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Suez Crisis Timeline

(July 26, 1956 – March 1957)

The Suez Crisis of 1956 was a major international confrontation triggered when Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal. Israel, Britain, and France launched a joint military intervention, but diplomatic pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union forced their withdrawal. The crisis marked the decline of British and French influence in the Middle East and the rise of the United States and USSR as dominant Cold War powers. Less

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Road to War

Nasser announces nationalisation of the Suez Canal

Jul 26, 1956

On 26 July 1956, in a speech in Alexandria, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser announced the nationalisation of the Suez Canal, seizing control of the strategically vital waterway from the Suez Company. The move stunned Britain and France and set the Suez Crisis in motion.

Image source: Suez Crisis

Nasser announces nationalisation of the Suez Canal

Egypt blockades the Gulf of Aqaba

Jul 26, 1956

Egypt blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba, cutting off Israeli shipping through the Straits of Tiran. This was widely seen as a contravention of the Constantinople Convention of 1888 and, by many, also a violation of the 1949 Armistice Agreements.

Eden begins planning for an invasion

Jul 26, 1956

British Prime Minister Anthony Eden began planning for an invasion of Egypt in July 1956 in response to Nasser's nationalisation of the canal, setting in motion what would become Operation Musketeer.

Image source: Operation Musketeer (1956)

Eden begins planning for an invasion

Dayan urges immediate attack on Egypt

Jul 26, 1956

In July 1956, IDF chief of staff General Moshe Dayan advised Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion that Israel should attack Egypt at the first chance, though Ben-Gurion stated he preferred to attack Egypt only with the aid of France.

Image source: Moshe Dayan

Dayan urges immediate attack on Egypt

French Cabinet decides on military action

Jul 29, 1956

On 29 July 1956, the French Cabinet decided upon military action against Egypt in alliance with Israel, committing France to a joint operation following Nasser's nationalisation of the canal.

Mollet commits France to attacking Egypt

Sep 25, 1956

In late September 1956, French Prime Minister Guy Mollet decided to attack Egypt with Britain, and if the British backed out—as Mollet believed they might—with Israel alone.

Image source: Guy Mollet

Mollet commits France to attacking Egypt

Secret Franco-Israeli talks begin in Paris

Sep 30, 1956

On 30 September 1956, secret Franco-Israeli talks started in Paris based on Britain's non-involvement, laying groundwork for coordinated military action against Egypt.

Image source: Protocol of Sèvres

Secret Franco-Israeli talks begin in Paris

Sèvres Protocol signed by Britain, France and Israel

Oct 22, 1956 - Oct 24, 1956

During discussions held between 22 and 24 October 1956 at Sèvres, France, Britain, France and Israel reached a secret agreement regarding political and military cooperation to overthrow Nasser and de-nationalise the Suez Canal.

Political Reactions

Gaitskell warns Eden against illegal action

Aug 10, 1956

In two letters sent on 3 and 10 August 1956, Labour leader Hugh Gaitskell condemned Nasser but warned Prime Minister Eden that he would not support any action that violated the United Nations Charter, including an armed attack.

Image source: Hugh Gaitskell

Gaitskell warns Eden against illegal action

Kirkpatrick warns of Nasser's ambitions

Sep 10, 1956

In a letter to the British Ambassador on 10 September 1956, Ivone Kirkpatrick, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, warned that if Britain sat back while Nasser consolidated his position and gained control of the oil-bearing countries, Nasser was resolved to wreck Britain.

Image source: Ivone Kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick warns of Nasser's ambitions

Government fails to explain war to British public

Oct 1, 1956

Eden's obsession with secrecy meant that the British government did nothing in the months running up to the attack to explain to the British people or to reservists called up for National Service why the war was necessary.

Image source: Anthony Eden

Government fails to explain war to British public

Nasser imposes sweeping emergency measures

Oct 1, 1956

In October 1956, Nasser brought in sweeping regulations abolishing civil liberties, allowing mass arrests without charge and stripping citizenship from any group the state desired; these measures were mostly directed against the Jews of Egypt.

Stormy House of Commons debates over invasion

Nov 1, 1956

Stormy and violent debates in the House of Commons on 1 November 1956 almost degenerated into fist-fights after several Labour MPs compared Prime Minister Anthony Eden to Hitler.

Labour Party factions reunite over Suez

Nov 1, 1956

The Suez Crisis played a key role in reconciling the Gaitskellite and Bevanite factions of the Labour Party, which had been divided since the 1955 leadership election, as both condemned the invasion of Egypt.

Massive anti-war rally in Trafalgar Square

Nov 4, 1956

On 4 November 1956, an anti-war rally in Trafalgar Square attended by 30,000 people—easily the biggest rally in London since 1945—heard Labour MP Aneurin Bevan accuse the government of 'a policy of bankruptcy and despair'.

UN passes Resolution 1002 demanding withdrawal

Nov 7, 1956

On 7 November 1956, an emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York passed Resolution 1002, again calling for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops behind the armistice lines and the immediate withdrawal of British and French troops from Egyptian territory.

Military Operations

Keightley appointed commander of Operation Musketeer

Aug 11, 1956

On 11 August 1956, General Charles Keightley was appointed commander of Operation Musketeer, the planned invasion of Egypt, with French Admiral Pierre Barjot serving as his deputy commander.

Image source: Charles Keightley

Keightley appointed commander of Operation Musketeer

Barjot proposes Port Said as main target

Aug 25, 1956

In late August 1956, Admiral Pierre Barjot suggested that Port Said once again be made the main invasion target, which lessened the number of troops needed and reduced the interval between sending forces to the eastern Mediterranean and launching the invasion.

Revised invasion plan approved

Sep 8, 1956

On 8 September 1956, the revised invasion plan known as 'Revise' was approved by both the British and French cabinets, finalising preparations for the assault on Egypt.

Suez Canal closed to shipping

Oct 1, 1956 - Mar 1, 1957

As a result of the crisis, the Suez Canal was closed from October 1956 to March 1957, disrupting global trade until it was fully reopened to shipping on 24 April 1957.

Fighting begins as Israel invades Sinai

Oct 29, 1956

The fighting of the Suez Crisis began on 29 October 1956, when Israeli forces invaded Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, beginning the second Arab–Israeli war, known in Israel as the Sinai War and in the Arab world as the Tripartite Aggression.

Israel occupies Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula

Oct 29, 1956 - Mar 1, 1957

Israel's four-month-long occupation of the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula enabled it to attain freedom of navigation through the Straits of Tiran, which Egypt had closed since 1950.

Image source: United Arab Republic occupation of the Gaza Strip

Israel occupies Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula

Ben-Gurion declares victory in Knesset speech

Nov 7, 1956

On 7 November 1956, David Ben-Gurion addressed the Knesset and declared a great victory, saying that the 1949 armistice agreement with Egypt was dead and buried, and that the armistice lines were no longer valid and could not be restored.

Image source: David Ben-Gurion

Ben-Gurion declares victory in Knesset speech

Anglo-French forces complete withdrawal from Egypt

Dec 22, 1956

Without further guarantees, the Anglo-French Task Force had to finish withdrawing from Egypt by 22 December 1956, to be replaced by Danish and Colombian units of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF).

Aftermath & Consequences

UNEF deploys Danish and Colombian units

Dec 22, 1956

Following the Anglo-French withdrawal on 22 December 1956, Danish and Colombian units of the United Nations Emergency Force took their place, marking an early milestone for UN peacekeeping born of Lester Pearson's initiative.

Image source: United Nations Emergency Force

UNEF deploys Danish and Colombian units

Jewish population of Egypt falls to 15,000

Jan 1, 1957

Following Nasser's repressive measures introduced in October 1956, which were mostly directed against the Jews of Egypt, the Jewish population of Egypt had fallen to 15,000 by 1957.

Image source: History of the Jews in Egypt

Jewish population of Egypt falls to 15,000

Eisenhower asks Congress for Middle East doctrine

Jan 5, 1957

To prevent further Soviet expansion in the region, President Eisenhower asked Congress on 5 January 1957 for authorisation to use military force if requested by any Middle Eastern nation to check aggression, and to set aside $200 million to aid Middle Eastern countries—the basis of the Eisenhower Doctrine.

Image source: Eisenhower Doctrine

Eisenhower asks Congress for Middle East doctrine

Eden resigns as prime minister

Jan 9, 1957

Anthony Eden was accused of misleading parliament over the Suez invasion and resigned from office on 9 January 1957, ending his premiership and handing power to Harold Macmillan.

Israel fears Egyptian invasion in spring 1957

Feb 15, 1957

In the context of the massive Soviet armament of Egypt via Czechoslovakia, Israel had been expecting an Egyptian invasion in either March or April 1957, as well as a Soviet invasion of Syria, neither of which occurred after the war.

Israel withdraws from Sinai and Gaza

Mar 1, 1957

The Israelis refused to host any UN force on Israeli-controlled territory and withdrew from the Sinai and Gaza in March 1957, ending their four-month occupation of the territories captured during the war.

Key Facts

  1. On July 26, 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, previously controlled by the Anglo-French Suez Canal Company.
  2. Israel invaded the Sinai Peninsula on October 29, 1956, followed by British and French bombing of Egyptian airfields and an amphibious landing at Port Said.
  3. The United States, under President Eisenhower, applied severe economic and diplomatic pressure on Britain, France, and Israel to withdraw, threatening sanctions and UN action.
  4. A United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was deployed to the region — the first armed peacekeeping mission in UN history — to supervise the withdrawal and stabilize the area.
  5. The crisis marked the end of Britain and France as global superpowers, accelerated decolonization, and solidified US-Soviet dominance in Cold War geopolitics.

Source

This Suez Crisis timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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