Your guide to the Suez Crisis

So crucial was this 120-mile passage that the British quickly bought up a third share. Then in 1882, they invaded Egypt and took control of everything.

This is just one reason why, after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, new president Gamal Abdel Nasser was virulently anti-British.

How significant was the Suez Crisis?

"What this all suggests is that while the overall significance of the crisis may have been exaggerated, ‘Suez’ has left a lasting mark on our collective memory which can still be deployed today for political and partisan purposes." – Dr Andrew Jones explains how significant the Suez Crisis really was, and why it continues to resonate in British popular memory.

Who was Gamal Abdel Nasser?

Gamal Abdel Nasser was a postman’s son who saw how imperial powers such as Britain and France treated the Middle East as a trade-grabbing playground, and swore to force their troops out. But the construction of the Aswan Dam across the Nile, which Nasser saw as central to his country’s modernisation, required financial backing from the West.

At first, he was happy to play the US and the USSR against each other. His luck ran out, however, when he accepted Communist arms and the Americans pulled out of the Aswan Dam project.

In retaliation, he nationalised the Suez Canal in 1956, wresting control from the British- and French-controlled Suez Canal Company, with the intention of charging for its use. This, Britain and France quickly agreed, was totally unacceptable.

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Was a British and French military response inevitable?

The two powers certainly agreed that the Suez Canal should be taken back, and Nasser deposed if possible, but outright military action was not viable. Not only would the United Nations never agree to it, but the British and French people were against anything that could risk war, which led to protests.

Therefore, they secretly lobbied Israel to stage an invasion and assume control, providing the pretext for them to step in as ‘peacemakers’.

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Operation Musketeer began in late October 1956 when ten Israeli brigades entered Egypt and overran the forces holding the Suez Canal. Yet Egypt refused to take the invasion lying down, and it wasn’t long before the bloodshed escalated.

Although militarily successful, few were deceived by the ruse, and the world’s superpowers soon flexed their muscles.

So were the Americans and Russians in agreement?

Not quite, but the US knew how to pick its battles. While the Russians threatened to get involved on Egypt’s side, so as to prevent what may have been an inevitable build up of aggression, US President Dwight Eisenhower ordered Britain and France to withdraw.

The realisation that they had no option but to comply was a humiliating climb-down for the British and French, and a clear, painful sign that their days as world powers were truly over.

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Did the backlash go beyond wounded national pride?

The Suez Crisis – which ended with thousands of casualties on both sides – was seen as a decisive blow for the British government, and Conservative Prime Minister Anthony Eden resigned in January 1957.

This was a triumph for the anti-establishment forces who protested against his government, and marked a shift in British society that would become more marked during the 1960s.

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What was the lasting legacy of the Suez Crisis?

The post-imperial actions of Britain (and other Western powers) within the volatile Middle East – including the creation of Israel following World War II – lie at the roots of many major problems in the region today.

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At the time, even with the empire winding down, British foreign policy still envisioned the nation as the world’s policemen. The Suez Crisis was a rude wake-up call. The very word ‘Suez’ became a codeword for the British, warning of hubris and embarrassment.

And 60 years later, the Suez Crisis is remembered as a watershed moment in the decline of the British Empire, severely denting the culture of deference that had defined the country.

This content first appeared in the April 2016 issue of BBC History Revealed