In the mid 1950’s, the Suez Canal was one of the most strategically important waterways I the world. Britain no longer needed it to protect its event wiggling empire but it was a vital oil root with two thirds of Europe’s oil passing through it by 1955.
In July 1956, Egypt nationalized the canal leading to a 250 thousand strong angler French-Israeli invasion. On the 29th of October, Israeli paratroop is in ground force has attacked the Sinai Peninsula while British and French troops launched “Operation Musketeer” two days later attacking Egypt by air and sea.
Egyptian President Nasser responded by seeking forty ships in the canal closing it to all traffic. The 70,000 Egyptian forces were quickly overwhelmed but weld opinion labeled the invasion, “An act of aggression.”
The invading forces had made the fatal error of not securing American support and, Soviet Union leaders Nikita Khrushchev threatened to intervene on the Egyptian side. The United States appealed to the United Nations. The general assembly passed the Uniting for Peace resolution and ordered to cease fire leading to the end of hostilities in March 1957.
On the first ever introduction on the UN peace keeping force, the whole affair was a political debark from Britain and France and greatly mark their decline as global powers.
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