The
Battle of Tel el-Kebir or
el-Tal el-Kebir was between the
Egyptian army led by
Ahmed Urabi and the British military fought near
Tel-el-Kebir. After discontented Egyptian officers under Urabi rebelled in
1882,
Great Britain reacted to protect its financial and
expansionist interests in the country, and in particular the
Suez Canal.
On May 20, a combined Anglo-French fleet arrived at Alexandria. At the same time, Egyptian troops were reinforcing the coastal defences of the city in anticipation of an attack. These events heightened tension in Alexandria, and eventually triggered a riot in the city between Egyptians and foreigners, in which more than a hundred were killed. The British commanders thought, wrongly, that Urabi and his supporters caused this riot.
As a result, an ultimatum was sent to Urabi's officers in Alexandria to dismantle their coast defence batteries. The Egyptian government refused. Meanwhile, tension increased between Britain and France, and the French refused to support this ultimatum and decided against armed intervention.
When the ultimatum was ignored, Admiral Seymour gave the order for the British fleet to bombard the Egyptian gun emplacements in Alexandria. On July 11 at 700 am, the first shell was fired at Fort Adda by the HMS Alexandria and by 710, the entire fleet was engaged. The coastal defences returned fire soon after, with minimal effect and minimal casualties to the British fleet. No British ships were sunk. On July 13, a large British naval force landed in the city. Despite heavy resistance from the garrison for several hours, the overwhelming British forces eventually forced the Egyptian troops to withdraw from the city.
