The Second Middle East War (1956
China Journal Global Online News: From October 29th to November 6th, 1956, Britain and France joined forces with Israel to wage war against Egypt in order to gain control of the Suez Canal. The confrontation between Egypt and Britain and France is the main contradiction, but because Israel volunteered to join the Anglo-French aggression group, this war has more or less the nature of Arab-Israeli war.
Background: Suez Canal dispute
The Suez Canal is an international navigation canal in Egypt, with a total length of 175 kilometers. It connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and it is the main road connecting Europe, Asia and Africa, and its strategic position is very important. On July 26, 1956, the Egyptian government announced that the Suez Canal Company would be nationalized and all the company’s property would be handed over to Egypt. In order to regain control of the Suez Canal, Britain and France planned to hold a conference on "international control" of the Canal. On Octobe 13, that security Council rejected the proposal of Britain and France that Egypt accept the "international management" system. In this case, Britain and France decided to use force to solve the problem. In order to solve the problem of insufficient troops, France first invited Israel to join.
Process: The Egyptian people fought bravely.
On the afternoon of October 29th, about 395 people from a battalion of the Israeli 202nd Parachute Brigade invaded the Egyptian Sinai airspace by 16 Dakota transport planes and parachuted on the east side of the mitra Pass, 65km east of the Suez Canal, thus opening the prelude to the Suez Canal War.
Britain and France dispatched 80,000 naval, land and air forces. They originally planned to occupy Port Said within 24 hours, Ismailia on November 8, and Suez on November 12, under the powerful fire attack of 80,000 naval, land and air forces dispatched by Britain and France, thus ending the whole battle of occupying the canal.
The end: Britain and France have no choice but to withdraw their troops.
The Egyptian people’s struggle against British, French and Israeli aggression was supported by Arab countries. Under the pressure of world public opinion, the United Nations came forward to solve this crisis. On November 1, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a proposal for an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal. On November 6, Britain and France were forced to accept a ceasefire. On December 22nd, all British and French troops withdrew from Egypt.
After Britain and France withdrew their troops from Egypt, the parties concerned fought fiercely around the issue of Israeli withdrawal from Sinai and Gaza. Israel has been procrastinating on the issue of withdrawing troops. Under the pressure of all parties, Israel was forced to announce its withdrawal on November 21, 1956, but the progress was slow. Until March 8, 1957, Israeli troops withdrew from Gaza. At this point, Britain and France declared bankruptcy with their plans to invade Egypt, and the Egyptian people won the final victory in their anti-aggression struggle.
Significance: Great geopolitical changes in the Middle East
After the Second Middle East War, the United States has replaced Britain and France, constantly consolidating and strengthening the influence of funds, and the former Soviet Union is also eager to step up its penetration into the Middle East and gradually gain a foothold.
After the war, the colonial rule of Britain and France in the Middle East suffered a devastating blow. By the end of 1950s, the colonial rule of the two old colonial countries in the Middle East basically ended. The United States took the opportunity to use this war to attack, weaken and crowd out the forces of Britain and France in the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union also wanted to take the opportunity to infiltrate Arab countries and gain a place in the Middle East. In addition, the United States and the Soviet Union played a decisive role in the threat of Britain, France and Israel.
Source:Dayang.com-Guangzhou Daily