"The popular impression that [these] campaigns were merely a sideshow, with trops enjoying a holiday among the pyramids and the 'fleshpots' of Cairo, is far removed from the truth. Trrosp faced appalling heat, abrasive sand, poor rations, and water shortages. In the desolation of the Western Desert they fought the Senussi, an Islamic sect supported by the Ottomans, in a reversal of Lawrence's later work with the Arabs, while in the Sinai Desert they countered German-backed moves to dominate this strategically important area. Meanwhile, the Royal Navy fought to keep the supply lines to Gallipoli open, and keep men and materiel flowing to France from India, Australia, and New Zealand."--Book jacket.

Foreword / Stamford J. Cartwright -- Prologue : Last stand at Katia -- 1. Egypt in 1914 -- 2. Opening shots -- 3. Pyramids and fleshpots -- 4. The Battle of the Suez Canal, February 1915 -- 5. Egypt base, 1915 -- 6. Sideshows -- 7. The Canal Defence Zone, 1916 -- 8. The Senussi War -- 9. Retaking the Western Desert -- 10. The war at sea -- 11. The Egyptian Expeditionary Force -- 12. The Battle of Romani -- 13. Advance to Palestine -- Epilogue : Egypt 1917-18 ; Appendix A : British Mediterranean Fleet, 1914 -- Appendix B : Note on the organisation of British and Imperial forces -- Appendix C : Canal defences order of battle, February 1915 -- Appendix D : British Flying Services order of battle, December 1915 -- Appendix E : Cattle rustlers of the Aegean -- Appendix F : Egyptian Expeditionary Force order of battle, April 1916 -- Appendix G : Imperial Strategic Reserve, 1916 -- Appendix H : Battle of Romani order of battle, August 1916 -- Appendix I : Prisoners of war in Turkey.