Ahmad Ismail Ali

Ahmad Ismail Ali (أحمد إسماعيل علي) (14 October 1917 – 26 December 1974) was the Commander-in-Chief of Egypt's army and minister of war during the October War of 1973, and is best known for his planning of the attack across the Suez Canal, code-named Operation Badr.

Military career

 * Graduated from Egypt's Royal Military Academy in 1938.
 * Served with the Allies in the Western Desert during the Second World War
 * Fought as a brigade commander in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
 * Later received training in the United Kingdom
 * Fought against the French-British-Israeli forces invading Egypt in the Tripartite Aggression (Suez Crisis) of 1956, and undertook further training in the Soviet Union.
 * Served as a division commander during the 1967 Six-Day War of 1967
 * Made Army Chief of Staff in March 1969, but was dismissed by President Gamal Abdel Nasser in September 1969 following successful Israeli raids during the War of Attrition. Nasser's successor as President, Anwar Al-Sadat, however, named him chief of intelligence in September 1970.
 * From 1971 to 1972 he served as head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate.

In October 1972, Ali accompanied Prime Minister Aziz Sidqi on a visit to Moscow, and, on his return, stifled a coup attempt against President Sadat. That same month, he replaced the anti-Soviet general Muhammad Sadeq as Minister of Defence, and was promoted to full general. His skill as a strategist, and his success in reviving the morale of the Egyptian army became evident in the October War of 1973. Following the war, he was made a Field Marshal in November 1973.

Death
Ali died in December 1974 from advanced cancer, at the age of 57.