The Aden Emergency was an insurgency against British crown forces in what is now the country of Yemen on the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian Peninsula Emirets towers in United Arab Emirates; the eastern part of Arabian Penisula The Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية, or جزيرة العرب) is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia consisting mainly of desert. ...

It lasted from December 10, 1963, when a "state of emergency" was declared in the Aden Protectorate, a British Crown Colony since 1837, until November 30, 1967 when British forces left. Aden had been of interest to Britain as a link to British India and then, after the loss of most of Britain's colonies from 1945 and the disastrous Suez Crisis in 1956, as a valuable port for accessing crucial Middle Eastern oil. Aden Protectorate (Arabic: عدن حماية []) (ca. ... A United Kingdom overseas territory (formerly known as a dependent territory or earlier as a crown colony) is a territory that is under the sovereignty and formal control of the United Kingdom but is not part of the United Kingdom proper (Great Britain and Northern Ireland). ... Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 (MDCCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Anthem God Save The Queen/King British India, circa 1860 Capital Calcutta (1858-1912), New Delhi (1912-1947) Language(s) Hindi, Urdu, English and many others Government Monarchy Emperor of India  - 1877-1901 Victoria  - 1901-1910 Edward VII  - 1910-1936 George V  - January-December 1936 Edward VIII  - 1936-1947 George... Combatants Israel United Kingdom France Egypt Commanders Moshe Dayan Charles Keightley Pierre Barjot Gamal Abdel Nasser Abdel Hakim Amer Strength 175,000 Israeli 45,000 British 34,000 French 70,000 Casualties 197 Israeli KIA 56 British KIA 91 British WIA 10 French KIA 43 French WIA 650 KIA 2... Seaport, a painting by Claude Lorrain, 1638 The Port of Wellington at night. ...

The Emergency was precipitated in large part by a wave of Arab nationalism spreading to the Arabian Peninsula and stemming largely from the Socialist and pan-Arabist doctrines of the Egyptian leader Gamel Abdel Nasser. Nasser, with crucial diplomatic support from both the United States and Soviet Union,the British, French and Israeli invasion forces that stormed Egypt following Nasser's nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956, compelling their evacuation. Nevertheless, Nasser had then enjoyed limited success in spreading his pan-Arabist doctrines through the Arab world, with his 1958 attempt to unify Egypt and Syria as the United Arab Republic collapsing in a humiliating failure only 3 years later. A perceived anti-colonial uprising in Aden in 1963 provided another potential opportunity for his doctrines, though it is not clear to what extent Nasser directly incited the revolt among the Arabs in Aden, as opposed to the Yemeni guerrilla groups drawing inspiration from Nasser's pan-Arabist ideas but acting independently themselves. Socialism is a social and economic system (or the political philosophy advocating such a system) in which the economic means of production are owned and controlled collectively by the people. ... Pan-Arabism is a movement for unification among the Arab peoples and nations of the Middle East. ... Gamal Abdel Nasser (Arabic: جمال عبد الناصر) Gamal Abdel Nasser (January 15, 1918 - September 28, 1970) was the second President of Egypt after Muhammad Naguib and is considered one of the most important Arab leaders in history. ... Nationalization or nationalisation is the act of transferring assets into public ownership. ... Suez Canal, seen from Earth orbit, NASA. Ships moored at El Ballah during transit The Suez Canal (Arabic: , transliteration: ), is a large artificial canal in Egypt west of the Sinai Peninsula. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

By 1963 and in the ensuing years, anti-British guerrilla groups with varying political objectives began to coalesce into two larger, rival organizations: first the Egyptian-supported National Liberation Front (NLF) and then the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY), who attacked each other as well as the British.

Notable events include the Battle of Crater which brought Lt-Col Colin Campbell Mitchell (AKA. Mad Mitch) to prominence. On June 20 1967 there was a mutiny in the South Arabian Federation Army, which also spread to the police. Order was restored by the British, mainly due to the efforts of the 1st Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, under the command of Lt-Col Colin Mitchell. Colin Campbell Mitchell (1925 – 20 July 1996) was a British Army Lieutenant Colonel and later a Politician. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. ... Colin Campbell Mitchell (1925 – 20 July 1996) was a British Army Lieutenant Colonel and later a Politician. ...

Nevertheless, deadly guerrilla attacks particularly by the NLF soon resumed against British forces once again, with the British being defeated and driven from Aden by the end of November 1967, earlier than had been planned by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and without an agreement on the succeeding governance. Their enemies, the NLF, managed to seize power. Look up November in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent British politicians of the 20th century. ...

Both the Aden naval base and the Suez Canal itself were closed in the same year, and the Canal-- shuttered by Nasser on the eve of war with Israel-- would remain closed until 1975. These acts would deprive the new, oil-poor Yemeni nation of valuable business and revenue, and precipitate severely disruptive economic circumstances for years afterward. Some have postulated that these economic strains helped to fuel extremist movements in Yemen which led, in turn, to many young Yemeni mujahideen joining to fight against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan after 1979. Mujahideen (Arabic: , ; Turkish: , literally strugglers) is a term for Muslims fighting in a war or involved in any other struggle. ...

References

Naumkin, Vitaly, Red Wolves of Yemen: The Struggle for Independence, 2004. Oleander Press. ISBN 0906672708

Walker, Jonathan, Aden Insurgency: The Savage War in South Arabia 1962-67 (Hardcover) Spellmount Staplehurst ISBN 1862272255

External links

www.britains-smallwars.com - "The Barren Rocks of Aden"