This book provides a rare and welcome addition to the little-known history of the Khedive Ismails Army in Egypt. It examines the paradox of the Egyptian Army, which performed brilliantly in the Crimean War and French Mexican War, but failed miserably in the Ethiopian War. The author argues that the Egyptian Army lacked "military virtue" and long-term development, which are essential for success. Additionally, the army was led by semi-independent Albanian mercenaries and lacked strong European leadership with an "esprit de corps" or devotion to the army. This sabotaged cooperation within the army and led to its failures against better-trained forces like the Ethiopians and Europeans.

1. Khedive Ismails Army-John Dunn-Taylor and
Francis-2005-ISBN-0-714-65704-2 240 pages
Reviewed by Agha H Amin
This is a very rare and welcome addition to
a very unknown part of history.
John P. Dunn as described in his Amazon
Books biography “is an Assistant Professor
of History at Valdosta State University,
Georgia, USA. He studies military affairs in
nineteenth century Egypt, Poland and China.
His work has appeared in The Journal of
Military History, War in History, and The
Journal of Slavic Military Affairs.”
This is a history of why Egypts army which
performed admirably against Turks and in
Crimean War and in Mexican war failed in
the final outcome.

2. The book examines the paradoxical history
of Egyptian Army which performed brilliantly
in Crimean War and in French Mexican war
but miserably failed in Ethiopian war .
When I read the book , I could find no fault
with the book , in narrative or in analysis.
This rarely happens that you read a book
that leaves you with no regret and no reason
for criticism.
As I read this book , I could relate it to
military effectiveness or lack of it of Indian
armies in the period 1740-1859.
Large Indian armies were defeated by
smaller more disciplined European led
forces of English East India Company.
What the author did not discuss in detail
was that military virtue , as described by
Clausewitz as an essential pre-requisite for
an armys success takes a long time to

3. develop and Egyptian Army never had that
military virtue.
Where Egyptian Army functioned well was
where the command was in European state
hands as in Southern Russia and Mexico.
Where the strategy and more than that
operational strategy was to be decided the
Egyptian Army was a total failure.
In the same era a British Indian Army
convincingly defeated the Ethiopians and
captured their capital in 1867 .
The author rightly analyses that European
and American officers employed by the
Egyptians did not have that espirit de corps
or devotion that is necessary for an army to
be militarily effective.
Some of these officers were drunkards as
the author rightly analyses.

4. The writer also correctly analyses that there
was a culture of regarding regiments as
personal property in the Egyptian army and
this sabotaged inter unit as well as inter arm
cooperation.
Above all Egypt was led by Albanian origin
mercenaries who had been Ottoman
functionaries and had become semi
independent some decades earlier.
The author should have devoted greater
details to how the Ethiopian Army was
trained by British mercenaries .
What happened to Egyptian Army was very
similar to how so many local Indian armies
were routed by the English East India
Company.
The Europeans employed by Egyptians were
perhaps not the best lot .The confederate
officers who came to Egypt had exhausted

5. all options and were not the cream of the
confederate army.
In addition European officers had not
merged with the Egyptians , unlike the
British officers of English East India
Company who used to learn Indian
languages and had a closer bond with their
troops.
The book contains interesting descriptions
about how Egyptian Army fought in Mexico
as part of the French expeditionary force.
By and large this is the only book that
analyses the Khedive Army .In addition
Khaled Fahmys book “All the Pasha's Men:
Mehmed Ali, His Army and the Making of
Modern Egypt” also deserves to be read
alongwith this book.