Ya Beladi!

NThe Al-Fateh Coup in Libya on the 1st of September 1969 is possibly one of the most important events in Arab History. For one thing, it ousted the monarchy and established another Nasserist Pan-Arab state in the Middle East and led to the 42 year reign of Mumar Al-Ghaddifi. Seen as the mad dog of Libya by many, he constant attempted to form an Arab Federation, broke relations with the West and supported terrorist acts. This begs the question: What if the Coup failed? This timeline will explore consequences and the possiblealternatives in a world with a Kingdom of Libya.

POD - Point of Divergence
On the 1st of September 1969, a group of 70 officers and enlisted men, mostly assigned to the Signal Corps of the Libyan Army, launched a coup d'état against the ultra-conservative Goverment of King Idris. The Coup was launched in Benghazi and within about 2 hours, the takeover was complete. Other army units quickly rallied in support of the revolt and established firm military control of many areas beneficial to the Libyan monarchy. Despite popular reception of the coup in Tripolitania and by the younger generation, restiance began to emerge in Cyrenicia, as feared by the coup plotters. The Restience was primary lead by Loyalist Officers to the King such as the Cyrenician Defense Force. It was reported that other 70 violent acts or engagements happened between Loyalists and the Pro-Ghaddifi units.

The Free Officers Movement, claimed credit for the coup, was lead by a twelve member directorate that designated itself as the Libyan Revolutionary Command Coucil. The Council established itself as the Libyan Goverment following the coup. It immediately declared Libya as a sovereign state named the Libyan Arab Republic. It is important to note at this point, the LRCC headed by Mumar Gaddafi, assumed the coup was successful and proceeded in abolishing the monarchy. However unknown to them, King Idris immediately returned to Tripoli after being notified of the coup and had ordered the Loyalist Forces to Tripoli.

As the LRCC forces entered Tripoli and stormed the capital, King Idris ordered the remaing army units to fire. Within mere hours of the order, 32 of the 70 LRCC troops were dead and the rest injured. The Council disbanded and on the 3rd of September the former government was back in control. Despite this initial victory, King Idris signed the instrument of his abdication and handed the thrown to Crown Prince Hassan.