The Suez Conflict of 1956

The Suez Conflict of 1956

Suez Conflict of 1956 Time Line and Map Time Line Date Jun. 13 Jun. 26 Aug. 1-2 Aug. 21 Aug. 23 Aug. 26 Sep. 5 Sep. 9 Event Britain gives up Suez Canal. Ends 72 years of British occupation. President Nasser announces plan to nationalise Suez Canal. Britain, France and US hold talks on escalating Suez crisis. Britain mobilises armed forces. Egypt says it will negotiate on Suez ownership if Britain pulls out of the Middle East. USSR announces it will send troops if Egypt is attacked. General Nasser agrees to five nation conference on Suez Canal. Israel condemns Egypt over Suez crisis. Conference talks collapse when General Nasser refuses to allow international control of the Suez Canal.

Time Line Continued Date Event Date Event Sep. 12 Sep. 14 Sep. 15 Oct. 1 Oct. 7 US, Britain, and France announce their intention to impose a Canal Users Association on management of the canal Egypt now in full control of the Suez Canal. Soviet ship-pilots arrive to help Egypt run the canal. A 15 nation Suez Canal Users Association is officially formed. Israeli foreign minister Golda Meir says the UN failure to resolve the Suez Crisis means they must take military action. Nov. 29 Dec. 20 Dec. 24 Dec. 27 Dec. 28 Jan. 15 Tripartite Invasion is officially ended under pressure from UN. Israel refuses to return Gaza to Egypt. British and French troops depart Egypt. 5,580 Egyptian POWs exchanged for four Israelis. Operation to clear sunken ship in Suez Canal starts. British and French banks in Egypt are nationalised. Oct. 13 Anglo-French proposal for the control of the Suez Canal is vetoed by the USSR during UN session. Mar. 7 UN takes over administration of Gaza Strip. Oct. 29 Oct. 30 Nov. 2 Israel invades Sinai Peninsula. Britain and France veto USSR demand for Israel- Egypt cease-fire. UN Assembly finally approves a cease-fire plan for Suez. Mar. 15 Apr. 19 General Nasser bars Israeli shipping from Suez Canal. First British ship pays Egyptian toll for use of the Suez Canal. Nov. 5 British and French forces involved in airborne invasion of Egypt. Nov. 7 UN Assembly votes 65 to 1 that invading powers should quit Egyptian territory. Nov. 25 Egypt begins to expel British, French, and Zionist residents.

Arab/Palestinian Points of Contention "Egypt refused any cargo that was bound for Israel to pass through the Suez Canal or the Straigts of Tiran" (Fraser 65) Soviets supplied the Arabs with arms through Czechsolvokia starting in November 1955 Automatic Light Weapons 100 Self-Propelled Guns/Altillery 20 Armoured Personnel Carriers 300 Tanks 200 MiG-15s Fighter Jets 50 Ilyushin-28 Bombers The Egyption leader wanted to improve the living of his people Construction of a dam near Aswan on the Nile To regulate water flow to improve irrigation and cheap hydroelectric energy Lying to the world bank so the Egyptioin would recieve a loan to help pay for the construction of the dam

Arab/Palestinian Points of Contention Continued... On July 26 the Egyptian leader announced that the Suez Canal was to be nationalized The Suez was runned by a Paris-based Corp on a lease due in 1968 The Suez is one of Egypts most important assets Fincancing the Aswan Dam Since the Global Bank would not finance, the U.S. and the Soviets both lent money to the construction of the Aswan High Dam U.S. and the U.K. Pledged $54 million and $14 million June 1956, the Soviets offered Nasser $1,120,000,000 at 2% interest for the construction of the dam

Israeli Points of Contention Israel was looking for a way out of its domestic and international crisis following the 1948 War. In response to the Suez blockade, Israeli defense chiefs started planning for possibly attacking the main fort dominating the straits. The Israelis were becoming increasingly worried about the powerful weaponry the Arabs were receiving from Czechoslovakia as well as the superiority that Nasser was getting recently They saw him as a direct threat to their country.

Israeli Points of Contention Continued... Israel realized they could no longer depend on America for weaponry after Eisenhower became president. The French and British shared the same view towards Nasser and didn't want him to be affiliated with the Suez Canal. The Israelis, French, and British realized they had the same interests, so they formed a secret alliance to regain control of the Suez Canal.

Key Players Britain: Prime Minister Anthoney Eden Developed the same view on France that Nasser had, when Nasser announced his intention to nationalize the Suez Canal, majority of which was owned by Britian. Eden feared that Nasser intended to form an Arab Alliance that would cut off oil supplies to Europe. France: Prime Minister Guy Mollet January 1956: Guy Mollet was elected prime minister in France and promised to bring peace to Algeria (French colony). Viewed Nasser as being the direct support to Algerian nationlists fighting for independence from France. Isreal: Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion Led the country through the 1956 Sinai Campaign in which Israeli forces temporarily secured the Sinai peninsula. Saw Nassser as a direct threat to Israel. Eygpt: Gamal Abdel Nasser Maintained that Israeli action was the primary reason for Eygpt turning to the Soviets bloc in search of arms. October 1956: Mollet, Eden and Israeli Ben-Gurion met at Sevres near Paris and concluded a secret agreement that Israel should attack Egypt; providing a pretext for an Anglo-French invasion of Suez.

Key Battles Operation Kadesh: 29 of October an Israeli paratroop drop on Mitla Pass in the Sinai Peninsula was initiated. This resulted in the killings of 48 Arab civilians, and the event became known as the Kafr Qasim Massacre. These drops led to Israeli domination of the Sinai and triggered Anglo-French ultimatums which were rejected. Battle of Jebel Heitan: October 31, in the Heitan Defile. The Egyptians were defeated. A total of 260 Egyptians and 38 Israeli soldiers were killed during the battle. The Israeli losses led to the criticism of Ariel Sharon for ordering the attack. Gaza Strip Operations: In early November, Israeli forces moved to occupy the area surrounding Rafah. By November 3, Israel had control over most of the Gaza Strip. Sharm el-sheikh Operations: 5 November, British and french paratoop drop at Port Said. After an Israeli barrage and napalm strikes, Egypt surrendered.

Outcomes of the Suez Canal Crisis of 1956 - The rest of the world shunned Britain and France for their actions in the crisis, and soon the UN salvage team moved in to clear the canal. Britain and France backed down, and control of the canal was given back to Egypt in March 1957. - The colonial tradition of Britain and France began to crumble after the Suez Crisis. The feeling of defeat by a former colony eventually led to the two nations giving up their African colonial empires. The long era of colonization was finally coming to a close. - The conflicts between Israel and Egypt, however, were just beginning. Hostilities again flared on June 5, 1967, during the Six-Day War. Then in 1973 with The Yom Kippur War, between Israel, Egypt, and other Arab nations began on October 16, ironically on Yom Kippur... thus the name. - The Egyptian government was allowed to maintain control of the canal as long as they permitted all vessels of all nations free passage through it.

Sources and Credits Boddy-Evans, Alister. "Timeline: Suez Crisis." About.com African History. 2012. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. <http://africanhistory.about. com/library/timelines/bl-timeline-suezcrisis.htm>. Fraser, T.G.. The Arab-Israeli Conflict. Third Edition. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print. Milner, Laurie. "The Suez Crisis." BBC History. BBC, 3 Mar. 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/suez_01.shtml. Reynolds, Paul. "Suez: End of Empire." BBC News. BBC, 24 July 2006. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5199392.stm. "The Suez Crisis." Bodleian Library University of Oxford. 14 Apr. 2009. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. <http://www.bodley.ox.ac. uk/dept/scwmss/projects/suez/suez.html>. "The Suez War of 1956." Jewish Virtual Library. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. http: //www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/history/suez_war.html. CREDITS: Rachael Evans, Duncan Tuomi, Abby Bravo, Elizabeth Allan- Cole, Jonathon Lee, Michael Lu, Martha Brown