Posted on 07/21/2020 8:03:03 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The website Global Fire Power in February released its annual review, ranking the countries of the world in terms of military power. Egypt in 2020 rose to number nine, while Turkey fell to 11th place.
Egypt is the only Arab country that ranked among the 10 most powerful armies in the world, rising from its 12th place position last year. Turkey, meanwhile, fell behind Egypt, despite ranking higher in the past several years.
Here are the most prominent figures to consider when making a military comparison between the two forces:
Egypt has 440,000 active personnel, while Turkey has 355,000. Egyptian reserve forces consist of about 480,000 soldiers, compared to about 380,000 in Turkey.
(Excerpt) Read more at egyptindependent.com ...
Turkey would have to do a big call-up to match Egypt in the field, since Libya borders Egypt.
Yes, Egypt has a bigger army.
And with it if they do as they’ve done in the past they’ll advance boldly on the first day and then dig in in hopes of not being dislodged after that.
Meanwhile the Turks will find some innocents in their back yard to massacre.
Be an interesting war.
It depends whether they are fighting away or at home.
During the past few years, the Egyptian armed forces have destroyed about 10,000 four-wheel drive vehicles on the Egyptian-Libyan border, according to an announcement by Presidency Spokesperson Bassam Rady.
The vehicles, Rady added, carried more than 40,000 terrorists and foreign fighters.
Rady went on to say that the Libyan situation is complicated, since it has many conflicts of interests like other crises in the region, and that Egypt secures its 1,200 kilometer-long border with Libya with a singular effort, which costs the state many resources.
He added that diplomatic and political solutions take a longer time when there are many parties involved in a crisis, whether internal parties or foreign powers...
The Libyan parliament last week granted the Egyptian armed forces the right to intervene in the country's ongoing conflict to protect Libyan and Egyptian national security.
The decision allows Egypt to intervene if the Egyptian armed forces see an imminent threat to the security of the two countries.Egypt destroys 10,000 vehicles on Libyan border: presidency spokesperson [July 17, 2020]
Interesting that both have compulsory military service, so their armies are largely filled with poorly trained boots.
The Turks are already fighting at or close to home. I think they view the Libyan campaign as a way to test and train, much as, say, Hitler used the Condor Legion in Spain.
It’s not going to come down to that.
Command of the sea and air would determine the outcome.
Advance and dig in was used just the one time, and with success, in 1973. The idea was to advance only to the limit of the SAM umbrella, and move enough assets across that Israel wouldn't be able to dislodge them at a reasonable cost in lives and treasure, then get a negotiated settlement, and as a kicker, Sadat also wanted a pretext to eject the Russians and team up with the US.
It all worked, but after reaching his objectives, he got called out by Assad, who was getting his ass handed to him, and hadn't known in advance of the Egyptian objectives. When Sadat got shamed into an ad hoc advance, his top general objected and was fired.
The renewed advance didn't go so well.
Having destroyed 900 Syrian tanks, the Israelis were at that point able to shift resources to the Sinai, seized a couple of Egyptian bridges, deployed their own that had been built and stashed a few years earlier, crossed the Canal, started knocking out SAM emplacements, and also cut off a third of Egypt's army east of the Canal, having it teetering on the edge of annihilation.
Now, you know full well I was going for effect....
Divide and rule -- it's not just for breakfast anymore. The various islamofascist states are at each other's throats; Egypt's the bright spot, it's easy to tell, just look at which country gets criticized the most by DNC media shills. Russia's been selling arms to all parties for a while now, including to Egypt, and Iran's reach has been shortened by US sanctions and the loss of their terrorist kingpin.
:^) My all-time favorite's probably the Nasser fiasco in 1967 -- Israel's one move was to wipe out the adversarial airforces on the ground, then punch through the skin -- Egypt's entire force was staging along the border with Israel, and Nasser had already ejected the UN's observers from the Sinai. I recall reading that Egypt's main losses came from troops fleeing on foot across the Sinai and dying of thirst. Nasser was listening to the Egyptian propaganda broadcast, but when the survivors were starting to swim the Canal and would be in Cairo in short order, someone had to draw the short straw and tell Nasser what had really been happening.
The Turkish army is very good, particularly in contrast to its neighbors (other than Russia). Erdogan thought he had everything figured out, then realized Putin either couldn't or wouldn't deliver, and has been testing the Russians with the Libyan campaign.
The big advantage that Egypt has is that its in their backyard. Oherwise NATO equipped and trained Turkey would easily defeat the Egyptian military in all sectors of battle. Also the Egyptian economy could not support a prolonged conflict. However fighting will never occur between Turkey and Egypt.Eventually the EU (especially Germany) and the Saudis will hammer out a deal regarding Libya. The oil will flow and the use of Libya as a disembarction point for African migrants to Europe will cease.
“Turkey would have to do a big call-up to match Egypt in the field, since Libya borders Egypt.”
Exactly.
I have worked and lived in the middle east for a very long time.
One thing universal to every country I have experience is it is a cluster f$#k. There may be an exceptional leader or one off individuals or groups but as a whole total incompetence. Enough to make Gomer Pyle seem a rocket scientist.
My prediction stale mate. Because one side will stop for tea and the other didn’t to put oil in the engine today because they did it last month.
Oh, I agree on both counts -- Egypt can't defeat the Turks alone, and a direct conflict is unlikely. OTOH, Egypt will merely be additional to the local forces, and despite recent shortlived successes, Turkey's overextended. Turkey won't accept partition of Libya (it sez here); if Turkey is willing to sustain the GNA, there won't be a resolution of this for the foreseeable, turning it into a generations-long conflict. Expensive. It will cost Turkey in the long run, increasing its isolation from its neighbors. It'll be cool.
:^)
“My prediction stale mate. Because one side will stop for tea and the other didn’t to put oil in the engine today because they did it last month.”
Got a good belly laugh from that one. Rings true for Egypt, but less so for the Turks.
The Turkish side will be mostly local tribesmen and hopped up jihadi mercenaries however, rather than Turkish regulars, so lots of room for incompetence.
Actually Egypt is in quite a bind. It of couse covets Libya and its oil. However it is very concerned about the dam in Ethipia financed by China which will cut the flow of the blue Nile. Egypt sees this dam as an existential threat to its nation. IMHO doubt that Egypt has the military prowness to stop this dam from becoming operational and will become even poorer and more dependent on the Saudis. If Sisi tried to take on Turkey, it would be a disaster and his regime would fall. It will also fall if that dam becomes operational.Water supplies in Egypt will be impaired and agricultural production will contract. 80% of the Egyptian population is rural and they will be even more hard pressed and unhappy. Would not bet on Egypt.
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