The role of the political army in Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen 1948-1961

Abstract

This study focuses on the role of the political army situation in Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1948-1961) years as well as its interaction with the political events during that period. This study is one of the important studies in modern history of Yeman. The revolutionary movements inside the army of Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen which was considered to be the backbone of the government after the world war II. This was due to the spread of the political awareness among Yemenies, particularly among the members of Mutawakkilite army. As a result of the severe backwardness that   the Mutawakkilite kingdom witnessed during the reign of Imam Yahya and his son, Imam Ahmed, the army began to intervention in the political life effectively in coordination with the civilian opposition, and that intervention culminated in the prominent role it played in the 1948 coup, which failed about twenty-five days after its establishment. The failure of this coup did not deter some army leaders. They refused to continue political opposition to the ruling Imami regime. Rather, they became more enthusiastic, especially after the success of the Egyptian Revolution in 1952, which Promoted them to make an attempt to get rid of the ruling of Imam Ahmed through a coup in 1955 led by Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Al- Thalaya. Despite the failure of this coup, the Yemeni opposition with its military and civilian wings, insisted on getting rid of the rule of Imam Ahmed by attempting to assassinate him in 1961. However, this operation was not based on a carefully through-out plan, so it ended in failure. But its influence appeared later when some military elements became active, united their ranks and intensified their meetings with the civilian wings, which led to it resulted in the birth of the free officers organization in December 1961, and Imam Ahmed remained bedridden as a result of this incident.