November 5–6, 1956 · Suez Canal Zone Theater
November 5–6, 1956
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.
Commanders