October 29–31, 1956 · Sinai Peninsula Theater

Israel's opening move in Operation Kadesh: Colonel Ariel Sharon's 202nd Parachute Brigade dropped near the eastern end of the Mitla Pass deep in the Sinai — 32 miles east of the Suez Canal. The paratroopers were lightly armed and isolated, waiting for ground forces to link up. Sharon, in direct defiance of his orders, sent a patrol into the narrow pass — triggering a ferocious Egyptian ambush. Israeli casualties were severe. Despite the tactical blunder, the Israeli position held and the pass was secured by October 31. Sharon and Dayan clashed bitterly over the unauthorized attack.

October 29 – November 2, 1956 · Sinai Peninsula Theater

Abu Ageila was the key defensive crossroads of the Sinai — a fortified Egyptian position commanding the roads to Ismailia and the Canal Zone. Israeli forces made frontal assaults that were repulsed with heavy losses before flanking moves succeeded in enveloping the position. The battle was costly and confused — poor coordination between Israeli brigades led to friendly-fire incidents. Egyptian defenders fought tenaciously before their positions were overwhelmed on November 2. The capture opened the central Sinai route for Israeli exploitation toward the Canal.

October 29 – November 5, 1956 · Sinai Peninsula Theater

Israel's armored columns raced across the Sinai in a coordinated blitzkrieg-style operation that was secretly coordinated at Sèvres, France, where the three powers agreed Israel would attack first to provide the pretext for Anglo-French intervention. Moshe Dayan orchestrated multiple simultaneous axes of advance: paratroopers at the Mitla Pass, armor through Abu Ageila, infantry along the northern coastal road through Rafah, and a southern drive toward Sharm el-Sheikh. Egyptian units retreated in disorder as their chain of command broke down. Israel captured the entire Sinai Peninsula in eight days, advancing 170 miles to the Canal. US and Soviet pressure then forced a humiliating withdrawal.

October 31 – November 1, 1956 · Gaza Strip / Northern Sinai Theater

Rafah Junction was the gateway between the Gaza Strip and Sinai — a heavily fortified Egyptian position protecting the northern coastal road. Israeli forces attacked with infantry and armor in a night assault on October 31, fighting through minefields and wire obstacles against determined Egyptian resistance. The battle lasted through the night and into the next day before Egyptian defenses crumbled. The fall of Rafah sealed off the Gaza Strip and opened the coastal road toward the Canal Zone, allowing Israeli forces to sweep westward.

October 31 – November 6, 1956 · Egypt Theater

British and French aircraft — flying from Cyprus and aircraft carriers including HMS Eagle — opened Operation Musketeer with a massive campaign to destroy the Egyptian Air Force. Targeting airfields around Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, and the Canal Zone, Anglo-French bombers and fighter-bombers struck systematically over five days. The Egyptians, warned by Israeli radio intercepts that an attack was imminent, had dispersed some aircraft — but the campaign still eliminated Egypt's operational air capability. Nasser's response was to order 47 ships sunk in the Suez Canal, blocking it to all traffic.

November 1–December 1956 · Suez Canal Theater

As Anglo-French bombs fell on Egyptian airfields on October 31, Nasser ordered his masterstroke: the deliberate sinking of 47 ships in the Suez Canal to block all traffic. Demolition teams scuttled vessels at key points along the 100-mile waterway, seizing the Canal's value as a weapon against its attackers. The blockade denied European oil tankers their shortest route to the Persian Gulf — forcing lengthy detours around the Cape of Good Hope. The Canal remained closed until April 1957, when UN salvage teams cleared the wrecks after the last Anglo-French troops departed Egypt.

November 2–5, 1956 · Southern Sinai / Straits of Tiran Theater

At the southern tip of the Sinai, Egyptian guns and coastal artillery at Sharm el-Sheikh had blockaded the Straits of Tiran since 1951 — cutting Israel off from Red Sea trade and threatening Eilat. Israeli forces drove the length of the Sinai's eastern coast in an extraordinary logistical march through desert terrain to reach this remote position. The garrison, cut off and outnumbered, resisted briefly before surrendering on November 5. The Straits of Tiran were opened to Israeli shipping for the first time in five years.

November 5, 1956 · Suez Canal Zone Theater

The largest British airborne operation since Arnhem. On the morning of November 5, 668 British paratroopers from 3 Para dropped on Gamil Airfield west of Port Said while French paratroopers landed at Port Fuad across the Canal. It was the first combat use of helicopters to land assault troops in British military history — Sea Venom jets from HMS Eagle suppressed Egyptian defenses before the drop. Egyptian resistance was fierce: civilians armed from military arsenals joined regular army units in street fighting. The paratroopers secured the airfield and began moving into the city as darkness fell.

November 5–6, 1956 · Suez Canal Zone Theater

British and French amphibious forces stormed Port Said's beaches at dawn on November 6 — the day after the parachute assault. Royal Marines from HMS Albion and French commandos from HMS Bulwark landed under naval gunfire support while carrier aircraft suppressed Egyptian positions. Port Said's defenders fought street by street — Egyptian civilians who had been given weapons from military arsenals joined the resistance. The Anglo-French force captured the city but advanced only 23 miles down the Canal toward Ismailia before the UN ceasefire, forced by US financial pressure, halted the operation at midnight.

November 6, 1956 · Suez Canal Zone Theater

While British forces assaulted Port Said on the western bank of the Canal, French paratroopers seized Port Fuad on the eastern bank in a simultaneous operation. French commandos had dropped the previous day and fought through residential streets against Egyptian regulars and armed civilians. The French secured Port Fuad more quickly than the British secured Port Said — French forces had fewer restrictive rules of engagement and used more aggressive tactics. When the ceasefire came at midnight, French troops were positioned to continue south down the Canal but were ordered to halt alongside their British counterparts.