1956 Egyptian revolution

the **1956 Egyptian revolution**, also known as the **May Revolution** or the **1956 Egyptian war of independence** were a series of violent revolts between May 14 and May 29, 1956 which lead to the fall of the British rule over Egypt. The revolutions were sparked after the Egyptian colony's government was dissolved on April 26, 1956 (see information here) after several violent riots resulting in the death of a British troop on April 25. After that the 18 members of the Egyptian parliament were detained in London for conspiracy and treason. It started on May 14, 1956 near Edfu, when several Egyptian citizens were shot on accident by a group of British guards, this lead to outrage in the city of Edfu, leading to the local police force being overthrown and a militia taking over, beginning the 1956 Egyptian revolution.

## Timeline

### First major conflicts (May 14-May 23)

#### May 14, 1956

On the morning of May 14, 1956, 6 Egyptian citizens were shot on accident by a group of British soldiers in the city of Edfu, leading to the death of 4 of them. At around 11:15 am, about 4 hours after the accident, a local group of citizens got together and armed themselves. When the police confronted them, they opened fire. The local British radio station was ceased about a hour later and began broadcasting anti-British and pro-communist propaganda all across Egypt, leading to widespread protests calling for the British to leave Egypt. After a brutal battle that raged for 8 hours, at 7:08 pm, it was announced over the propaganda network that the city of Edfu had been "liberated" by the communist revolution. Most of the city was left in ruin after the devastating battle. Occasional gunfights between socialists and the British military continued through the nighttime hours, as protests slowly spread in the areas around Edfu. They then began to attack British vessels on the Nile starting at around 9:20 pm and ending at about 11:30 pm.

#### May 15, 1956

The British had originally thought that the city of Edfu was the only rebelling region, so deployed most of it's military to destroy the rebel cause in Edfu, however another uprising started in Marsa Matruh at around 2:30 am when the local police force rebelled against British rule. They began the march to Zawyet Umm El-Rakham shortly later, not only this but then the Israelite government, realizing that the Egyptian communists would likely invade Israel after they took over Egypt, officially joined the conflict on the side of the British Empire. Meanwhile the Edfu rebellion was capturing many smaller towns along the Nile before they learned of the Marsa Matruh rebellion at around 1:00 pm. British bombardment of Edfu began at 1:27 pm, leading to the destruction of the Temple of Horus and the start of Soviet and Turkish involvement. The leader of Turkey announced that the destruction of the Temple of Horus was a "*inhumane and deeply offensive attack on the Egyptian people, as well as the Egyptian culture*", officially declaring war on the British Empire and pulling out of NATO at 3:30 pm. Shortly later at 3:45 pm, Nikita S. Khrushchev, the leader of the USSR, made a announcement regarding the incident in Edfu, stating that "*The attack on socialism in Egypt is unforgivable*", and later stating that the British would pay for their actions, deploying troops to neighboring Libya to spy on British interests in Egypt...this is a wip.