal of all British forces from the area hoped. The declaration should also emphasize Egypt's independence from Great Britain. On the other hand, the government and Faruq wanted to expand the limited Egyptian influence on the course of the war and strengthen Egypt's international position in the post-war period.
consequences
Shortly after the declaration of war, Prime Minister Mahir Pasha was murdered by a parliamentarian from the Wafd party , which had ties to the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood . On February 26, Faruq appointed Mahmud an-Nukraschi Pasha as the new head of government, who had to fight almost daily with heavy demonstrations against the war.
The formal Egyptian entry into the war forced the other smaller Arab nations to follow suit. On February 26, 1945, Syria and Lebanon declared war on the German Reich and Japan. On April 1, Saudi Arabia followed suit with a declaration of war on Japan.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Alan Axelrod: Encyclopedia of World War II / Volume I. Sonlight Christian -M, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8160-6022-1 , p. 312.
- ^ ISO Playfair et al .: The Mediterranean and Middle East. Volume I. The Early Successes Against Italy (to May 1941). History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series . Naval & Military Press, 2009, ISBN 1-84574-065-3 , p. 54.
- ^ A b Alan Axelrod: Encyclopedia of World War II / Volume I. Sonlight Christian -M, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8160-6022-1 , p. 313.