When the British declared the Protectorate on 18 December 1914 they deposed Abbas Hilmi and promoted Prince Hussein Kamel as the Sultan of Egypt.

[9] The first hostilities occurred on 20 November when a 20-man patrol of the Bikaner Camel Corps was attacked at Bir en Nuss 20 miles (32 km) east of Qantara by 200 Bedouin.

[11] There had been a pre-war suggestion that a force of camels could hold Nekhel just to the south and in the centre of the Ottoman Empire and Egyptian frontier.

"[12] The 100 miles (160 km) long canal had a railway running along its whole length and was supplied with water from the west, as only brackish wells could be found to the east.

[14] On 15 January 1915 These troops were deployed at the Esh Shat, Baluchistan, El Kubri, Gurkha, Shallufa, Geneffe and Suez posts.

[19] Two battalions of the 32nd (Imperial Service) Brigade were deployed north of Lake Timsah to Ballah in Sector II commanded by Brigadier General H.D.

[citation needed] The central route was chosen as it would provide the Ottoman soldiers with proper tracks to follow once they crossed the canal.

[citation needed] The Bavarian Colonel Kress von Kressenstein had been appointed Chief of Staff of the VIII Corps, Fourth Army on arrival from Constantinople on 18 November 1914.

[21][22] The VIII Corps comprised five infantry divisions, the 8th, 10th, 23rd, 25th, and 27th with contingents from Sinai Bedouins, Druzes, Kurds, Mohadjirs, Circassians from Syria and Arabs.

German engineers directed the construction of stone Ashlar bridges and culverts along this railway line built to move large numbers of troops long distances quickly and keep them supplied many miles from base.

[31] Kress von Kressenstein's force moved south by rail, continuing on foot via el Auja carrying iron pontoons for crossing and attacking the Suez Canal at Serapeum and Tussum.

On 27 January the El Arish to Qantara road was cut 5 miles (8.0 km) to the east and Baluchistan and Kubri posts were attacked.

The central group of about 6,000 or 7,000 men moved via the water cisterns at Moiya Harab and the wells at Wady um Muksheib and Jifjafa towards Ismailia.

[44] The 22nd (Lucknow) Brigade (the 62nd and 92nd Punjabis and the 2/10th Gurkha Rifles) from Sector II, the 2nd Queen Victoria's Own Rajput Light Infantry, and two platoons of the 128th Pioneers from general reserve at Moascar, the 19th Lancashire Battery RFA (four 15-pounders), 5th Battery Egyptian Artillery (four mountain guns and two Maxim guns), two sections of the 1st Field Company East Lancashire Royal Engineers and the 137th Indian Field Ambulance were in position between the Great Bitter Lake and Lake Timsah.

Three pontoons loaded with troops crossed the canal under cover of machine gun and rifle fire from the sand dunes on the eastern bank.

[46] At dawn, the Tussum Post was attacked supported by artillery shelling the British positions, the warships in the Canal, and the merchant shipping moored in Lake Timsah.

[1] By 06:30 the commander of the 22nd (Lucknow) Brigade ordered a counterattack which began to push Ottoman soldiers of the 73rd and 75th Regiments (25th Division) out of trenches and sandhills south of Tussum Post.

Two companies of the 2/10th Gurkhas with machine guns moved from Deversoir to Serapeum to join six platoons of the 2nd Queen Victoria's Own Rajput Light Infantry where they crossed the canal by ferry.

At Qantara a stronger attack between 05:00 and 06:00 against two pickets of the 89th Punjabis armed with machine guns and rifles was stopped by the barbed wire defenses and heavy fire.

[53] The attacks failed to surprise the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade and the Bikaner Camel Corps who were garrisoning the canal.

The Indians stopped von Kressenstein's force from establishing themselves on the western side of the Suez Canal, suffering casualties of about 150 men.

A strong rearguard was encountered at 08:40 when a company from each of the 27th, 62nd Punjabis and 128th Pioneers reinforced their attack when 298 prisoners including 52 wounded were captured along with three machine guns.

[57] At noon on 4 February the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade, two infantry battalions and an Indian Mountain Battery marched out from Ismailia Ferry Post.

By the morning of the next day aircraft observed a concentration of forces east of Bir Habeita which was bombed while in the north a column was seen withdrawing through Qatiya.

[61] The Ottoman Army maintained advance troops and outposts on the Sinai peninsula on a line between El Arish and Nekhl, with forces at Gaza and Beersheba.

Kress von Kressenstein, Djemal Pasha's German Chief-of Staff, commanded mobile units to launch a series of raids and attacks to disrupt traffic on the Suez Canal.