Suez Canal Archives

Suez Canal

Misadventure in the Sinai

By Eric Hammel

Many historians consider the Suez-Sinai campaign in the autumn of 1956 the last hurrah for British and French colonialist efforts in the Middle East. Read more

British General Garnet Wolseley was able to steal a march by making intelligent use of war correspondents.

Suez Canal

General Garnet Wolseley & The First War Correspondents

by Harold E. Raugh, Jr.

War correspondents are relatively new to history. The Crimean War (1854-1856), pitting Great Britain, France, Turkey, and Sardinia against Russia, was the first conflict in which an organized effort was made for civilian correspondents reporting news directly to the civilian population of the home country. Read more

The 1885 Battle of Abu Klea (or Battle of Abu Tulayh) would prove to be the end for British Major-General Charles George Gordon.

Suez Canal

Breaking the Square: Britain Takes on Mahdi at the Battle of Abu Klea

By Simon Craig

Until weapons technology made it redundant, the infantry square was a most effective and versatile formation. It needed no ditches or palisades; it could stand its ground, advance, or retreat; and it could offer a wall of fire on all four sides. Read more

Suez Canal

Erwin Rommel Frustrated By French Foreign Legion At Bir Hacheim

by Edward L. Bimberg

When Brig. Gen. Joseph-Pierre Koenig, commander of the 1st Free French Brigade, surveyed the area he had just been ordered to defend, he must have been mightily discouraged. Read more

Tenth in the line of British-built U-class submarines, HMS Upholder is seen riding outboard of HMS Urge at Lazaretto. In one of only two authenticated photos of Upholder, the submarine's high bow is prominent compared to the flush bow of HMS Urge.

Suez Canal

HMS Upholder Fought In Mediterranean To Defeat Rommel In North Africa

By Robert Barr Smith

She was a tiny vessel, not really designed for the dangers and hardships of war in far places and deep waters. Read more

Suez Canal

The USS Olympia: Largest Steel Warship Afloat

By Peter Suciu

The oldest steel warship afloat has survived wars, economic downturns, and even the harsh passage of time, but there was one battle that the USS Olympia (C-6), flagship of the American Asiatic Fleet during the Spanish-American War of 1898, almost was unable to win. Read more

Following his conduct during the battle at Gazala, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel earned his laurels as the 'Desert Fox.'

Suez Canal

Erwin Rommel’s Victory at Gazala: Becoming the ‘Desert Fox’

By Eric Niderost

On April 15, 1942, Generaloberst (Colonel General) Erwin Rommel summoned his subordinate commanders of the Panzerarmee Afrika to a conference to outline his plans for the coming offensive against the British Eighth Army. Read more