This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The original plan was to strike at once but transportation issues of the French and British troops had caused a delay. British recorded 16 deaths and 96 wounded while French casualties included ten dead and 33 wounded. Nasser emerged from the Suez crisis as the pre-eminent leader of Arab nationalism. Before the construction of the canal, ships traversing from Asia to Europe and vice-versa had to circumnavigate around the Cape of Good Hope in the southern tip of Africa to reach either continent. The British decided on military intervention as a means or regaining control of the canal. The 1956 Suez Crisis, when Britain along with France and Israel invaded Egypt to recover control of the Suez Canal, was arguably one of the most significant episodes in post-1945 British history.It’s outcome highlighted Britain’s declining status and confirmed it as a ‘second tier’ world power. The Suez Crisis, also known as Sinai War or Kadesh Operation was the invasion of Egypt by Israel, the UK, and France in late 1956 with the aim of gaining control of the Suez Canal and also overthrowing Gamel Abdel Nasser, the Egyptian president. What Were the Main Causes of World War II? But since no definite peace settlement was reached between Egypt and Israel, both the nations would be in a state of war with each other. When the UK invaded Egypt in 1882, they took control of the country including the canal proper. © Copyright by Sansar Lochan, India | All Rights Reserved. Your email address will not be published. As the canal provided the shortest route to India (and, in later years, the Persian Gulf oil fields), its safety was vital to the British. The Israeli Air Force began the conflict on October 26, 1956, at 1500 hrs with series of attacks on Sinai. The Suez Crisis made Nasser a powerful hero in the growing Arab and Egyptian nationalist movements. The Suez Crisis was a rude wake-up call. Suez Canal runs through Egypt but is utilized by ships of many nations which would otherwise have to cruise all the way around Africa. He also pursued policies that frustrated British aim in the Middle East, thus increasing hostility between Egypt and Britain. This worked and the British and French forces withdrew by December 1956 while the side of the canal towards the Sinai would be held by the Israelis until March 1957. The Suez Crisis marked the first use of a United Nations peacekeeping force. It pressured Israel, Great Britain and France to stop fighting and withdraw their forces from Egypt. In July, 1956, Egypt nationalised this Canal, which was being operated by a private French and British company, and declared that Egyptians would run it now. But emergency meetings may be called at any time. The canal enhanced trade between countries and assisted the European colonial powers to have control of their colonies. The move to nationalize the canal naturally antagonised the French and the British. The Suez Canal cut this journey by about 8900 kms. However, political pressure from the US, the UN, and the Soviet Union forced the three invaders to withdraw causing humiliation to the Great Britain and France and to strengthen President Nasser. The Suez Canal’s value to international trade made it a source of conflict among Egypt’s neighbours and by the time of the Cold War in the 1950s the world’s superpowers would also show an interest in the canal. ‘Nasserism’ was elevated to the status of an ideology throughout the Arab world. The significance of this was not lost on many contemporary historians. Resultantly, peace was restored along the border between Israel and Egypt where scattered fighting had been the rule. The UN made this peace with an emergency force of some 3,000 to 5,000 men only. No part of this website contents may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Sansar Lochan, NCERT और NIOS की किताबों को खरीदें या उन्हें PDF के रूप में डाउनलोड करने के लिए क्लिक करें >, Suez Canal Crisis and Role of United Nations to Resolve this Issue.