The river and deserts provided natural defenses for the Egyptians. The Nile River has a marshy delta. As a result, Egyptians could not build a port at the mouth of the Nile. This made it difficult for invaders to reach Egyptian settlements along the river.
As The Crisis was written in December 1776, there is also a very literal sense in which Paine<span> means the "summer soldier" and "sunshine patriot." The American soldiers were poised to battle through the long and bitter Northern winter months. :) your welcome
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The Soviet Union didn't fall until 1991.