Cairo War

The **Cairo War** was a year long war fought between various rebel groups and countries worldwide against the British Empire, having vast effects in the world as it resulted in a British defeat, the worst defeat in modern British history. Some claim it to be a continuation of the Great War but most historians disagree, seeing as there were minimal casualties and not massive losses as the war just 2 years prior.

The Cairo War was just one of many catalysts that threw the world out of orbit, so to say. With the end of the German Republic and the United States alongside global British dominance, much of the world would experience an economic depression which would only worsen as the years wore on.

**The start of the war is bound to change so the information is outdated!**

## Cairo War

Egyptian women participating in the demonstrations that would turn into the war.

### **Outcome**

British loss and humiliationBritish financial crisis

Rise of instability in India

Treaty of Valletta

Egyptian, Belize, Jamaican independence

Argentinian Economic Crisis

# The Cairo War

## Beginning of the war: Egypt and Arabia

Spurred on by the ongoing violence by British colonial forces, thousands of Egyptians, aided by the NLPE helped force out any British or British aligned forces from Cairo, on the 19th of September. 1 day later, Fuad I, who helped organize the revolt declared the Sultanate of Egypt. The ruler of Colonial Egypt, known as Abbas II fled from Cairo to Alexandria as the de-facto capital of British Egypt. Over the next few days towns and cities bordering Cairo were captured, including Giza, Mansheya Nasir, Pyramid Gardens and Sheik Zayed City. Everywhere in Egypt the people collectively turned against the British and Abbas forcing him to flee on the 26th to London as rebels fought the British in the Battle of Alexandria. 5 days later, Alexandria was seized by a separate rebel army, a decisive victory for the Egyptians.

Northern Egypt had become a warzone between rebels and loyalists alike, but due to multiple factors, including demoralization of British troops especially as the Great War was still fresh in the British military and that the entire Egyptian population did not like loyalist troops on their soil, battles were short and almost always ended in an Egyptian victory. Multiple towns like Damanhour, Tanta, and El-Mahalla El-Kubra were occupied by revolutionaries separated by the greater rebellion. On the 4th, Alexandria and these towns finally united with the greater Cairo army, leading to a massive united front. 1 day later however Mansoura is retaken by British forces while Baltim, originally overtaken by rebels fell back into British hands. But these were little and insignificant victories.

On October 6th, the British parliament asked the French government to directly support the British war effort, but no response is given. The following day the French President rejects London's plea to go to war. From orders given by Egyptian general (WIP), the military is split into 2 theaters, the first being eastern Egypt. The second was tasked with western Egypt and taking the Suez Canal. The eastern army continually makes advances but is also stopped on multiple occasions, dealing with multiple stalemates from incoming reinforcements. The western army sees more success as on the 13th Ras El-Bar and Garawlah are won over. On the 14th El-Abaseya and on the 15th Faqus and Kafr al Wusushah are overrun by the revolutionary army. At this point in time, London has become very fearful of the Egyptians seizing the Suez, as without it the empire will have split in half and reaching Asia would be significantly more difficult. The British government thereafter sent out diplomatic pleas to Rome, Madrid and Paris once again, but all countries rejected their appeal. Both Italy and Spain were unwilling to participate if they were not given major territorial concessions which the British refused to do, leaving them all alone.

In a major blow to the British war effort, the Emirate of Nejd, ever looking towards ways to unite the Arab Peninsula illegally moved into Hejaz and British Gulf territories. Because British troops were forced to evacuate most of their Arab colonies, the conquest of the Southern British Arabia was a breeze for the Kingdom. Yemen and Oman, then British puppets, eagerly declared their independence one week later.

By the 30th of October all of the Arab Peninsula had been united under the Saudi dynasty as London did not have enough forces to spare to save their holdings as tensions began to fester in India and Africa. Unable to hold off Cairo or Riyadh's offensives, British commanders ordered their men to retreat and hold the Suez Canal at all costs. During this time, the remainder of British Arabia finally collapsed. Araqa declared its independence and seized Basra while Israel and Syria ceded from the wider empire. After a month however, British forces, practically trapped in the Suez Canal finally disobeyed their commander's orders and left for Cyprus, opening the Suez Canal to be captured by Egyptian forces.

The collapse of the Suez Canal left the London government in turmoil. The Raj was now cut off from the British Empire. Reinforcements would take several months to supply their Asian colonies as they were forced to travel through the Cape of Good Hope instead. The Royal Navy, once united was now split between Asia and Europe, which hindered their ability to regain supremacy in the Mediterranean which was their only hope of regaining the canal. For now, the British watched with unease at the rest of the world ignored their constant requests to help their cause. Back at home, the British people were tired of what seemed like never ending war as the Great War had only ended 2 years back. Many British workers, somewhat inspired by the events seen in Germany, began to strike, though these strikers would eventually be forced to back down.

## Spanish and Italian participation

The British war morale plummeted further after the shocking reveal that the British received a declaration of war from Italy. This declaration came as a surprise, but unbeknownst to London, 1 week before the war began, Egypt and the Kingdom of Nejd approached Italy to join the war on their side. After some back and forth negotiations, the Treaty of Tripoli was signed by all 3 countries, guaranteeing Italian participation in the war in exchange for trade influence in the Suez and territorial acquisitions from the empire. On the 8th of December Italy declared war and immediately began preparing for naval warfare, invasions into Cyprus, British Somaliland and Malta. However, the Italians soon realized that invading Cyprus and Malta would not be easy feats obviously mostly due to the amount of soldiers ready to fight on the islands. Instead with the help of the Arab navy, both nations blockaded both islands from supplies. With the Royal Navy diverted to secure various ports of the British Empire, the Royal Navy's attempts to beat back British and Arab offensives were inadequate at best.

After weeks without British reinforcements, Cyprus and Malta fall by late December.

In Spain, the government remained staunchly neutral despite growing public support to go to war. In defiance against Spanish neutrality, cavalry officer Ramón Acha Caamaño ordered his troops to occupy Gibraltar after the capture of Malta. Fighting soon broke out as war spread to Spain. Madrid originally hoped and even pressured Ramón to step down after several hours to their dismay. They were unable to force the officer down and evacuate Gibraltar. After a British declaration of war, it was decided that Ramón would still be allowed to pursue attempts to occupy Gibraltar. After 2 days of non-stop aggression the British garrison at Gibraltar surrendered, evacuating with the Royal Navy, suffering minimal casualties.

Back in Egypt, the country began to struggle. Although the British had been virtually wiped out from Egypt, nationalism took hold inside of the people and government alike, who wished to take over Sudan and incorporate it into the Egyptian state. But as the Egyptians after August began to push into Sudan, the British troops were able to stop them. The British forces thousands of Sudanese into the army through sheer terror and force. With thousands of soldiers now reinforced at the border with Egypt, the rebel army was unable to break the front lines, at least at the moment.

In British Somaliland however, troubles were brewing. The Italians did not station enough men on their colonies to fight a proper war against the British, and after a series of battles spanning months, British Somaliland withstood the Italians who became very embarrassed after the campaign. Instead, the Italians in December met with Abyssinian representatives to discuss the issue of British Somaliland. The Italians were willing to compromise with the Abyssinians by offering them almost all of the land which would give them access to the sea. In exchange, the Italians would be offered a narrow strip of land through all of Ethiopia, connecting Eritrea to Italian Somalia. Abyssinian representatives agreed to the demands and signed the Treaty of Asmara on the 10th. On the 16th, Abyssinia issues a formal declaration of war against the British, and immediately begin successful pushes into British Somaliland. Somaliland would be occupied by Italian and Abyssinian forces entirely by the 26th.

With Abyssinia in the war, the British were forced to divert some of their Sudanese forces to the Abyssinian border. At the same time, Sudanese forces began to mutiny and even turned across the border to Egypt. This decimation of the front lines allowed Egyptian forces to finally break into Sudan, and the people welcomed the as liberators of their country. In 4 days, Sudan was occupied in January on the 10th.

## The war goes global

The war would expand into East Asia with the inclusion of Japan in the conflict after a declaration of war on the 8th of December who began to seize multiple islands over the course of a few months most notably Hong Kong. Fiji, Ellis Island, Western Samoa, and the Solomon Islands were occupied for the duration of the rest of the war, while Australia occupied Tonga and New Hebrides for protection from the Japanese. It didn't help that the Siamese decided to join against Britain for 2 main reasons. To poach the weaker South Asian colonies from them and re-take lost territory, but also to capture the Malacca Strait. The Siamese knew part of the reason the Japanese went to war was to seize the Malacca Strait. The Siamese also knew that the Japanese would exploit the strait for their own benefit and would probably use Siam as a puppet. On the 20th Siamese forces entered Burma and Malaysia.

With the British now fighting another global war, they were defenseless against the growing Irish menace. Irish rebels captured town after town, city after city as the British could do nothing but evacuate the mainland to defend its other colonies and hope for the best. After the burning of Cork, the last Irish loyalists finally turned against London. Their only plea was for the Northern Irish to arm and defend themselves, but even this was too much to ask. Northern Ireland tried to resist the larger nationalist Irish army but to no avail. No matter what, all of Ireland would be united.

By April 1920, revolutionaries force the British out of Jamaica and Belize as both sides declare independence. Many begin to ponder if the British empire is finally falling, though some doubt it. Nevertheless, many oppressed subjects rise up against the Empire, from Nigeria to the Raj, thousands march in protest for the goal of independence. To their expense, the Iranian Civil War breaks out between monarchist loyalists (who are also loyal to the British) and Republican rebels, ending the same month in a Republican victory. Shortly after, the newly declared republic of Iran nationalizes all British assets in the country and attacks the British Raj, hoping to annex British Baluchistan.