21 July 1977
A Libyan Division approaches sleeping Egyptian guards as it moves along the coast. Gaddafi, furious at Egyptian president Anwar al Sadat, has ordered his army to cross the Egyptian border to raid coastal Egyptian towns. Very soon, a sentry shakes the Egyptain generals at Sollum awake. He has just spotted a Libyan tank approaching the border. The generals quickly throw all their tanks against the advancing Libyan army, while begging Sadat for more. The six Libyan tanks clash wit hthe eight Egyptians; all but two are destroyed, and the Libyans pursued back over teh border.
23 July 1977
Sadat meets with other leaders of Arab countries. Many persuade him to drop his plans for a full-scale invasion of LIbya, but Sadat stubbornly persists. "I will not back down in my moment of glory," he declares, and asks his country's military to prepare for a full-scale war.
26 July 1977
The invasion commences. The Egyptian First and Second Field Armies storm across the border, the 1st and 2nd Corps of the First Field Army, combined with the elite Republican Guard Corps, smash their way through northern Cyrenaica, the entire Second Field Army attacks the valuable Cyrenaica oilfields in the south, and the 3rd Corps attack the middle of the border. The Egyotian Air Force bombards Gaddafi's tank formations, while the Egyptian Navy shells the cities of Damah and Tobruk.
27 July 1977
Tobruk is encircled by the 1st Corps early in the morning. Damah is put under siege mere hours later. Libyan forces in these cities now face a bloody siege.
28 July 1977
The Republican Guard Corps capture Ajdabiya on the coast. Gaddafi's forces are now trapped in a pocket consisting of little more than the city of Benghazi, with much of the rest of his army holed up in the cities of northern Cyrenaica. Meanwhile, the Second Field ARmy rolls steadily on, past the oilfields, towards the prize of Sabha. If Sabha falls, the road will be open to Tripoli, the greatest prize of all.
30 July 1977
Chad, already at war with Libya, takes advantage of the situation and invades southern Libya, making rapid progress around and behind the remnants of the Libyan army. By noon, they and the Egyptians have surrounded Sabha and are bombarding the city.
31 July 1977
At 1:15 A.M., while under air attack, the people of Damah raise the white flag and surrender to Egypt. Late that afternoon, Sabha falls, and the Egyptian Second FIeld Army finds tens of thousands of tons of yellowcake, along with the mostly-intact Jamahiriya Uranium Works.
2 August 1977
Tobruk falls and the soldiers in Benghazi, realizing the situation is hopeless, surrender - they have been hit so hard by Egyptian air attack that they now control only a few buildings in the center of the city. The Egyptian FIrst Field Army controls the rest. Gaddafi finally realizes that the situation is hopeless. At two o'clock in the afternoon, he declares a general ceasefire, ending the Libyan-Egyptian War, which will become much more commonly known as the Twelve-Day War.
15 August 1977
Delegates from the victorious states, Egypt and Chad, meet to discuss the terms of the final peace treaty. Libyan representatives are kept inside the room and are listened to, but their concerns are only acted upon if the victorious powers consider them worth attention.
1 September 1977
The Treaty of Benghazi is signed. Egypt gains all of Cyrenaica, as well as the eastern Sirtica (everything east of the halfway point between Ra's Lanuf and Ben Jawad). Chad gains the southern Fezzan. Tripolitania and the Fezzan from Sabha north remain Libyan, but the Libyan rump state must pay 2,000,000 Libyan dinar (USD 1,607,410) a year for the forseeable future. In a hint of what may be to come, Egypt also receives the entire captured Jamahiriya Uranium Works.
A Libyan Division approaches sleeping Egyptian guards as it moves along the coast. Gaddafi, furious at Egyptian president Anwar al Sadat, has ordered his army to cross the Egyptian border to raid coastal Egyptian towns. Very soon, a sentry shakes the Egyptain generals at Sollum awake. He has just spotted a Libyan tank approaching the border. The generals quickly throw all their tanks against the advancing Libyan army, while begging Sadat for more. The six Libyan tanks clash wit hthe eight Egyptians; all but two are destroyed, and the Libyans pursued back over teh border.
23 July 1977
Sadat meets with other leaders of Arab countries. Many persuade him to drop his plans for a full-scale invasion of LIbya, but Sadat stubbornly persists. "I will not back down in my moment of glory," he declares, and asks his country's military to prepare for a full-scale war.
26 July 1977
The invasion commences. The Egyptian First and Second Field Armies storm across the border, the 1st and 2nd Corps of the First Field Army, combined with the elite Republican Guard Corps, smash their way through northern Cyrenaica, the entire Second Field Army attacks the valuable Cyrenaica oilfields in the south, and the 3rd Corps attack the middle of the border. The Egyotian Air Force bombards Gaddafi's tank formations, while the Egyptian Navy shells the cities of Damah and Tobruk.
27 July 1977
Tobruk is encircled by the 1st Corps early in the morning. Damah is put under siege mere hours later. Libyan forces in these cities now face a bloody siege.
28 July 1977
The Republican Guard Corps capture Ajdabiya on the coast. Gaddafi's forces are now trapped in a pocket consisting of little more than the city of Benghazi, with much of the rest of his army holed up in the cities of northern Cyrenaica. Meanwhile, the Second Field ARmy rolls steadily on, past the oilfields, towards the prize of Sabha. If Sabha falls, the road will be open to Tripoli, the greatest prize of all.
30 July 1977
Chad, already at war with Libya, takes advantage of the situation and invades southern Libya, making rapid progress around and behind the remnants of the Libyan army. By noon, they and the Egyptians have surrounded Sabha and are bombarding the city.
31 July 1977
At 1:15 A.M., while under air attack, the people of Damah raise the white flag and surrender to Egypt. Late that afternoon, Sabha falls, and the Egyptian Second FIeld Army finds tens of thousands of tons of yellowcake, along with the mostly-intact Jamahiriya Uranium Works.
2 August 1977
Tobruk falls and the soldiers in Benghazi, realizing the situation is hopeless, surrender - they have been hit so hard by Egyptian air attack that they now control only a few buildings in the center of the city. The Egyptian FIrst Field Army controls the rest. Gaddafi finally realizes that the situation is hopeless. At two o'clock in the afternoon, he declares a general ceasefire, ending the Libyan-Egyptian War, which will become much more commonly known as the Twelve-Day War.
15 August 1977
Delegates from the victorious states, Egypt and Chad, meet to discuss the terms of the final peace treaty. Libyan representatives are kept inside the room and are listened to, but their concerns are only acted upon if the victorious powers consider them worth attention.
1 September 1977
The Treaty of Benghazi is signed. Egypt gains all of Cyrenaica, as well as the eastern Sirtica (everything east of the halfway point between Ra's Lanuf and Ben Jawad). Chad gains the southern Fezzan. Tripolitania and the Fezzan from Sabha north remain Libyan, but the Libyan rump state must pay 2,000,000 Libyan dinar (USD 1,607,410) a year for the forseeable future. In a hint of what may be to come, Egypt also receives the entire captured Jamahiriya Uranium Works.
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