November 1–December 1956 · Suez Canal Theater
November 1–December 1956
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.
Commanders