Abdul Munim Riad (1919–1969) (Arabic: عبد المنعم رياض) was a general and chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces. He was killed along with several of his aides in an Israeli mortar attack on 9 March 1969. Riad commanded the Jordanian forces in the 1967 Six-Day War.
The day he was killed on was announced by Egypt as the Martyr day of Egypt.
Birth and early life
Abdul Munim Riad was born 22 October 1919 in Tanta, Egypt. His family moved to Fayoum where he was raised. After graduating from high school, he joined the School of Medicine, but after two years joined the War college as he originally wanted. He graduated from college in 1938 and got his master´s degree in military sciences.
Military life
Abdul Munim Riad fought in World War II against German and Italian forces. In 1960, he was appointed Chief of Staff of Artillery. In 1961, he became the vice president of operations division under the chairmanship of staff of war and the adviser air force command for air defense. Between 1962 and 1963, as a major general, he enrolled in a special session in school of missile anti-aircraft artillery. In 1964, he became the chief of Staff of the consolidated Arab leadership. In 1966 he was promoted to a lieutenant general and received his fellowship of the Higher War College from Nasser Higher Military Academy.
Has won numerous medals and decorations, including long-service medal and a good example and the Order of Merit and the Order of the Golden degree of national rice a senior officer from Lebanon and the Jordan Globe Medallion first layer and the Order of Star of Honor.
In May 1967, After King Hussein traveled to Cairo to sign the Joint Defense Group, Abdel-Moneim Riad was appointed commander of the advanced command center in Amman, and when the 1967 War broke out Lieutenant-General Abdul-Moneim Riad was appointed Commander of the Front in Jordan. On 11 June 1967, he was selected as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and began with the Egyptian Minister of War and Commander of the armed forces, Mohammed Fawzi, to rebuilt and organize the army. In 1968, he was appointed Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States.
Abdul Munim Riad achieved military victories in the battles fought by the Egyptian armed forces during the War of Attrition, such as head battle that prevented the Israeli forces from controlling the city of Port Fouad Egyptian located on the Suez Canal where a small force of infantry was able to defend the city, and the destruction of the Israeli destroyer Eilat in the 21 October 1967. Also dropping some Israeli warplanes in 1967 and 1968.
Death
Abdul Munim Riad supervised the Egyptian plan for the destruction of the Bar Lev Line, during the War of Attrition, and saw that he should oversee the implementation and set himself on Saturday, 8 March 1969 start date for the implementation of the plan. At the exact timing, the Egyptian fire erupted along the front line and the Israelis suffered the greatest losses in a few hours and the destruction of part of the Bar Lev Line positions in the heaviest artillery gun battles witnessed in front before 1973.
The next morning, 9 March 1969, Abdul Munim Riad decided to go himself to the front to see closely the results of the battle and decided to visit the most advanced sites that were not far from Israeli fire, only 250 meters.
This site witnessed the last minutes in the life of Gen. Abdul Munim Riad, with hundreds of enemy fire suddenly on the area where he was standing in the midst of his troops and the battle, which was led by General Abdul Munim himself, continued about an hour and a half hours till one artillery shot exploded fire near the crater he was leading the battle from. As a result of the fragments and the deadly vacuum Abdul Munim Riad died of his wounds after 32 years spent working in the army.
After his death, President Gamal Abdel Nasser granted him the rank of first star honors military which is the largest military decoration in Egypt, and 9 March of each year was considered the day to commemorate his memory. His name was given to one of the most famous squares in Egypt and to a street in Mohandessin, Cairo
from wikipedia
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