[1] Fedayeen attacks, which consisted of irregular warfare such as sabotage and raids, resulted in 33 British servicemembers being killed and 69 wounded and led to a sharp breakdown in Egypt–United Kingdom relations.

[5][6][7] On 25 January, a British force led by General George Erskine and consisting of 7,000 soldiers and 6 Centurion tanks surrounded an Egyptian government building (which contained a barracks) in Ismailia.

The policemen rebuffed Erskine's demands and contacted Egyptian Minister of the Interior, Fouad Serageddin, who communicated back that he approved their actions and told them to stand firm and not surrender under any circumstances.

Though the Egyptian policemen were greatly outmatched, being equipped solely with firearms compared to the British, who had tanks, field guns and armoured fighting vehicles, they continued to resist for over an hour.

[15] The spontaneous anti-British protests that followed the battle were quickly seized upon by organized elements in the crowd, who burned and ransacked large sectors of Cairo amidst the unexplained absence of Egyptian security forces.

[19] The disorder that befell Cairo during the 1952 fire has been compared to the chaos that followed the anti-government protests of 25 January 2011, which saw demonstrations take place amidst massive arson and looting, an inexplicable withdrawal of the police, and organized prison-breaking.