ChrisW

Thanks, Owain! I've also done some searching in Arabic without luck either. The Official Gazette unfortunately isn't available online, as far as I can tell. Perseverance, and luck, is the order of the day when researching Arab awards.

Chris

The Egyptian military and police forces have been heavily engaged in domestic counterterrorism operations since the 2011 revolution, and in July 2014 officially declared their own "war on terrorism." Probably over 2,000 soldiers and policemen have been killed, and thousands more wounded, since then, along with many civilians.

But the Egyptian Armed Forces have not awarded any conventional gallantry medals for these operations, nor have they awarded either of their two decorations for being wounded in action (a red-diamond shaped badge and the Medal for War Wounded). They have commemorated some soldiers in other ways, using certificates, plaque-style awards, monetary gifts, etc. The reasons are unknown but probably are due at least in part to the Egyptian government not considering their counterterrorism operations as a major armed conflict but an internal fight. (The rhetoric and politics of Egypt's "war on terrorism" are outside the scope of this forum....)

However, that seems to have recently changed.

According to a new law published last week in the Official Gazette, and noted in an article by one of the very few independent Egyptian news outlets left, The law established a medal called “Long Live Egypt” to honor military and police personnel as well as civilians who “display acts of bravery and sacrifice in the face of terrorist operations.” Winners of the first degree medal will be entitled to a monthly reward of LE2,000, and runner ups will be awarded LE1,000 monthly.

(source: https://www.madamasr.com/en/2018/03/15/news/politics/egypt-imposes-taxation-fund-to-honor-martyrs-finance-compensation-scheme-for-victims-families/)

No further details on what the medal looks like, when it might be awarded, etc....

Last week, Egypt awarded the first Sinai Star -- its highest military gallantry medal -- since 1978. It's also the first Sinai Star for actions during the 1973 war awarded since 1974. (The 1978 awards were to commandos who participated in a hostage rescue in Cyprus.)

Just as interesting, the recipient was an Egyptian version of a US Navajo Code Talker.

https://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2017/10/1973-war-special-nubian-sergeant.html

Ancient Egyptian influence on modern Egyptian military insignia -- that would be an interesting topic, Egyptian Zogist! And good job coming up with three examples so quickly. There are some Army and Air Force unit emblems with ancient Egyptian motifs, and on officers' caps, where most countries have "scrambled eggs" (gold oak leaves) on the brim, the Egyptians have gold lotus blossoms. I may start a separate thread on this topic! Thanks for the inspiration.

To be honest, Tony, this does look like a tourist piece. Or costume jewelry or some other piece of fantasy Egyptomania. The figure and symbols only bear a vague similarity to Ancient Egypt, and it may just as easily represent a fantasy Aztec.

2 hours ago, Trooper_D said:

You can say that again!!* Now you have revealed who the 'midwife' was, I can understand why  

 

* (from my memory of a visit seven or eight years ago)

You're both spot-on. North Korea remodeled the Military Museum at the Citadel around 1988/89 -- which used to be a nice place -- and also helped with the October War Panorama a decade later. North Korea was repaying a debt to Egypt: Egypt sold them Scud missiles, which were the basis of the entire North Korean ballistic missile program of today. Who got the better end of that deal?

Rusty, 

Glad that link was helpful. The page would seem to show the collection of medals held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (there are similar pages for online collections of photographs, books, audio and video files).

There's an English language page here, but it has much less content. http://www.bibalex.org/en/default You could try contacting someone via that page.

I have not actually been to the library, so cannot confirm if the medals are on public display, in storage, or even physically at the library. 

Chris 

21 hours ago, Bayern said:

The Royal Egyptian Army was based on the Khedives Army which was British patterned . Dr Chris Flaherty in his work about ottoman uniforms  dedicates a section to the Egyptian Army till 1919 . 

Bayern,

Is this the work you're talking about? It's a very nice website and deserves to be shared here.

https://www.ottoman-uniforms.com

 

Knowing very little about this medal, is it possible that this is a 1970s-era version, when the Libyan flag's colors were red/white/black? And the green-centered ones reflect the all-green flag adopted in 1977?

Thanks as always, Owain. You've added an intriguing aspect to this story (and a beautiful photo as well!)

(These may already be known to people, and I hesitated if I should post this here or in the Middle East section, so apologies if necessary on both counts.)

I came across two medal related pages on the Sudan Presidency website. The third page (of recipients) is empty, and the English language versions of the pages aren't complete, but it's an easy task to put these pages into Google Translate.

http://www.presidency.gov.sd/ara/medals-decorations

http://www.presidency.gov.sd/ara/page/About-Medallions

Paja,

The Arabic reads "Air College" (al-kuliyya al-gawiyya). Judging by the roundel and the silhouette (a Mirage III or V) it's probably from Libya.

Regards,

Chris

OCTOBER 1973 WAR

Interestingly, all the known awards for the 1973 war are to non-Egyptian units, but this probably is simply because these awards received more press coverage (as a goodwill gesture.) It seems almost certain that a large number of Egyptian units also received awards, but they just didn’t receive as much press coverage.

A Presidential decree of 18 February 1974 bestowed the Military Order of the Republic on select Egyptian, Syrian and other Arab units that distinguished themselves in fighting during the October 1973 war. (Cairo Press Review, 19 Feb. 1974; Cairo Press Review, 20 Feb. 1974)

It was awarded to the Sudanese infantry brigade that served on the Egyptian front in the war, in an August 1974 ceremony. (Cairo Domestic Service, 5 Aug. 1974)  The Kuwaiti battalion that served on the Egyptian front also received the medal in a ceremony in October 1974. (Cairo Press Review, 11 Oct. 1974)

No photos unfortunately!

POST-1973 AWARDS

The Military Order of the Republic also has been awarded for non-combat service. In April 1995, the Egyptian Army's 166th Mechanized Infantry Battalion received it following a 14 month deployment to Somalia as part of the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). (Al Ahram Weekly, 25-31 May 1995)

That's all I have in my notes, thus endeth this mini-article... for now.

Same ceremony, hard to tell if this is the same commando battalion or a different one. (Photo credit: President Nasser photo archive at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina)

And the last photo from this award ceremony, President Nasser awarding the Military Order of the Republic to an unidentified Egyptian Army paratroop unit. (Photo credit: President Nasser photo archive at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina)

Another award for service in Yemen, this time to the 23rd Commando Battalion in early 1965. (Photo credit: al-Quwwat al-Musalahah magazine, March 1965)

Another photo of the 23rd Commando Battalion, with the award certificate in the inset. (Photo credit: al-Quwwat al-Musalahah magazine, March 1965)

And a close-up of the 23rd Battalion's award certificate. (Photo credit: al-Quwwat al-Musalahah magazine, March 1965)

Moving on from the Yemen War....

WAR OF ATTRITION (1967-1970)

The Army’s 39^th Commando Group received the Military Order of the Republic for several operations during the War of Attrition which took them across the Suez Canal into Israeli-occupied Sinai. (The 39th Group was commanded by Col. Ibrahim al-Rifa'i, Egypt's most decorated soldier.)

Here is President Anwar Sadat decorating the unit flag of the 39th, in a ceremony on 12 August 1971. (Photo credit: President Sadat photo archive at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina)

 

Another award from President Sadat during the War of Attrition. Date and unit unknown, it could be the same as above. (Photo credit: President Sadat photo archive at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina)

Egypt's Military Order of the Republic (al-wisaam al-gomhouriya al-‘askariia) was established specifically as a unit award. According to the Egyptian medals protocols, it “may be granted to any military unit or formation for outstanding achievements.” It comes in a single class.

It is identical to the Order of the Republic, First Class, with the addition of a five-pointed star on the lower part of the order. It could be considered a separate class of the Order of the Republic. The Order of the Republic was created in 1953, and presumably the Military Order of the Republic was created at the same time or shortly afterwards. The earliest record of its existence I’ve been able to trace is from 1964.

(References: Egyptian Decorations & Medals and the Rules Governing Them, Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Cabinet of the Grand Chamberlain, 1983; Samah abd al-Rahman al-Liqaani, Mausua’a al-Qala’id wal-Niyashin wal-Osama wal-Nuat wal-Midaaliyyat al-Masriyya, Cairo, 2015)

 

 

When awarded to a unit, the medal is directly attached to that unit’s flag. Unlike unit awards in some countries such as the USA, personnel assigned to the recipient unit do not wear some variation of the medal on their uniform. However, there does appear to be a buttonhole rosette for the medal’s ribbon (seen above), which could be worn when in civilian dress.

Here is the Order of the Republic, for comparison. The only difference is the lack of the star.

 

 

EXAMPLES OF AWARDS

Several specific awards of the Military Order of the Republic are known, both to Egyptian and non-Egyptian Arab units.

YEMEN WAR (1962-1967) The Military Order of the Republic probably was first issued on a large scale during Egypt’s war in Yemen (1962-1967), judging from period photos.

Here's President Nasser pinning the Military Order of the Republic on the flag of an unidentified Egyptian Air Force, probably for operations in Yemen, in June 1964. (Photo credit: Al-Quwwat al-Musalahah magazine, July 1964)

 

And at the same ceremony, on 18 June 1964, President Nasser awarding the Military Order of the Republic to an unidentified Egyptian Navy unit or ship, again for Yemen operations. (Photo credit: President Nasser photo archive at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina)

Same ceremony, Nasser decorating the flag of an unidentified Egyptian Army commando battalion. (Photo credit: President Nasser photo archive at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina)

Kosty,

Thanks for posting and welcome!

That is the Military Medal of the Republic (United Arab Republic version). The medal looks silver, and if it is, then it's the First Class. Awarded "to those who display great devotion to duty on the battlefield irrespective of rank." The ribbon is well worn but it's always hard to find Egyptian medals with the original ribbon. And it's really interesting to see that the ribbon appears to have a cardboard mount for display or wear. Congratulations on a nice find.

Chris

 

Rusty,

Thanks for posting this. It's a remarkable piece, with a great back story and family connection. The motifs (pyramids and lotuses) definitely mark it as Egyptian. But I don't think the figure is of King Farouk, or his predecessor, King Fuad. This figure is too slender, with a fuller mustache, than either of the kings. It might be a lower ranking official, perhaps a prince?

Chris

 

I may have answered my own question. Could it be Khedive Abbas II, ruler of Egypt from 1892-1914?

A very nice example of a new but rarely-seen medal. Thanks for posting!

Very interesting, and a great find! Thank you for posting these!

I should explore the Alexandria Library's Facebook page. I've spent some time digging around their website, which has some nice material (archive photos and some official documents from both the Kingdom and Republic era) but is extremely un-user-friendly. It requires lots of patience, cunning, and some knowledge of Arabic to trawl through.

The most obvious medal-related page from the website is this photo gallery of Egyptian and foreign medals in the library's collection - possibly originally from the Montazah Palace and since taken into the state archives?

http://modernegypt.bibalex.org/Collections/Medals/MedalsLucene.aspx

Chris

And a few others from the Zaki book:

Coast Guard

Cavalry.

Border Guards.

Army organization/administration.

Communications/signals.

Maintenance.

Here, about six months after I promised them, are some of the branch insignia from Zaki's book. I arranged these in the same order as the illustration from Carman's book which iffig kindly posted a few days back. Zaki's book lacks the insignia for the Staff College.

 

iffig: Thank you for reminding me I have neglected to post images of the Egyptian branches of service from that book. I will try to get started this week.

Peter: Interesting quotes, thanks for sharing! During the First World War, Egypt became a British protectorate, so it was firmly on the side of the Allies. Some Egyptian combat troops (mostly artillery) served alongside British and Imperial soldiers in the Sinai, Libya, the Sudan, Palestine and Arabia. But the most important Egyptian contribution to the war effort was the Egyptian Labour Corps and the Camel Transport Corps; hundreds of thousands of them served in the Middle East, the Mediterranean and the Western Front.

Regards,

Chris

Fascinating! Thanks for posting these, Igor. Interesting to see that the Soviet officers are wearing what look like Egyptian uniforms.

Thank you for posting, Igor - very nice photos! I've seen Egyptian award documents to Soviet officers but not photos of them wearing the medals. Do you know if the 18th Rocket Division was an air defense (SAM) or FROG/SCUD unit, or when these officers served in Egypt? Thank you!

Chris

Even in the US Army.... the 45th Infantry Division used this insignia from 1924 until as late as 1939. The swastika was also a Native American symbol.