Mohammed Aly Fahmy (11 October 1920 – 11 September 1999) was an Egyptian field marshal, known as the "Father of the Egyptian Air Defense".

Early life, education and early career

Fahmy was born in Cairo in 1920. He received a degree in engineering from the

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 ...

. Then he graduated from the Egyptian Military Academy in 1940 and from the Air Defense Academy in Kalinin,

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Following his qraduation Fahmy was commissioned in a cavalry unit and initially commanded armored platoons and squadrons equipped with Cruiser Mk I, Mk II, Crusader and Sherman

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s. In 1952 he was in command of an armored battalion at

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and was crucial during the July coup.

Military years

In 1953, he was made an executive staff officer in the Defense Ministry. In 1954 he was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. From 1955 onwards he became interested in the concept of

Air Defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

and proposed to President Nasser to further extend the existing Air Defense units in the Army which until then was only based on British 20mm Flak guns. Between 1957 and 1961, six Air Defense battalions, grouped under 2 Brigades were raised from scratch under his supervision as General Staff Officer-II in charge of Operations in the Army HQ. From 1957–59 he studied in the

the concepts and practicals of Air Defense, and came back to command an Air Defense Brigade. Since the 1930s, Air Defense was considered to be a "combat support" arm of the regular Army and was considered less prestigious than the 'combat arms' of Infantry, Cavalry and Field Artillery. He was made a Major General in 1963. In 1964, he completed a PhD in the Soviet Union on

strategy and became the commander of one of the only two Air Defense Divisions in the Army. He participated in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

, 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 ...

, the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

, the

War of Attrition The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...

and 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 ...

Military influence

After the debacle of 1967, he prevailed upon Nasser to make the Air Defense a separate branch of the Armed Forces, based on the Soviet model. Between 1968 and 1971 he raised five new Air Defense Brigades and two new Air Defense Divisions, plus established an Air Defense Academy in 1970 for the training of young officers and conscripts. He was the first commander of the

Egyptian Air Defense Command The Egyptian Air Defence Forces (EADF) () is the Anti-aircraft warfare branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is responsible for protecting the Egyptian airspace against any hostile air attacks. The EADF was established in accor ...

from September 1968 to January 1975 and Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces from January 1975 to October 1978. In this capacity he was also the Deputy Chairman of the

Supreme Council of the Armed Forces The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF; , ', also Higher Council of the Armed Forces) is a Statutory authority, statutory body of between 20 and 25 Senior officer, senior Officer (armed forces), officers of the Egyptian Armed Forces, and ...

and a close aide to President Sadat.

Personal life

Fahmy married Nadia Abaza in 1959. They had three children.

Later years

He is mostly known for his planning and management of the Egyptian Air Defense Command during the Attrition War and 6 October war and for building "the Egyptian Missile Wall". He resigned as Chief-of-Staff of the Armed Forces owing to opposition with Egypt's rapprochement with Israel and due to his conflict and rivalry with

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st Prime Minister of Egypt, prime minister from 1981 to ...

, a man several years his junior but becoming more important than him in the corridors of power during the Sadat era. He retired to live in Iraq from 1980 onwards.

Awards

Fahmy was the recipient of the Order of Liberation, Memorial Order of Founding of the United Arab Republic, Military Star; Star of Honour (

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

); Yugoslav Star with Gold Belt (First Class) and Order of King Abdulaziz (First Class).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fahmy, Mohammed Aly Egyptian people of the Yom Kippur War 20th-century Egyptian military personnel Egyptian Military Academy alumni Field marshals of Egypt 1920 births 1999 deaths Expatriates in the Soviet Union Chiefs of the General Staff (Egypt) Military personnel from Cairo Cairo University alumni 20th-century Egyptian engineers