The battle killed 56 Egyptian police and directly triggered the Cairo Fire of 1952, accelerating the Egyptian Revolution later that year.
Key Facts
- Egyptian police killed
- 56
- Egyptian police wounded
- 73
- British killed
- 13
- British wounded
- 22
- Duration of confrontation
- Two hours
- Prior British fedayeen deaths
- 33
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
British forces under General George Erskine had suffered 33 killed in fedayeen attacks in the Canal Zone. Tracking a fedayeen group to a government building in Ismailia, they demanded the Egyptian police inside surrender their weapons and evacuate. The police refused, and when a British negotiator was shot and killed, Erskine ordered an assault.
On 25 January 1952, British troops attacked and stormed the Egyptian police building in Ismailia over a two-hour battle. The British captured the building, killing 56 Egyptian policemen and wounding 73, while sustaining 13 killed and 22 wounded themselves.
News of the large Egyptian police death toll spread the following day, sparking the Cairo Fire on 26 January 1952, in which much of central Cairo was burned. The incident deepened anti-British sentiment and contributed to the political instability that culminated in the 1952 Egyptian Revolution.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
George Erskine.
Side B
1 belligerent