[317] Beyond that, it was Eisenhower's belief that if the United States were seen to acquiesce in the attack on Egypt, that the resulting backlash in the Arab world might win the Arabs over to the Soviet Union.[318]. [35] As it was, the rise of super-tankers for shipping Middle East oil to Europe, which were too big to use the Suez Canal meant that British policy-makers greatly overestimated the importance of the canal. Prime Minister Eden was under immense domestic pressure from Conservative MPs who drew direct comparisons between the events of 1956 and those of the Munich Agreement in 1938. [82], Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, cargo shipments to and from Israel had been subject to Egyptian authorisation, search and seizure while attempting to pass through the Suez Canal. With a bit of luck we're not only stopped a big war in the Middle East, but we're halted the march of Russia through the Middle East and on to the African continent. This reverse, he insisted was Nasser's doing.... Nasser was our Enemy No. [173], Rigid lines between officers and men in the Egyptian Army led to a mutual "mistrust and contempt" between officers and the men who served under them. [184] The "Hedgehog" could only be assaulted from the east flank of Umm Qataf ridge and the west flank of Ruafa ridge. En route, Sharon assaulted Themed in a dawn attack, and was able to storm the town with his armour through the Themed Gap. The majority of 18 chose five nations to negotiate with Nasser in Cairo led by Menzies, while their proposal for international operation of the canal would go to the Security Council. The French were aided by AMX-13 light tanks. The warehouses were overrun with the help of supporting fire from Centurion tanks firing at point-blank range. Direct military intervention, however, ran the risk of angering Washington and damaging Anglo-Arab relations. To support the invasion, large air forces had been deployed to Cyprus and Malta by Britain and France and many aircraft carriers were deployed. [241] Having taken the airfield with a dozen casualties, the remainder of the battalion flew in by helicopter. "The Anglo-American 'special relationship' was revitalised immediately after the Suez Crisis", writes Risse Kappen. This resulted in the killings of 48 civilians in the Arab village of Kafr Qasim in an event known as the Kafr Qasim massacre. As India was a user of the canal, however, he remained publicly neutral other than warning that any use of force, or threats, could be "disastrous". [48] In this spirit, Dulles suggested that Nasser negotiate a deal that would see Egypt assume sovereignty over the canal zone base, but then allow the British to have "technical control" in the same way that Ford auto company provided parts and training to its Egyptian dealers.[48]. [207] French warships led by the cruiser Georges Leygues provided fire support, through Dayan had a low opinion of the French gunnery, complaining that the French only struck the Egyptian reserves. [278] Even more importantly, Eden's obsession with secrecy and his desire to keep the preparations for war as secret as possible meant that the Eden government did nothing in the months running up to the attack to explain to the British people why it was felt that war was necessary. [257] Instead of returning to the Tyne, both Stockwell and Beaufre spent the day in Port Said, and were thus cut off from the news. [179][180] Due to a navigation error, the Israeli DC-3 transports landed Eitan's 400 paratroopers three miles away from Parker's Memorial, their intended target. [274], Eden's major mistake had been not to strike in July 1956 when there was widespread anger at Nasser's nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company, as by the fall of 1956 public anger had subsided, with many people in Britain having come to accept the fait accompli, and saw no reason for war. The attempt by German-led Ottoman forces to storm the canal in February 1915 led the British to commit 100,000 troops to the defence of Egypt for the rest of the war. [274], Gaitskell was much offended that Eden had kept him in the dark about the planning for action against Egypt, and felt personally insulted that Eden had just assumed that he would support the war without consulting him first. [35] Petroleum business historian Daniel Yergin wrote of the period: "In 1948, the canal abruptly lost its traditional rationale. [229] Not until late on 31 October did Nasser disregard Amer's rosy assessment and ordered his forces to disengage in the Sinai and to retreat back to the canal zone to face the expected Anglo-French invasion. If Middle Eastern oil is denied to us for a year or two, our gold reserves will disappear. His government saw Nasser as an enemy but would benefit economically and geopolitically from a closed canal, and politically from not opposing a nation's right to govern its internal affairs. Israeli shipping could henceforth move freely through the Straits of Tiran to and from Africa and Asia. Britain sought co-operation with the United States throughout 1956 to deal with what it maintained was a threat of an Israeli attack against Egypt, but to little effect. The fact that the Eisenhower administration itself applied crushing economic pressure to the British and French to disengage from Suez, and that it subsequently forced an Israeli pull-back from the Sinai as well—all of this, one might thought, would won the United States the lasting gratitude of Nasser, the Egyptians and the Arab world. Almost immediately after the nationalisation, Eisenhower suggested to Eden a conference of maritime nations that used the canal. The United States, while attempting to erect an alliance in the form of a Middle East Defense Organization to keep the Soviet Union out of the Near East, tried to woo Nasser into this alliance. 30 October: Anglo-French ultimatum to demand both sides withdraw from the canal zone. In case of Israeli acceptance to the return of the Palestinian refugees to Israel and to Egypt annexing the southern half of Israel, Egypt would not accept a peace settlement. Nasser saw such measures as a "derogation from Egyptian sovereignty" and rejected Menzies' proposals. If our gold reserves disappear, the sterling area disintegrates. [308] "My working mates were solidly in favour of Eden", recalled future Labour and SDP MP David Owen. Edward Boyle, I don't think there is any part of the world where the sympathies for England are greater than in Scandinavia. [185], From the outset, the Israeli Air Force flew paratroop drops, supply flights and medevac sorties. Nasser has the ambition to recreate the conquests of Islam. [259], British casualties stood at 16 dead and 96 wounded,[271] while French casualties were 10 dead and 33 wounded. You don't get bread because you are being squeezed to build a dam". [104], In January 1956, to end the incipient arms race in the Middle East set off by the Soviet Union selling Egypt arms on a scale unlimited by the Tripartite Declaration and with France doing likewise with Israel, which he saw as opening the Near East to Soviet influence, Eisenhower launched a major effort to make peace between Egypt and Israel. Increasingly Nasser came to be viewed in British circles—and in particular by Eden—as a dictator, akin to Benito Mussolini. ... Suez destroyed the moral authority of the so-called world community. The regime of King Farouk was viewed in Washington as weak, corrupt, unstable, and anti-American, so Free Officers' July coup was welcomed by the United States. Civilians who took up arms as guerrillas were organized into eight groups with five additional groups joining them from outside the city. I doubt whether we shall be able to pay for the bare minimum necessary for our defence. [285] The British historian A. N. Wilson wrote that "The letters to The Times caught the mood of the country, with great majority opposing military intervention...."[286] The journalist Malcolm Muggeridge and actor Robert Speaight wrote in a public letter that, The bitter division in public opinion provoked by the British intervention in the Middle East has already had one disastrous consequence. Anthony Eden was accused of misleading parliament and resigned from office on 9 January 1957. [303][304][305][306] One Conservative MP wrote: "I have lost my middle-class followers, but this has been at least balanced by backing from working-class electors who normally vote Socialist and who favour a strong line on Suez". Fifty years later, we are all still living in the rubble. The tenuous nature of Nasser's rule caused him to believe that neither his regime, nor Egypt's independence would be safe until Egypt had established itself as head of the Arab world. [185] Dayan himself maintained that Sharon was correct to order the attack without orders, and that under the circumstances, Sharon made the right decision; instead he criticised Sharon for his tactics of attacking the Egyptians head-on, which Dayan claimed led to unnecessary casualties. When the landings failed he blamed everyone but himself. And it was very, very acute". [228] Nasser responded by sinking all 40 ships present in the canal closing it to all shipping—shipping would not move again until early 1957. [240] The "Red Devils" could not return Egyptian fire while landing, but once the paratroopers landed, they used their Sten guns, three-inch mortars and anti-tank weapons with great effect. [336] In private, Eisenhower told Undersecretary of State Herbert Hoover Jr. of his fears that: The Soviet Union might be ready for to undertake any wild adventure. [322], On 30 October, the Security Council held a meeting, at the request of the United States, when it submitted a draft resolution calling upon Israel immediately to withdraw its armed forces behind the established armistice lines. [272] French aircraft destroyed Egyptian forces threatening paratroopers at Raswa and Israeli air power saved the IDF several days' worth of time. [287], Lady Violet Bonham Carter, an influential Liberal Party member, wrote in a letter to the Times that, I am one of the millions who watching the martyrdom of Hungary and listening yesterday to the transmission of her agonizing appeals of help (immediately followed by our "successful bombings" of Egyptian "targets") who have felt a humiliation, shame and anger which are beyond expression.... We cannot order Soviet Russia to obey the edict of the United Nations which we ourselves have defied, nor to withdraw her tanks and guns from Hungary while we are bombing and invading Egypt. [344], The United States also put financial pressure on the UK to end the invasion. [50] Accordingly, the best American policy towards Egypt was to work towards Arab–Israeli peace and the settlement of the Anglo-Egyptian dispute over the British Suez Canal base as the best way of securing Egypt's ultimate adhesion to an American sponsored alliance centered on the "Northern Tier" states. The historian Hugh Trevor-Roper expressed regret that no senior minister resigned and hoped "some kind of national Tory party can be saved from the wreck". It was bluffing that led to the crushing of Egypt in 1967, because of the mass self-deception exercised by leaders and followers alike ever since the non-existent 'Stalingrad which was Port Said' in 1956. Between July and October 1956, unsuccessful initiatives encouraged by the United States were made to reduce the tension that would ultimately lead to war. [citation needed], The Soviet Union, after long peering through the keyhole of a closed door on what it considered a Western sphere of influence, now found itself invited over the threshold as a friend of the Arabs. The British deployed the aircraft carriers HMS Eagle, Albion and Bulwark and France had the battleship Jean Bart and aircraft carriers Arromanches and La Fayette on station. The U.S. refused to fill the gap until Britain and France agreed to a rapid withdrawal. One French Corsair was shot down by Egyptian anti-aircraft fire. [392] The Suez war had an immense impact on French domestic politics. [291] The majority of letters written to MPs from their constituents were against the Suez attack. In regard to the Arab leadership, particularly venomous was the feud between Nasser and the Prime Minister of Iraq, Nuri el-Said, for Arab leadership, with the Cairo-based Voice of the Arabs radio station regularly calling for the overthrow of the government in Baghdad. [361] Accordingly, it enhanced the prestige of the Soviet Union in Egypt, the Arab world, and the Third World, who believed the USSR was prepared to launch a nuclear attack on Britain, France, and Israel for the sake of Egypt. [331] One of Adenauer's aides Fritz von Eckardt commented about the opening ceremony in Paris where Mollet and Adenauer stood side by side while the national anthems were played that "In the most serious hour France had experienced since the end of the war, the two governments were standing shoulder by shoulder". [146] Dayan's plan put an emphasis on air power combined with mobile battles of encirclement. Egypt - Egypt - Ottoman administration: In 1525 the Ottoman administration of Egypt was defined and codified by the Ottoman grand vizier, İbrahim Paşa, who was dispatched to Egypt for this purpose by the sultan Süleyman I (the Magnificent). [171] Most of the IDF weapons in 1956 came from France. [65] Nasser refused to promise that any U.S. arms he might buy would not be used against Israel, and rejected out of hand the American demand for a Military Advisory Group to be sent to Egypt as part of the price of arms sales.[72].
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