Suez Crisis: A History from Beginning to End

In 1956, Britain, France, and Israel launched an invasion of Egypt. For Britain and France, the main objective was to secure control over the vital Suez Canal and to re-emphasize their place as significant world powers. For Israel, the issue was defeating a hostile and powerful Arab neighbor.

This conflict took place during a period of rising tension between the two nations that had emerged as global superpowers following the end of World War II: the United States of America and the Soviet Union. Both had nuclear weapons, and during what became known as the Suez Crisis, the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, threatened to intervene if British, French, and Israeli troops did not withdraw from Egypt. While the US refused to support Britain, France, or Israel in their conflict with Egypt, it might have been forced to intervene if the Soviet Union had become involved. This was one of a few moments when the Cold War seemed close to becoming a global conflict, but strangely, and unlike other periods of tension such as the Berlin Airlift and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Suez Crisis is now largely forgotten.

Just why did Britain and France go to war with Egypt in 1956? Why did they succeed on the battlefield but fail so spectacularly to achieve their aims, and what was the consequence in terms of the balance of power during the Cold War? In this book, we delve into the forgotten story of a moment when the post-World War world changed forever: the Suez Crisis.

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Lydbog: 1. september 2026