Ahmad Ismail Ali

Ahmad Ismail Ali (Arabic: أحمد إسماعيل علي‎) (14 October 1917 – 26 December 1974) was the Commander-in-Chief of Egypt's army and minister of war during the October War of 1973, and is best known for his planning of the attack across the Suez Canal, code-named Operation Badr. Ali's mother was of partial Albanian descent.

Ahmad Ismail Ali
أحمد إسماعيل علي
Minister of Defence of Egypt
In office
1973–1973
PresidentAnwar El-Sadat
Preceded byMohammed Ahmed Sadek
Succeeded byAbdel Ghani el-Gamasy
Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate
In office
1971–1972
PresidentMuhammad Naguib, Gamal Abdel Nasser
Preceded byAhmad Kamel
Succeeded byKarim El-Leithy
Personal details
Born(1917-10-14)14 October 1917
Cairo, Egypt
Died26 December 1974(1974-12-26) (aged 57)
London, United Kingdom
Military service
Allegiance Kingdom of Egypt
 United Arab Republic
 Egypt
Branch/service Egyptian Army
Years of service1938–1974
Rank Field Marshal
Unit16th Infantry
CommandsCommander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Battles/warsSecond World War
  • North African Campaign
    • Western Desert Campaign

1948 Arab–Israeli War
Tripartite Aggression (Suez Crisis)
Six-Day War

Yom Kippur War

Military career
  • Graduated from Egypt's Royal Military Academy in 1938.
  • Commissioned in an Infantry regiment.
  • Served with the Allies in the Western Desert during the Second World War
  • Fought as an infantry battalion commander in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
  • Later received training in the United Kingdom
  • Fought against the French-British-Israeli forces invading Egypt in the Tripartite Aggression (Suez Crisis) of 1956, and undertook further training in the Soviet Union.
  • Served as a division commander during the 1967 Six-Day War of 1967
  • Head, Military Operations Authority
  • Appointed Chief of the General Staff in March 1969, but was dismissed by President Gamal Abdel Nasser in September 1969 following successful Israeli raids during the War of Attrition. Nasser's successor as President, Anwar Al-Sadat, however, named him chief of intelligence in September 1970.
  • From 1971 to 1972 he served as head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate.

In October 1972, Ali accompanied Prime Minister Aziz Sidqi on a visit to Moscow, and, on his return, stifled a coup attempt against President Sadat. That same month, he replaced the anti-Soviet general Mohammed Ahmed Sadek as Minister of Defence, and was promoted to full general. His skill as a strategist, and his success in reviving the morale of the Egyptian army became evident in the October War of 1973. Following the war, he was made a Field Marshal in November 1973.

Death

Ali died in December 1974 from advanced cancer in London, at the age of just 57.[1]

References
  1. Fouad Saleh al-Sayed (2015). The greatest contemporary events (1900–2014) (in Arabic). Al Manhal. p. 537. ISBN 9796500148564.
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