Some of the younger army officers accused the authorities of supplying them with poor equipment and incompetent commanders. Many Egyptians, especially in the army, blamed their government and, in particular, King Farouk for their country's weakness and their defeat by the Israelis. This defeat was to be the catalyst for the overthrow of the monarchy in Egypt and the growth of Arab nationalism.
Like millions of other Arabs, in Egypt and elsewhere, he was devastated by defeat at the hands of the Israelis in 1949.
Born in a village on the river Nile in 1918, Nasser came from a modest background (his father was a postal worker) but was able to gain admission to the Egyptian Military Academy.