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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.

Printed for the use of the Colonial Defence Committee.

SECRET.

No. 432 M.

W.O. No. 79/Egypt/21.

II.

EGYPT.

Defence of Eastern Frontier.

Memorandum by the Colonial Defence Committee.

THE War Office have referred to the Colonial Defence Committee a Defence Scheme for the protection of the Suez Canal against overland attack from the East, prepared by the General Officer Commanding the Force in Egypt.

2. As in the course of their examination of the Defence Scheme, it appeared to the Colonial Defence Committee that the measures proposed might be held to involve an infringement of our treaty obligations, they thought it expedient to refer the matter to the Committee of Imperial Defence in order that an authoritative ruling might be obtained.

They accordingly submit, for the consideration of that Committee, the following observations on the question of the Defence of the Eastern frontier of Egypt:-

I.—Origin of the Defence Scheme under consideration.

3. In view of diplomatic and political considerations, which need not here be referred to, it was laid down by the Committee of Imperial Defence at their meeting of the 10th August, 1904, that the British Army of Occupation in Egypt is maintained solely for the purpose of securing internal order, and the strength of the force now in Egypt is the minimum required to maintain order under normal conditions. Should the political situation become more unsatisfactory His Majesty's Government will take steps to augment the garrison in accordance with requirements. A force of minimum strength required to maintain order will, only in exceptional circumstances, be available to resist invasion or raids from the sea or overland. Such hostile operations must as a rule be dealt with by reinforcements sent from the United Kingdom or elsewhere.

4. The Defence Scheme under consideration was prepared in consequence of the conclusion arrived at by Lord Morley's Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence, 1907, which was assembled to consider the military requirements of the Empire as affected by Egypt and the Sudan.

5. The evidence laid before that Committee led them to believe that a Turkish force of a few thousand men could cross the Sinai Peninsula and reach the Canal in about seventy-two hours after crossing the Turko-Egyptian frontier. They expressed the opinion that-

"The line of the Suez Canal is the strategic frontier of Egypt on the east, and the success or failure of a raid depends to a large extent on whether the raiders succeed in crossing the Canal or not. We have had the opinion both of the Admiralty and of Admiral Lambton on the power of the Navy to prevent such a crossing, and they consider that if sufficient warning of a raid is received ships could be assembled in adequate strength to restrict the crossing of the Canal by a raiding force to certain portions where the banks are high, and are not commanded from the deck of a ship. For these portions of the Canal (amounting in all to about 16 miles) safety can be assured only by means of a military force stationed at central points and dependent for its mobility either on the railway or on the ships in the Canal.”

6. On proceeding to work out the details of a Defence Scheme based upon the conclusions of Lord Morley's Committee, the General Staff found it necessary that

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