Ahmed Hamdi (; 20 May 1929 – 14 October 1973) was an Egyptian engineer and a general of the 3rd Army of Egypt during the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

. He was killed while crossing the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

with his soldiers and was awarded the Sinai star posthumously.

Biography

Hamdi was a graduate of the Faculty of Engineering at

Cairo University Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...

. In 1951 he joined the Egyptian Air Force, transferring to the engineering force in 1954. Hamdi travelled to the Soviet Union, where he passed a training for leaders at the M. V. Frunze Military Academy. In the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

of 1956 he was known as "the pure hand" because he disarmed thousands of landmines. In 1967, he ordered blowing up the El Ferdan Railway Bridge to prevent Israeli soldiers from using it. He also installed watchtowers on the western bank of the

beneath trees in order to watch Israeli troops' movements when there were no means or sand hills, having chosen the location of the towers himself. Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel - West entry

In 1971, he was in charge of the preparation of a group of soldiers who had to install a bridge which would assure the safe crossing of the 3rd Army over the

. He was the leader of the engineering group that was in charge of the engineering works of the 3rd Army, which was then the most important group fighting in the

. He also helped in the adaption of Soviet production bridges to the Suez Canal situation. He shortened the Russian bridge deployment method from 12 hours to 4 hours. He was wounded while the Egyptian army was crossing the canal on one of his bridges. He was later shot and killed during the same operation, having refused to remain in the command center with other generals in order to be with his officers and soldiers. Egypt honored him by dedicating to his name the Sinai Star (first rank), which is the prize is the highest military award in Egypt. His death day was made the holiday of Engineer Day. President Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat named a tunnel that links Sinai to the rest of Egypt after him, the Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel. Hamdi was also an international sport shooter for Egypt. He competed in three events at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

and won two gold medals at the

1951 Mediterranean Games The 1951 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the I Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Alexandria 1951, were the 1st Mediterranean Games. The Games were held for 15 days from 5 to 20 October 1951 in Alexandria, Egypt, where 734 athlet ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamdi, Ahmed 1929 births 1973 deaths Egyptian generals Egyptian Air Force personnel Cairo University alumni Frunze Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Order of the Sinai Star Egyptian male sport shooters Olympic shooters for Egypt Shooters at the 1952 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Egypt Mediterranean Games medalists in shooting Competitors at the 1951 Mediterranean Games Egyptian military casualties of the Yom Kippur War Egyptian military personnel killed in action 20th-century Egyptian sportsmen