Suez Crisis in The Cold War

Learn the history of the Suez Crisis during the Cold War. A fight over control of the Suez Canal involving Egypt,Israel, Britain, and France

What happened at the Suez Crisis?

In 1956, there was a Middle Eastern incident called the Suez Crisis. Egypt took possession of the Suez Canal first, and Israel, France, and Great Britain then launched an offensive.

The Suez CanalSuez

Crisis in The Cold War

An significant man-made watercourse in Egypt is the Suez Canal. It links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. This is significant for ships departing and arriving from Europe to the Middle East and India.

Ferdinand de Lesseps, a French developer, constructed the Suez Canal. An estimated 1.5 million employees worked on it for more than ten years. On November 17, 1869, the canal was officially inaugurated.

Gamal Abdel Nasser Becomes President of Egypt

Gamal Abdel Nasser seized power in Egypt in 1954. Egyptian modernization was one of Nasser’s objectives. He envisioned the Aswan Dam as a key component of the enhancement. Due to Egypt’s military and political ties to the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom withdrew their sponsorship for the Dam after initially agreeing to lend Egypt the money. Nasser was furious.

Seizing the Canal

Nasser made the decision to annex the Suez Canal in order to raise money for the Aswan Dam. The British held control over it in order to maintain its openness and freedom to all nations. In order to pay for the Aswan Dam, Nasser seized the canal and planned to impose a toll on travelers.

Israel, France, and Great Britain Collude

Israelis, the Brits, and the French all had problems with Nasser’s regime at the time. They made the decision to attack Egypt using the canal as justification. Israel would launch an invasion and grab the canal, they covertly plotted. Next, as peacekeepers, the French and the Brits would arrive and take over management of the canal.

Israel Attacks

The Israelis launched their attack and seized the canal exactly as they had intended. Then the French and British intervened. They requested a halt from both parties, but when Egypt refused, they bombed Egypt’s air force.

The Crisis Ends

The French and British had the ire of the Americans. The Soviet Union invaded Hungary at the same time as the Suez Crisis. Moreover, the Soviet Union had threatened to support Egypt in the Suez Crisis. In the end, in order to avoid war with the Soviet Union, the United States had to coerce Israel, the British, and France into withdrawing.

Results

One impact of the Suez Crisis was that Great Britain’s reputation would never be the same. The United States and the Soviet Union were unmistakably the two global superpowers at the moment. As the Soviet Union and the United States were at war, anything that affected their interests would cause them to intervene and use force.

Both the Soviet Union and the United States benefited economically and strategically from the Suez Canal. The canal’s continued operation was in both of their best interests.

Facts About the Suez Crisis in The Cold War

The British Prime Minister at the time was Sir Anthony Eden. Shortly after the issue was resolved, he resigned.
Today, the Suez Canal is still accessible to all nations for free. Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority is in charge of owning and operating it.
The canal is 670 feet broad and 120 miles long.
Because of his involvement in the occasion, Nasser eventually rose in popularity in Egypt and throughout the Arab world.
In Egypt, the crisis is referred to as “tripartite aggression”.