Steve Morewood - The British Defence of Egypt, 1935-40: Conflict and Crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean

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The British Defence of Egypt 19351940

This book offers a comprehensive and challenging analysis of the British defence of Egypt, primarily against fascist Italy, in the critical lead-up period to the Second World War. The security of Egypt, a constant of British imperial strategy, is a curiously neglected dimension of the still burning appeasement debate. Yet it was a factor which demanded constant consideration by British policy-makers and figured in the crises of the period over Abyssinia, Czechoslovakia, Albania and Poland. By giving equal weight to the perspectives and assessments of the men on the spot, Steven Morewood adds to the originality of his interpretation by suggesting the old view should be reinstated: that Mussolini should and could have been stopped in his empire-building at the Abyssinian hurdle. Thereafter, as Nazi Germany tore the Versailles peace settlement to shreds, the drift to war accelerated as British resolve and credibility were brought into question. The fascist dictators in Rome and Berlin held no respect for weakness and Mussolini became the conduit through which Hitler could apply pressure to a sensitive British interest through reinforcing Libya at critical moments.

Steven Morewood is lecturer in International History in the School of Historical Studies at the University of Birmingham.

Cass series: Military history and policy

Edited by John Gooch and Brian Holden Reid

This series will publish studies on historical and contemporary aspects of land power, spanning the period from the eighteenth century to the present day, and will include national, international and comparative studies. From time to time, the series will publish edited collections of essays and classics.

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The British Defence of Egypt 1935 1940

Conflict and crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean

Steven Morewood

First published 2005
by Frank Cass
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Frank Cass
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.

To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledges collection of thousands of eBooks please go to http://www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.

Frank Cass is an imprint of Taylor & Francis

2005 Steven Morewood

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested

ISBN 0-203-49512-8 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-714-64943-0 (Print edition)

To my parents, Ronald and Doreen Morewood,for their love and consideration

List of maps

The Mediterranean and Red Sea after I. S. O. Playfair, The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume I (London: HMSO, 1954)

Abyssinia and surrounding territories, Naval Staff Intelligence Department, January 1935, after TNA ADM 223/828

Egypt and surrounding countries, Naval Staff Intelligence Department, February 1935, after TNA ADM 223/828

The Western Desert of Egypt 1940 after Playfair, The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume I (London: HMSO, 1954)

The Western Desert Strategic Arena after source unknown

The Suez Canal Route to Singapore after S. Roskill, British Naval Policy between the Wars, Volume II (London: HMSO, 1976)

Foreword

During the 1920s and 1930s the British Empire reached its greatest territorial extent, dwarfing the scale of any other empire and encompassing a quarter of the world. The lynchpin of that empire lay in Egypt where the Suez Canal provided the narrow but vital link between the key components of this geographically dispersed maritime giant. For all its importance, however, the role of Egypt in British policy during this period has either been neglected or dealt with superficially. Steven Morewoods book breaks important new ground not only in our understanding of British policy in the eastern Mediterranean in the lead up to the Second World War, but also in addressing fundamental issues of strategy and policy, the nature of diplomatic-military relations, our understanding of the problems of policy formulation and decision making, the difficulties with sanctions, and the question of when, or when not, to use force.

From the time Napoleon and Nelson fought over the fate of Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean has attracted the rivalry of the worlds Great Powers. Britain occupied Egypt in 1882, promising that this would be a temporary measure. In the four decades that followed, it repeated this pledge sixty-six more times. Various forms of Egyptian sovereignty were tried, but it was always Britain that played the dominant role. In the 1930s its position began to come under threat from a new rival, fascist Italy, with the Italian dictator, Mussolini, seemingly bent on the creation of his own regional empire.

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