What’s in a name? Identifying military engagements in Egypt and the Levant, 1915-1918

Abstract

This article examines the official names listed in the 'Egypt and Palestine' section of the 1922 report by the British Army’s Battles Nomenclature Committee and compares them with descriptions of military engagements in the Official History to establish if they clearly identify the events. The Committee’s application of their own definitions and guidelines during the process of naming these conflicts is evaluated together with examples of more recent usages in selected secondary sources.  The articles concludes that the Committee’s failure to accurately identify the events of this campaign have had a negative impacted on subsequent historiography.