The Suez Canal Crisis of 1956
by Staff WriterSuez Canal History
The Suez Canal is a maritime canal in Egypt between Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez on the Red Sea. The canal is located west of the Sinai Peninsula. It is 163 Kilometers long and 300 meters wide at its narrowest point.
The 100 mile long canal had originally been built by the French in 1869. The canal first opened on November 16 of that same year and was operated and owned by the Suez Canal Company. The canal provided north to south water transport between Europe and Asia.
The 1956 Suez War
On October 31, 1956, British, French, and Israeli troops invaded Egypt in what would prove to be an ineffective and unpopular attempt to gain control of the Suez Canal from Egypt. Just 6 weeks earlier, due to the Suez Canal base agreement, British troops left Egypt after 72 years of British occupation. The Suez was completely owned by the British government and French stockholders.
The original charter stated that control of the canal belonged to the builders until 1968. However, that agreement was violated by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Angered by the United States and England’s refusal to fund a new and major development project, Nasser decided to retaliate. Egypt’s Premier Colonel Nasser announced that his country was going to take over the canal. They intended to use the profit to complete the Aswan Dam, a huge project from which Britain and America recently withdrew their offers of financial aid.
The seizure of the canal not only meant the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars, but also threatened the vital interests and economic support of its two largest users, England and France. Most of the oil for both countries passed through the canal, as well as a large part of their trading and consumer goods. The Suez crisis added additional trouble to an already unstable Arab-Israeli situation in the Middle East. After 3 months of unsuccessful negotiations and international pressure, what is referred to as the 1956 Suez war, finally erupted.
The war began with an Israeli attack across the Sinai Peninsula followed by a British French assault against the Suez Canal itself. Although it was denied at the time, all three countries had joined in planning the invasion. The Egyptian army was no match for the combined invading forces. Israel controlled the hold on the Sinai within a day and the Anglo French forces quickly captured the canal. The international outcry against the Suez crisis invasion was swift. The United States was harshly critical of its traditional allies and led a censure movement at the United Nations.
Delegates returned to the United Nations for the first emergency General Assembly ever called. United States secretary of State, John Foster Dulles led sessions at the UN in preparation to offer a resolution formulated after consultation with President Eisenhower. A long list of delegates took the platform and hours of long debate on the resolution ensued.
The resolution to the Suez crisis was passed and fighting came to an end seven days after it began. Two weeks later, United Nations troops moved into the canals where they would remain as a peacekeeping force for the following ten years. Egypt suffered greatly during the fighting. There were many Casualties and Port Said was completely leveled. The canal was rendered unusable for months. Egypt was forced to pay $81 million in restitution to canal stockholders. However, the canal now officially belonged to Egypt. Israel was also forced to return all of the territory it had captured. Due to the efforts of the United Nations, Egypt turned a military defeat into a major political victory.
