Suez War 1956 Flashcards
Britain joined
wanted to keep control of canal
-didn’t want Nasser to “have his thumb on our windpipe”
France joined
-wanted to topple Nasser as they accused him of sending weapons and support to Algerians as they fought for independence against French
Israel joined
- wanted to end border raids from Gaza
- wanted to force Egypt to recognise the State of Israel
- wanted to break Egypt’s blockade of the Tiran Straits
Israeli invasion
- October 1956
- they advanced across Sinai
British and French bombed
- Egyptian airfields and destroyed most of Egypt’s airforce
- also bombed port Said
British and French troops landed
on 5th November
-in port said
advanced along the canal
Egypt’s response to BR+FR advance
blockaded the canal with sunken ships
-stopped supplying oil to the west
condemnation
from UN and USA
US worries
- didn’t want to lose support of Egypt as they were keen to prevent Soviet influence
- threatened to cut off financial aid to Britain
Ceasefire
- declared by the UN
- November 6th
- ordered Br and Fr to withdraw
- emergency UN force sent to canal to supervise
Consequences for Britain
- underestimated the Egyptian’s
- didn’t anticipate that Nasser’s popularity would soar
- European domination in the Middle East was fading
- hurried the independence of their colonies
Consequences for France
- underestimated the Egyptian’s
- didn’t anticipate that Nasser’s popularity would soared
Consequences for Egypt
- Nasser became a hero of the Arab world
- Nasser’s Egypt became an example of Arab Nationalism and a symbol of liberation across the Arab world
- Egypt’s assets from Britain and France had been frozen
Consequences for Israel
- situation between Israel and Egypt remained poor in the following years
- changed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict into an Arab-Israeli one
Consequences for USA
- gained supremacy over its western allies
- US offered 200 million dollars to help Middle Eastern states build their economies- a protection against the Soviet threat
