The Suez Crisis of 1956 Flashcards
What were the Arab states stung by?
By their defeat against Israeli in 1949
Felt the USA had bullied the UN into creating the new state of Israel
In 1949 what had the Un got Israel and Syria to agree to?
Forming a demilitarised zone along the border. Zone was inside Israel territory and contained many Arab villages
From 1949 what happened in the demilitarised zone between Israel and Syria?
Israelis tried to force some of the Arabs out of the villages to make way for Jewish settlements - Syrians objected to this
After the war what were there frequent incidences of between Syria and Israel?
Shelling by both sides
Disputes over Israels attempts to divert the waters of the River Jordan in order to irrigate dry parts of the new state
What happened to Abdullah in 1951?
He was assassinated by a Palestinian who feared the King would make a separate peace treaty with Israel
Who succeeded Abdullah?
After a short reign by Abdullah’s unable son, Hussein became king in 1953
After the war what did the state of Jordan include?
A million Palestinian Arabs who were granted full rights as citizens of Jordan
What did Palestinian refugees keep trying to do and what did this cause?
Crossed the border into Israel which led to Israeli reprisals where military forces would target Arab villages
Jordanian government attempted to stop the crossings
What happened in October 1953?
After an Israeli woman and her 2 children were killed, Israeli forces attacked the Jordanian village of Qibya, blowing up 45 houses and killing over 50 inhabitants
Where was Gaza located?
Border between Israel and Egypt
How many Palestinian Arabs lived in Gaza?
300,000
What happened to Gaza at the end of the war in 1949?
Came under Egyptian military control
What were there frequent occurrences of in Gaza?
Raids into Israel, majority by unarmed Palestinians who wanted to visit relatives, reclaim their possessions and harvest their crops
Some raids carried out by Palestinian fighters who attacked Israeli settlements
How did Israel deal with the raids on the Israel/Egypt border?
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) retaliated with reprisal raids
When was the Suez Canal built?
Built by the French and the British in the 1860’s
Why was the Suez Canal a vital link for Britain?
Britiain had many military bases in the east which depended on supplies of oil from the Persian Gulf
How much fuel supply for Western Europe passed through the canal?
Over 2/3
How many ships passed through the Suez Canal every year?
15,000 (1/3 of them British)
How many troops did Britain have at the canal?
70,000
What were many Egyptians angry about before the revolution?
British imperialism
Egyptian king, Farouk, lived decadent lifestyle while his government was corrupt
What happened in Egypt in July 1952?
Group of men who called themselves ‘Free Officers’ took over key government buildings and announced the success of the revolution over the radio
After the Egyptian revolution, who became head of the country?
General Naguib, a respected senior army officer. When Egypt became a republic in 1953, he became president
In the new Egyptian government who was actually the most powerful?
Colonel Nasser
When did Nasser become president of Egypt?
1954
After Nasser became president what did he persuade Britain to do?
Withdraw their troops from the Suez Canal Zone
Under Nasser’s rule why was the west worried about Egypt?
Nasser wanted Egypt to be neutral and refused to join an anti-soviet alliance
What did the Israelis want to do to Egypt?
Hit back at Egypt for encouraging Palestinian raids Israel
What happened in February 1955?
Israeli troops attacked and destroyed the Egyptian army headquarters Gaza, killing 35 Egyptian soldiers
What were the results of the Israeli attack in February 1955?
Humiliated Nasser
Nasser’s forces began to train fedayeen guerrillas to carry out attacks on Israel
Czech arms deal announced in September 1955 - Nasser needed weapons to strengthen Egypts army
What was the Aswan Dam?
Project on River Nile which would create hydro-electric power for Egyptian industry and allow vast areas of agricultural land to be irrigated - depended on USA and Britain for funds
What did Nasser do in May 1956?
Recognised communist China
What did Britain and USA do in July 1956?
Cancelled their loans to Egypt for building of the Aswan Dam
What did Nasser do on the 26th July 1956?
He nationalised the Suez Canal Company and Egyptians would run it themselves, using the profits for the Aswan Dam
How did the French see Nasser?
Saw him as the ‘Hitler of the Nile’ - already agreed to sell Israel over 70 fighter planes and 200 tanks
What did Egypt blockade?
The Tiran Straits which prevented Israeli ships from reaching the port of Eilat
What happened on the 24th October 1956?
British and French foreign ministers secretly met Israeli prime minister - through meetings it was decided that Israel would attack Egypt, then Britain and France would intervene
What happened on the 29th October 1956?
Israeli forces invaded Egypt. they advanced across Sinai towards the Suez Canal
What happened after Israeli forces invaded Egypt?
The next day governments of Britain and France ordered Israel and Egypt to cease fighting and withdraw 10 miles from the Canal otherwise they would use force
Israelis agreed but Egyptians refused
What happened on the 31st October 1956?
British and French planes bombed Egyptian airfields and destroyed most of Egypt’s airforce
They also bombed Port Said
What happened on the 5th of November?
British and French troops landed at Port Said and advanced along the canal. Egypt responded by sinking ships which had been filled with concrete in order to obstruct British and French advance along canal
What did other Arab states do in response to western Suez invasion?
Condemned them and halted oil supplies to the west
What did the USA do in response to the war?
Condemned it and threatened to cut off financial aid to Britain
What happened on the 6th November 1956?
UN ordered a ceasefire and later ordered British and French to withdraw
What happened to the canal after the war?
Egypt gained complete control of the canal and with US aid it was cleaned and reopened in April 1957
What happened to Egypts territory?
Lost some land when the Israelis captured Sinai but the Israelis were then persuaded by USA to withdraw early in 1957
What happened to Nasser after the war?
He became the hero of the Arab world as he had stood up to Britain and France who had dominated the Middle East for so long
What happened to British prime minister Eden after the war?
He had completely misjudged the reaction of the US and was forded to resign 2 months later
What 2 big miscalculations had Britain and France made?
Thought the Egyptians would be incapable of managing the canal on their own
Thought there would be a popular uprising against Nasser once the fighting had started
How did other Arab states feel about the west?
Hated it more than ever, which made Israel look like an outpost of western imperialism
