Download HISTORICAL SECURITY COUNCIL I. KOREAN WAR II. SUEZ CRISIS

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HISTORICALSECURITYCOUNCIL
I.
KOREANWAR
II. SUEZCRISIS
PREPAREDBYEGEBEYSELANDDEFNEUZUNER
COMMITTEEDIRECTORSOFHSC
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AGENDA ITEM 1: KOREAN WAR
1. Introduction/Background
1.1 Imperial Japan & Soviet War
In 1945, the Soviet Union declared
war on Imperial Japan, that was in
control of the Korean Peninsula, and
marched with over one million troops
to Manchuria, a Chinese region under
Japanese control. The declaration of
war was a topic at the Tehran
conference in 1943, where Stalin
agreed Soviet Union would enter the war when the Nazi Germany was defeated.
However, the actual declaration of war was decided in Yalta Conference in 1945.
Stalin’s motivation to enter the war was to win back the land Russia had lost in the
Russo-Japanese War in 1905.
The Invasion has begun 3 months after the Germans surrendered. Imperial Japan
was hit by the atomic bomb in Hiroshima not too long ago and still decided to stay in
the war and declined the Potsdam Declaration, which initially meant Imperial Japans
unconditional surrender. After the second US atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki,
the Supreme War Council obeyed emperor Hirohito’s decision to leave the war and a
message was sent to US on August 10.
After the Japanese surrender, Korea was to be divided into Soviet and US occupation
zones. The 38th Parallel was considered as an option for the border between the
zones. US insisted on having the capital of Korea under their responsibility and
although the Americans doubted whether the Soviet Union would agree to these terms,
Stalin accepted the 38th parallel as the border and maintained his co-operation policy.
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1.2 Divided Korea after USSR and US withdrawal
The 38th Parallel was meant to divide USSR
and US occupation zones until 1947 and
symbolize
Thereupon,
a
trusteeship
as
decided
over
in
Korea.
Moscow
Conference 1945, Korea would gain its
independence. However, if a united Korea
were to be established, US wanted to
promote Capitalism and USSR wanted to
promote Communism, and this time neither of them would compromise. By 1947,
Korea was geographically and politically divided, Syngman Rhee, an anti-Communist,
became the first president of the Provisional Government and therefore South Korea,
and the Provisional People's Committee was established under Kim Il-sung, who had
spent his last years training with Soviet troops, and became the supreme leader of
North Korea.
The division led to unequal resources and
population differences on both sides. Onethird of the population was located in North
Korea, whereas South Korea had two-thirds
of the population. Moreover, North Korea had
most of the industries and South Korea had
most of the agricultural zones, which resulted
North Korea to be unable to grow enough rice, when South Korea was unable to
access raw resources it needed to industrialize and grow its economy. Tensions
between communist North Korea and democratic South Korea lead to war.
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1.3 Two Chinas and USSR boycott of UNSC
Meanwhile, Chinese Civil
War
emerged
Chinese
between
Communists,
supported by North Korea
and USSR, and Chinese
Nationalists, supported by
the US and UN. The
question
of
China’s
representation in UN came
in sight in 1949. The
Communist
Party
had
taken over the majority of
the mainland, whereas the Nationalists moved to the island of Taiwan. However, the
question of who would take the seat in UN was still to be answered.
The UNSC sided with the United States and thus the
Chinese Nationalists and saw the People’s Republic
of China lead by Chinese Communists illegitimate and
prevented it from entering the United Nation until
1971. Until that time, the USSR was one of the
handful countries that saw PRC as legitimate. The
decision of the UNSC caused a boycott from USSR.
The soviet delegate Yakov Malik walked out of the
UNSC to show his and USSR’s displeasure, when the
UNSC refused to legitimize PRC and announced that
they would be boycotting further UNSC meetings.
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1.4 USSR monetary aid continues to DPRK whereas South was
excluded from Asian Defence Perimeter
After the division of the Korean Peninsula, both sides of
Korea were ruled by a dictatorial regime, in south supported
by the United States, Syngman Rhee and in the North
supported by the Soviet Union, Kim Il-sung. In 1949, Kim IIsung decided to invade South Korea, with the motivation that
most of the South Korean population would support the
northern invasion. With the invasion in mind, he contacted
Stalin, who was still supporting North Korea. Although Stalin
thought that the time of the invasion was not right, he was
persuaded to support the northern invasion when US stopped
its monetary aid to ROK (Republic of Korea), known as South
Korea. Along with the withdrawal of US, Stalin was even more so persuaded after the
statement of Dean Acheson, an American statesman and lawyer, when he did not
mention ROK as the all important defense perimeter of the United States.
During this process, the Soviet Union kept mobilizing North Korea and stated that the
Soviet Union would not be directly at war when the war occurs and the Soviet army
would not fight directly against American troops, yet they maintained their financial
support and stated they would support the invasion of South Korea.
Over the course of the preparation duration,
Kim Il- sung met with Mao Zedong, the Chinese
leader, and manage to receive support from the
People’s Republic of China, even though they
were in the middle of demobilizing half of their
5.6 million troops of the People’s Liberation
Army(PLA). Mao Zedong agreed to send ethnic
Korean veterans and to support the invasion.
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1. Key Terms
38th parallel: 38th parallel, or more specifically 38th parallel north refers to a circle of
latitude that is 38 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It has also formed the
boarder between South Korea and North Korea in the Korean War.
KPA: KPA is a shortening for Korean People’s Army. It is the military force of North
Korea and, under the Songun policy, the central institution of North Korean society.
UNC (The United Nations Command): Also referred as UN combined forces, the
UNC is the unified command structure for the multinational military forces supporting
South Korea during and after the Korean war.
The Sino-Korean Border: Also referred as the China-North Korean Boarder, it is the
international boarder between China and North Korea.
PVA: Also referred as the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, was the armed forces
deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War.
Yalu River: The Yalu River, also called the Amnok River, is a river on the border
between North Korea and China and is notable as a site involved in military conflicts
in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, World War II, and the
Korean War.
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2. Endless War Begins
3.1 North Crosses 38th Parallel
On 25 June 1950, Korean People’s Army (KPA) crossed the 38th Parallel and
therefore attacked South Korea, and thus was the assault the first military action of the
war.
Before the crossing of the 38th Parallel,
preparation where undergoing in the North
as well as in the South. Although South
Korea was unaware of the upcoming attack
through the 38th parallel, they were being
trained by the US Korean Military Advisory
Group (KMAG) for both defensive and
offensive purposes. It has been noted that Syngman Rhee desired to conquer the
North, however an attack from the northern side was highly unexpected. In the face of
North Korea’s heavy artillery and armed forces, including tank, South Korea was
unprepared and did not have either any protective weaponry like anti-tank weaponry
or heavy artillery.
On the night of the North Korean invasion, Dean
Acheson alongside president Harry S. Truman
gathered a resolution and presented it to the
United Nations Security Council. In the course of
events had the UNSC a meeting, in which the
Soviet Union representative was missing, and
adopted the American resolution calling for an
immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of the North
Korean forces back to the 38th parallel unanimously.
It has been reported, that on the night of the assault, US president Harry S. Truman
said the following words: “If we let Korea down, the Soviets will keep right on going
and swallow up one place after the other.” and ordered (within the resolution) US land,
air and sea forces to go towards Korea and executed, with his own words, the “police
action”.
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3.2 South is under heavy attack (Pusan perimeter)
At the beginning of the invasion, the South was
under heavy attack and had to play defensive.
Within the days of the invasion, a big part of the
ROK Army soldiers, whose loyalties to the
Syngman Rhee regime were uncertain, withdrew
towards the South and the rest of them kept
advancing towards the Korean Peoples Army.
The Battle of Osan was the first military action that
US took in the Korean War, which resulted to be
a failure. A small task force from Japan attacked North Koreans but were unable to
defuse North Korean tanks. Their failure resulted in casualties and KPA to move further
southwards and push the US forces at Pyongtaek, Chonan, and Chochiwon. By
August, KPA had pushed hostile forces up the Pusan Perimeter, which lead to making
Kim Il-sung believe that the war would be over by the end of the August, which was
not the case.
Meanwhile,
Nations
the
United
Security
Council
decided to establish a unified
command in Korea and also
decided to assign a US
commander
unified
to
lead
common
Commander
in
the
as
Chief.
President Harry S. Truman
recommended
General
Douglas McArthur, who was
in charge of the previous
reinforcement operations.
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While the Korean People’s Army was planning to capture Naktonge Bulge, PohangDong and Taegu, UN unified command withstood the KPA. The United States
headquarters in Japan kept reinforcing the Pusan Perimeter and 500 tanks were battle
ready by August. UN combined forces managed to hold the perimeter until September
and when the reinforcements arrived. South Korea thus UN combined forces were
ready to play offensively. ROK Army and UN forces managed to counter attack and
break out of the Pusan Perimeter.
3.3 UN Intervention Inchon- Turning points of the war (USSR was not
present)
Commander in Chief of UN combined forces Douglas
McArthur, who was later on fired for insubordination, began
to plan a strike towards the peninsula’s west coast at
Inchon. He argued that this plan would catch KPA off-guard
and also plan to land UN troops close to the capital in order
to cut their supply lines. At the beginning, this plan was a
success and the UN combined troops managed to cut
KPA’s supply lines. This assault also resulted in North
Korea’s retreat back to their side of the 38th parallel.
However, while doing so, American troops crossed the
boundary and headed toward the Yalu River, which was
the border between North Korea and China.
On 27 September 1950, Commander in
Chief Douglas McArthur received a highly
confidential message from the UN Security
Council, stating that the operations on the
northern side were only authorized if UN
forces were not to face Soviet or Chinese
Communist forces who intended to counter
their military actions. Later on Zhou Enlai
warned the United States that China was
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prepared to intervene in Korea if the United States crossed the 38th parallel. However,
in the course of events, UN combined forces followed KPA forces up to the northern
side of the 38th parallel and demanded the unconditional surrender of the Korean
People’s Army. Commander in Chief Douglas McArthur thought that is was a necessity
to extend the war into China in order to destroy the North Korean arsenal and storage.
However, President Harry Truman beg to disagree with McArthur and ordered caution
at the Sino-Korean border.
3.4 China enters the war
As the UN combined forces approached
the Sino-Korean border, the war engaged
attention in the eye of China, which was
non-reacting until this point. During the
war,
China
was
only
focused
on
reclaiming the Taiwan Island. However,
the United States forces close to the SinoKorean border was a threat to China and
thus it began to actively support North Korea. In late August, Zhou Enlai informed the
UN that Chinese people cannot but be concerned about North Korea’s situation. By
fall, China was preparing more than 300,000 soldiers to join the war on North Korea’s
side.
The Chinese claimed that US bombers
had violated People’s Republic of China’s
national
airspace
on
three
separate
occasions and attacked Chinese targets
before China intervened and justified its
intervention. Later on, Mao Zedong named
the Chinese forces that had entered the war
the Chinese People's Volunteer Army
(PVA). After a group of PVA soldiers secretly crossed the Yalu River, the PVA launched
the First Phase Offensive and attacked the advancing combined UN forces that were
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near the Sino-Korean border. The First Phase Offensive changed the policy of the
Soviet Union, which had specified that in no way would Soviet Union actively join the
war. However, approximately 2 weeks after the offensive, Stalin ordered Soviet Air
Force to engage and provide air cover to China, and started to further aid China.
The first confrontation between Chinese
and US military took place on 1 November
1950 and thousands of soldiers from the
PVA
encircled
American
troops
and
launched a surprise attack. Although this
surprise attack resulted in UN combined
forces’ retreat, the PVA did not continue
with the assault and disappeared into
mountain hideouts. As a matter of fact, the Chinese were waiting in ambush with their
Second Phase Offensive when the Home-by-Christmas Offensive was launched by
the US. The UN combined forces retreated with the longest retreat in the US army
history. After many counterattacks, inadequate military equipment, logistical problems
and uncontrollable supply lines the situation seemed to reach a stalemate.
3.5 Ceasefire & Establishment of demilitarized zone
The ceasefire followed by
the armistice was the only
safe option for the Korean
Peninsula as a whole. The
ceasefire became a topic of
discussion in the summer of
1951, when Jacob Malik, a
Soviet delegate to the UN,
proposed a ceasefire. The
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ceasefire included a suspension of open hostilities, the transfer of prisoners of war,
and the establishment of a demilitarization zone. With the US presidential election in
1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower replaced Harry S. Truman and criticized Truman’s
approach of the war, moreover, he promised to go to Korea himself and find a way to
speed the peace process.
The KPA, PVA and UN combined forces
adapted
the
armistice,
which
was
proposed by India to the UN Security
Council
and
thus
was
the
Korean
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) established,
which was patrolled by both of the counter
forces and ran across the 38th Parallel.
The peace negotiations that started in
April 1951 lasted for 159 sittings and was
finally concluded when the Armistice Agreement was signed in June 1953. A new
border between the South and North Korea was drawn, which gave the South Korea
additional territory and DMZ between the both nations.
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3. Aftermath
Although the armistice was signed, the
aggression between North and South
Korea continued until 2009. Both countries
had extremely different processes after the
Korean Peninsula was yet again divided.
South Korea spent democratically and
economically unstable years, but managed
to thrive in the upcoming years and was
industrialized and modernized. It also
became one of the world’s fastest growing economies and is considered as one of the
most American-friendly countries in the world, despite its anti-American approach in
its developing years. On the contrary, North Korea failed to continue it’s economical
growing in the 1950’s and is considered underdeveloped. After the lack of support from
the Soviet Union, North Korea was far away from an industrialized society and went
through famine years where hundreds of thousands of people died and North Korea
was accused of Crimes Against Humanity. Politically, North Korea references to
communism from its constitution and changed it to a system of “Juche" that supports
self-reliance and national independence.
Many mixed race babies,
also referred as GI babies,
were
born
and
the
orphanages were filled with
South
Korean-American
babies. In the coming years,
South Koreans became one
of the fastest growing Asian
races in the United States.
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In the eyes of Chinese people, China had a great success in the Korean war and Mao
Zedong was responsible for this success. Mao Zedong earned prestige throughout the
Chines people and thus stayed the Chinese Communist Party in regime for many
years.
The Korean war was a key point in the
development of the Cold War. It also led
to the understanding of the term “limited
war” or “proxy war”, which meant a war
that was fought in a third country.
Approximately 5 million people were
killed and it has been noted that the
number of civilian casualties were higher
than the World War 2 or Vietnam War.
The border between South Korea and North Korea still remains to be one of the heavily
protected borders in the world.
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4. For Further Research
http://www.cfr.org/north-korea/korean-war-armistice-agreement/p22481
http://www.history.com/topics/korean-war/speeches/captain-lloyd-bucher-is-releasedby-north-korea
https://eisenhower.archives.gov/research/online_documents/korean_war.html
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/program/north-korea-international-documentationproject
http://gvsu.cdmhost.com/cdm/search/collection/p4103coll2/searchterm/Korean%20W
ar,%201950-1953/field/all/mode/exact/conn/and/cosuppress/
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/opinion/25KoreaIntro.html
http://cdm16635.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/collection/p16635coll27
5. Bibliography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War#Soviet-Japanese_War_.281945.29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Japanese_War_(1945)#Summary
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviets-declare-war-on-japan-invademanchuria
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviets-boycott-united-nations-securitycouncil
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/yalta-conference
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/japan-surrenders
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/korea_hickey_01.shtml
http://www.shapell.org/this-day-in-history/july/the-korean-war-armistice/
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Korean_war_19501953.gif#/media/File:Korean_war_1950-1953.gif
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02yk8jv
http://www.koreanwaronline.com/arms/pusan.htm
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswars1900s/p/Inchon.htm
http://korean-war.com/about-the-war/
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/28/world/asia/korean-war-fast-facts/
http://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-should-know-about-the-korean-war
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865616489/This-week-in-history-China-entersthe-Korean-War.html?pg=all
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/truman-relieves-macarthur-of-duties-inkorea
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AGENDA ITEM 2: SUEZ CRISIS
Introduction of the Agenda Item
Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in order to use the tolls to finance the building
of Aswan Dam on July 26, 1956. This act can be considered as a revenge according
to the previous owners, French and British, of the Canal’s controlling company. The
tension in the area caused an international crisis over ownership and Operation of the
Suez Canal. With the nationalization of the Suez Canal, the British and French were
immediately thrust into the domain of losses and the British had just withdrawn troops
up to 90.000 from the area in accordance with the strong American influence on July
13. The French had problems with the colonial territories in Algeria. Both countries
have predicted the consequence of the nationalization as the complete loss of their
colonial position in Africa and Asia.
The Operation began with the Israeli invasion of Egypt which was followed by the
United Kingdom and France. The aim was to regain the control, prevent nationalization
in the area and to overthrow Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. After the
beginning of the conflict, the US, Soviet Union and United Nations’ pressure led to the
withdrawal of the coalition forces from the area. This period can be considered as a
humiliation for France and UK.
After the invasion of Egyptian Sinai by Israeli forces, the British and French have issued
a joint ultimatum which will be followed by the deployment of paratroopers in the area,
the defeat of Egyptian forces and the blocking of the canal to all shipping by the
Egyptian Government. Later on, it is exposed that these actions were a planned
scenario of the coalition forces.
The United States and Soviet Union’s pressure led to the withdrawal of the coalition
forces from the area after the warning from the US President Dwight D. Eisenhower to
UK to not to invade, and the US threatened serious damage to the British financial
system. It is said by the historians that the Suez Crisis "signified the end of Great
Britain's role as one of the world's major powers".
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The crisis fulfilled some military objectives of the UK and France, however it can be
considered as a gain for the Egyptian, Israeli and the major powers of the world.
Background
The Suez Canal
The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the
Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez. It was opened on
November 17, 1869 after 10 years of construction between 1859 and 1869 by efforts
of French and Egyptian governments. It is an artificial canal that provides a shorter
journey for the watercrafts between the North Atlantic Ocean and the northern Indian
Ocean via the Mediterranean and Red Seas. It reduces the journey by approximately
7,000 kilometers (4,300 mi.)
The canal was an extremely important passageway for oil trade at the time of the crisis.
About 1.5 million oil transited the canal and 1.2 million of them were heading to
Western Europe. This amounted nearly the two-thirds of Western Europe’s total oil
supplies and about a third of the vessels which passed through the canal were British
and about three-fourth of them belonged to NATO countries.
The canal was operated by the Universal Company of the Suez Maritime Canal, an
Egyptian chartered company. The territory around the canal remained foreign Egyptian
territory which still is the only land between Africa and Asia.
The canal instantly became popular and strategically important due to the fact that it
was and still is the shortest water way between Mediterranean and Red Sea and eased
commerce for the trading nations and obtained the ability for the European powers to
gain control and govern their colonial territories.
The Egyptian government had no chance but to sell its’ shares in the canal’s operating
company to the British government of Benjamin Disraeli because of the financial crisis
and the debts of the government. The British were willing buyers and they bought 44
percentage of the canals operation shareholdings for less than £4 million and this
maintained the majority of shareholdings of the private investors which were mostly
French.
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The United Kingdom took de facto control over the country as well as the control of the
canal, its finances and operations with the occupation and invasion of Egypt in 1882.
Convention of Constantinople declared the canal as a neutral zone under the British
government’s supervision and protection. The Ottoman Empire agreed to grant
international shipping the right of free passage from the canal in time of war and peace
with their signature on the convention. It came into force in 1904, the same year as the
series of treaties between French and British; Entente cordiale.
We can understand the importance of the canal from the previous practices in the
canal: in the Russo-Japanese war of 1905. The British and Japanese agreed on a
separate bilateral agreement and following the Japanese surprise attack to the
Russian Pacific fleet based in Port Arthur, the Russians sent their fleet from the Baltic
Sea as reinforcements to respond to the Japanese attack. However, the British have
declined the Russian use of the canal and the Russians were obligated to steam
around Africa which gave Japanese the time to consolidate their position in Far East.
Again in the World War I, the British and French prohibited the non-allied passage from
the canal. After the attempt of Ottomans and Germans the British placed 100,000
troops to protect the Egyptian territory till the end of the war.
Post-1945
Britain was reassessing its influence in the region because of severe economic
constraints and its colonial history in the area. The geological importance of the area
pushed the UK to strengthen its power and influence in the area, Egypt and Iraq were
seem vital to maintaining of strong British effect in the area. The Suez Base was
considered the most important base of British, to maintain influence in the area. This
base was loaded with 80,000 British troops. However, increasingly it caused growing
tension in Anglo-Egyptian relations. Egypt was suffering from economic instability,
inflation and unemployment when the tension grew. Internal unrest in the country
resulted in a hostile attitude towards the United Kingdom and its influence in the
Egyptian territory. Added to this anti-British fervor was the role UK had played in the
creation of Israel. As a result of the internal anti-British policies, the Egyptian
government mirrored the thoughts of its people to their international policy which
started to permeate the relations between them.
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In 1951, Egyptian government unilaterally abrogated the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of
1936, which was granting the British right to maintain in the area, military base, for 20
more years. Expectedly, the British refused to withdraw their troops from the area and
the abrogation of such treaty. The consequence of British refusal was the escalating
violent acts towards the British troops and citizens by the Egyptian, which the
government only took a few precautions to prevent such actions.
In 1952, British attempted to disarm troublesome auxiliary police barracks in Ismaili
and this resulted the death of 41 Egyptians. Following this action, riots against the
British and foreigners rose throughout the region which resulted the destruction and a
big amount of loss of property and the killings of many foreigners including 11 British
citizens. This proved the necessity of the Egyptian monarchy’s removal. On 23 July
1952 Egyptian nationalist ‘’ Free Officers Movement’’ led by Muhammad Neguib and
Gamal Abdul Nasser had planned a successful military coop and overthrew the
Egyptian King Farouk, followed by the establishment of the Egyptian Republic.
In October 1954, the new government of Egypt and the United Kingdom concluded a
treaty on the phased evacuation of British troops from the Suez base within 20 months.
But the maintenance of the base would continue and the UK would hold the right to
return in circumstances such as; actions that are against the benefits of their citizens
and gains, the principles of the agreement for seven years. The Suez Canal Company
was not due to revert to the Egyptian government until 16 November 1968 under the
terms of the treaty.
UK’s improving relationships with two Hashemite Kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan were
particularly threatening the benefits and aims of the Nasser government. The Nasser
government was aiming to lead the Arab World and the improvement of two other Arab
countries are endangering their cause of seeing Egypt as head of the Arab world. The
establishment of Baghdad Pact in 1955, which the U.S. and the UK sided with the
Nasser’s much hated archenemy Nuri as-Said’s efforts to become the leader of the
Arab world, seemingly confirms the concerns of Nasser and the aim of the UK to draw
Eastern Arab world into a bloc that is sympathetic to Britain. Nasser responded with
series of acts that unsettled the British influence in the area, which would lead to the
Suez Crisis.
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Nasser "played on the widespread suspicion that any Western defence pact was
merely veiled colonialism and that Arab disunity and weakness—especially in the
struggle with Israel—was a consequence of British machinations."
He aligned Egypt with one of the enemies of the Hashemite Kingdoms; Saudi Arabia,
which was contradictory to the British gains and benefits. He also agreed on an arms
deal with the communist Czechoslovakia in September 1955 which eradicated the
Egyptian reliance on arms to the West. Other Warsaw Pact allies sold arms to the
Egyptian government of Nasser and these trades were authorized by the Soviet Union,
as an attempt to increase influence over the territory. This was precisely against the
benefits of the U.S. and the western bloc, and created tensions in the area because of
the strong presence of Warsaw Pact nations in the area.
Starting in 1949; with their joint nuclear research, France and Israel were moving
towards an alliance and with the outbreak of the Algerian War in 1954, France was
selling and shipping arms to Israel. Shimon Peres visited Paris in 1954 and he was
received by the French Defense Minister Marie-Pierre Koenig. French Defense
Minister stated they are optimistic about selling as much arms to Israel as they want to
buy. In the upcoming years, French were selling a huge amount weapons to Israelis,
totally disregarding the Tripartite Declaration. Peres stated that they have decided
upon a war with Egypt with the reasons of; Nasser being a genocidal maniac, and he
isn’t only going to eradicate the benefits of Israelis and the Western bloc but also going
to exterminate his own people. Since the Egyptians were receiving weapons from the
USSR, they are considering to begin and conclude the war with the Jewish State’s
victory while it still is possible. Following this statement, French Defense Minister
agreed upon supplying Israel with any help necessary in the upcoming war with the
Nasser government.
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Suez Crisis
In 1956, Nasser frustrated British attempts to draw Jordan into the Baghdad Pact by
supporting the demonstrations in Amman and to dismiss the British commander of the
Arab Legion Sir John Bagot Glubb (Glubb Pasha) which had endangered the security
policy of Britain in Middle East. After some appearance of riots in the country, Hussein
believed that his reign was in danger, therefore he has taken such actions. He assured
the British that these actions that seem anti-British alike were actions that are just taken
in order to please the rioters and prevent chaos in the country. The Prime Minister of
Britain was especially upset for the dismissing of Glubb Pasha and just like a politician
recalled:
‘’ For Eden ... this was the last straw.... This reverse, he insisted was Nasser's doing....
Nasser was our Enemy No. 1 in the Middle East and he would not rest until he
destroyed all our friends and eliminated the last vestiges of our influence.... Nasser
must therefore be ... destroyed. ‘’
Eden totally committed himself for overthrowing the Egyptian leader Nasser and
therefore he asked for the help of United States. However, U.S. were strongly against
a military intervention against the Egyptian. America’s closest Arab ally, Saudi Arabia
was also against the Hashemite dominated Baghdad Pact as Egypt was. The U.S. kept
on increasing its influence in the region and the failure of the Baghdad Pact played a
vital role in the eradication of British dominance in the area.
Nasser officially recognized People’s Republic of China on 16 May 1956, and just as
expected, this angered the United States. This move and the belief of Eisenhower that
the Aswan Dam project is far beyond Egypt’s economic capabilities, U.S. withdrew all
financial aid from the project on July 19. Eisenhower stated in March 1956 that:
"If Egypt finds herself thus isolated from the rest of the Arab world, and with no ally in
sight except Soviet Russia, she would very quickly get sick of the prospect and would
join us in the search for a just and decent peace in the region".
The Soviets were selling arms to the Egyptians as much as Egypt wanted, on a scale
unlimited by the Tripartite Declaration and the French were doing the same with
Israelis. This was increasing the Soviet influence in the area, against the benefits of
the United States. So in January 1956 Eisenhower sent his close friend to the area in
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order to serve as an envoy for an agreement between the Egyptians and Israelis, they
also offered financial and military aid for the Egyptians in exchange with their
acceptance. However, both sides were far apart from each other and unable to reach
an agreement.
Nationalization of the Canal
Nasser, after the withdrawal of U.S. support from the Aswan Dam project, nationalized
the Suez Canal with the reason of their need of the canal’s revenues in the project. He
stated that the Nationalization Law is published, all rights of the operating company
were frozen and the stockholders will be paid the price of their shares according to the
day’s closing price on the Paris Stock Exchange. He also closed the canal and the
Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping and blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba which was
considered the violation of both Constantinople Convention of 1888 and 1949
Armistice Agreements.
The nationalization was not expected by the British authorities. This action of Nasser
had threatened the British influence, economic and military interests in the region. PM
Eden was under great domestic pressure who drew comparisons between events of
1956 and Munich Agreement of 1938. Since the U.S. didn’t supported the British
protests, they decided on a military intervention in the area. This had to be done
immediately, before it is too late and before their prestige in the area completely
collapses. The opposition leader of Britain Gatskell also stated that the nationalization
of the canal was totally unjustified and therefore that they supported Eden in his
decision. He cautioned Eden, however, that "we must not, therefore, allow ourselves
to get into a position where we might be denounced in the Security Council as
aggressors, or where the majority of the Assembly was against us". He had warned
Eden that Labour might not support Britain acting alone against Egypt. Sir Ivone
Kirkpatrick, the Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office wrote:
‘’ If we sit back while Nasser consolidates his position and gradually acquires control
of the oil-bearing countries, he can and is, according to our information, resolved to
wreck us. If Middle Eastern oil is denied to us for a year or two, our gold reserves will
disappear. If our gold reserves disappear, the sterling area disintegrates. If the sterling
area disintegrates and we have no reserves, we shall not be able to maintain a force
in Germany, or indeed, anywhere else. I doubt whether we shall be able to pay for the
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bare minimum necessary for our defence. And a country that cannot provide for its
defence is finished. ‘’
Eisenhower’s reaction to Nasser’s decision was to attempt to defuse the situation in
order to lessen the likelihood of a military clash. He dispatched Secretary Dulles to
London with a plan for an International Board to operate the canal. 24 nations met in
London on August 16 to discuss this plan and finally came up with a plan that was
approved by 18 of the nations. A delegation combined of 5 representatives from
different nations went to Egypt on September 3 to present the plan to Nasser.
However, Nasser refused the plan and the nations, again, met in London on
September 16 to defuse the crisis. The British and French referred this to the United
Nations Security Council, but this proposal was refused by the United States because
of the possibility of failure of the plan which would have been created by the UNSC
and the consequences of a failure which were: the damage to the reputation of the stillyoung organization and to its prestige. Once the British and French turned to UN for
help the UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld helped develop six principles for
the future of the canal. Any settlement of the Suez question should meet these
principles:
•
There should be free and open transit through the canal without
discrimination, overt or covert-this covers both political and technical aspects;
•
The sovereignty of Egypt should be respected;
•
The operations of the Canal should be insulated from the politics of any
country;
•
The manner of fixing tolls and charges should be decided by agreement
between Egypt and the users;
•
A fair proportion of the dues should be allotted to development;
•
In case of disputes, unresolved affairs between the Suez Canal Company and
the Egyptian Government should be settled by arbitration with suitable terms
of reference and suitable provisions for the payments of sums found to be
due.
Egypt, again, rejected the British claim and that the London Conference and the
Menzies proposals met these six requirements, and a stalemate emerged.
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The French were also outraged by the move of Nasser, and they directly decided to
make Nasser pay this act. French public opinion was also in favor of the French leader
Guy Mollet, and on 29 July 1956 the French cabinet determined on military action
against Egypt in cooperation with Israel. Admiral Nomy of the French Naval General
Staff went to Britain to inform them and to invite them to cooperation against Egypt.
In October 1956, Eden finally agreed on taking part in the joint military intervention
against Egypt with the French and Israelis. The action would be done with the
Operation Revise. Three months after the canal’s nationalization; the French, British
and Israelis met in Sevres, in a secret meeting, the British and French enlisted Israeli
support and agreed upon the invasion of Sinai by Israel. The UK and France would
intervene after the dispute begins in order to ‘’separate’’ the warring sides and
instructing both countries to withdraw 16 kilometers from either side of the canal. Under
the Protocol of Sèvres, the following was agreed to:
•
29 October: Israel to invade the Sinai.
•
30 October: Anglo-French ultimatum to demand both sides withdraw from the
Canal zone.
•
31 October: Britain and France begin Revise.
Operation Revise called for the following:
Phase I: Anglo-French air forces to gain air supremacy over Egypt's skies.
Phase II: Anglo-French air forces were to launch a 10-day "aero-psychological"
campaign that would destroy the Egyptian economy.
Phase III: Air- and sea-borne landings to capture the Canal zone.
Stockwell and Beaufre rejected this operation with the reason of the plan being an
open-ended one. But Eden and Mollet stated that the plan was offering great political
flexibility and less possibility of Egyptian civilian casualties.
Israeli Kadesh Operation
At the same time, Israel was working on the operation to invade Sinai. According to
Dayan’s plan, the Israeli forces would put an emphasis on air superiority and mobile
battles of encirclement. Israeli forces would involve in some swift operations to weaken
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the opposition and then take the main Egyptian strong points in the Sinai. The
paratrooper forces will land to far-western part of the Sinai and then move along
Egyptian supply lines to cut them and defeat them afterwards.
International Reaction
The international authorities saw the operation militarily as a highly successful one and
politically as a disaster. Eisenhower, over all else, opposed the use of force in defusing
the crisis. Moreover, he supported the United Nations and its efforts to facilitate
resolution of international conflict through peaceful mechanisms. As he stated in a
press conference before:
‘’ I think this: we established the United Nations to abolish the aggression, and I am
not going to be a party to aggression if it is humanly possible or likely to be- to avoid it
or I can detect it before it occurs. ‘’
Eisenhower was very concerned on the protection of the prestige and credibility of the
United Nations on developing an efficient resolution on the international crisis. He also
wanted to secure access to Middle Eastern oil for the Western powers.
On 30 October, Security Council voted upon a resolution that requests the withdrawal
of all Israeli forces from the area, and as expected it is vetoed by France and UK. A
similar draft resolution proposal was rejected as well. The main principle of the UN is
to maintain international peace and security, however the disputes between Security
Council members are preventing UN from serving its main principle. Therefore, UNSC
passed a resolution which called the General Assembly for a special emergency
meeting for the first time to ‘’Unite for Peace’’, make necessary arrangements and end
fighting. On November 2, UN General Assembly adopted a resolution with 64 votes in
favor 5 votes against, being Australia, New Zealand, France, UK and Israel, and 6
abstentions. It decided upon the withdrawal of all armed forces behind the armistice
lines, an arms embargo, and the reopening of the Suez Canal. The UN SecretaryGeneral was asked to observe the further actions in the area and report the
compatibility of the actions to the UN Charter to both the UN Security Council and
General Assembly. Many other resolutions were adopted with the aim of stabilization
and the maintenance of peace in the region and one of them created the United
Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) and these were placed to the area around the
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Canal. The presence of UNEF and international pressure, pushed Israel to withdraw
from the Sinai, even if they stated their unwillingness to withdraw from the area they
cannot disobey the decisions of an organization that they are involved.
The U.S. put enormous pressure on its western allies to withdraw from the area, even
offering shipment of oil to them. The British troops withdrew and with their withdrawal,
U.S. started shipments of 200,000 barrels of oil which increased until the reopening of
the Canal to 300,000. The Israeli withdrawal couldn’t be complete until March because
of the inability of U.S. to support Israel as much as they supported the British and
French. But eventually, Israelis also withdrew from the area.
The crisis is the main reason of the eradication of the British domination in Middle East,
and considered to lead Britain from not being one of the major powers in the world. It
also showed the importance of the canal and the influence of oil in the international
disputes.
Timeline of Events
1922
Feb 28 Egypt is declared a sovereign state by Britain.
Mar 15 Sultan Faud appoints himself King of Egypt.
Mar 16 Egypt achieves independence.
May 7 Britain is angered over Egyptian claims to sovereignty over Sudan
1936
Apr 28 Faud dies and his 16-year-old son, Farouk, becomes King of Egypt.
Aug 26 Draft of Anglo-Egyptian Treaty is signed. Britain is allowed to maintain a
garrison of 10,000 men in the Suez Canal Zone, and is given effective control of
Sudan.
1939
May 2 King Farouk is declared the spiritual leader, or Caliph, of Islam.
1945
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Sept 23 Egyptian government demands complete British withdrawal and the cession
of Sudan.
1946
May 24 British premier Winston Churchill says the Suez Canal will be in danger if
Britain withdraws from Egypt.
1948
May 14 Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel by David Ben-Gurion in
Tel Aviv.
May 15 Start of the first Arab-Israeli War.
Dec 28 Egyptian premier Mahmoud Fatimy is assassinated by the Muslim
Brotherhood.
Feb 12 Hassan el Banna, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood is assassinated.
1950
Jan 3 Wafd party regains power.
1951
Oct 8 Egyptian government announces that it will eject Britain from the Suez Canal
Zone and take control of Sudan.
Oct 21 British warships arrive at Port Said, more troops are on the way.
1952
Jan 26 Egypt is placed under martial law in response to wide-spread riots against the
British.
Jan 27 Prime Minister Mustafa Nahhas is removed by King Farouk for failing to keep
the peace. He is replaced by Ali Mahir.
Mar 1 The Egyptian Parliament is suspended by King Farouk when Ali Mahir resigns.
May 6 King Farouk claims to be a direct descendant of the prophet Mohammed.
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July 1 Hussein Sirry is new premier.
July 23 Free Officer Movement, fearing King Farouk is about to move against them,
initiate a military coup.
July 26 Military coup is successful, General Naguib appoints Ali Mahir as prime
minister.
Sept 7 Ali Mahir again resigns. General Naguib takes over post of president, prime
minister, minister of war and commander-in-chief of the army.
1953
Jan 16 President Naguib disbands all opposition parties.
Feb 12 Britain and Egypt sign new treaty. Sudan to have independence within three
years.
May 5 Constitutional commission recommends 5,000-year-old monarchy be ended
and Egypt become a republic.
May 11 Britain threatens to use force against Egypt over Suez Canal dispute.
June 18 Egypt becomes a republic.
Sept 20 Several of King Farouk's aides are seized.
1954
Feb 28 Nasser challenges President Naguib.
Mar 9 Naguib beats off Nasser's challenge and retains presidency.
Mar 29 General Naguib postpones plans to hold parliamentary elections.
Apr 18 for a second time, Nasser takes presidency away from Naguib.
Oct 19 Britain cedes Suez Canal to Egypt in new treaty, two year period set for
withdrawal.
Oct 26 Muslim Brotherhood attempt to assassinate General Nasser.
Nov 13 General Nasser in full control of Egypt.
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1955
Apr 27 Egypt announces plans to sell cotton to Communist China
May 21 USSR announces it will sell arms to Egypt.
Aug 29 Israeli and Egyptian jets in fire-fight over Gaza.
Sept 27 Egypt makes deal with Czechoslovakia -- arms for cotton.
Oct 16 Egyptian and Israeli forces skirmish in El Auja.
Dec 3 Britain and Egypt sign agreement granting Sudan independence.
1956
Jan 1 Sudan achieves independence.
Jan 16 Islam is made state religion by act of Egyptian government.
June 13 Britain gives up Suez Canal. Ends 72 years of British occupation.
June 23 General Nasser is elected president.
July 19 US withdraws financial aid for Aswan Dam project. Official reason is Egypt's
increased ties to USSR.
July 26 President Nasser announces plan to nationalize Suez Canal.
July 28 Britain freezes Egyptian assets.
July 30 British Prime Minister Anthony Eden imposes an arms embargo on Egypt, and
informs General Nasser that he cannot have the Suez Canal.
Aug 1 Britain, France and U.S. hold talks on escalating Suez crisis.
Aug 2 Britain mobilizes armed forces.
Aug 21 Egypt says it will negotiate on Suez ownership if Britain pulls out of the Middle
East.
Aug 23 USSR announces it will send troops if Egypt is attacked.
Aug 26 General Nasser agrees to five nation conference on Suez Canal.
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Aug 28 Two British envoys are expelled from Egypt accused of spying.
Sept 5 Israel condemns Egypt over Suez crisis.
Sept 9 Conference talks collapse when General Nasser refuses to allow international
control of the Suez Canal.
Sept 12 U.S., Britain, and France announce their intention to impose a Canal Users
Association on management of the canal.
Sept 14 Egypt now in full control of the Suez Canal.
Sept 15 Soviet ship-pilots arrive to help Egypt run the canal.
Oct 1 A 15 nation Suez Canal Users Association is officially formed.
Oct 7 Israeli foreign minister Golda Meir says the UN failure to resolve the Suez Crisis
means they must take military action.
Oct 13 Anglo-French proposal for the control of the Suez Canal is vetoed by the USSR
during UN session.
Oct 29 Israel invades Sinai Peninsula.
Oct 30 Britain and France veto USSR demand for Israel-Egypt cease-fire.
Nov 2 UN Assembly finally approves a cease-fire plan for Suez.
Nov 5 British and French forces involved in airborne invasion of Egypt.
Nov 7 UN Assembly votes 65 to 1 that invading powers should quit Egyptian territory.
Nov 25 Egypt begins to expel British, French, and Zionist residents.
Nov 29 Tripartite Invasion is officially ended under pressure from UN.
Dec 20 Israel refuses to return Gaza to Egypt.
Dec 24 British and French troops depart Egypt.
Dec 27 5,580 Egyptian POWs exchanged for four Israelis.
Dec 28 Operation to clear sunken ship in Suez Canal starts.
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1957
Jan 15 British and French banks in Egypt are nationalized.
Mar 7 UN takes over administration of Gaza Strip.
Mar 15 General Nasser bars Israeli shipping from Suez Canal.
Apr 19 First British ship pays Egyptian toll for use of the Suez Canal.
Bibliography
The Suez Crisis 1956 (Osprey Essential Histories)-Derek Varble
https://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/0472108670-06.pdf
https://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/HIST351-10.2.1-SuezCrisis.pdf
Kunz, Diane B. The Economic Diplomacy of the Suez Crisis. p. 187. ISBN 0-80781967-0.
Brown, Derek (14 March 2001). "1956: Suez and the end of empire". The Guardian.
London.
Reynolds, Paul (24 July 2006). "Suez: End of empire". BBC News.
History's worst decisions and the people who made them, pp. 167–172
Casualties in Arab–Israeli Wars, Jewish Virtual Library
Israeli Casualties in Battle, Jewish Virtual Library
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Dupuy, R. Ernest; Dupuy, Trevor N. (1994). The Collins Encyclopedia of Military
History. HarperCollins. p. 1343.
Varble, Derek The Suez Crisis 1956, Osprey: London 2003, p. 90
Britain France Israel Egypt War 1956
Schiff, A History of the Israeli Army, 1870–1974, p. 70, Straight Arrow Books (1974)
A History of the Israeli Army: 1870 - 1974 - Zeev Schiff - ‫ ﻛﺗب‬Google
Israel – The Suez War of 1956: U.S. newsreel footage. Event occurs at 0:30–0:40.
Le Canal de Suez et la nationalisation par le Colonel Nasser, Les Actualité Française
– AF, 08.01.1956
"Compromise-Minded Conferees". Life. 27 August 1956. p. 43. Retrieved 27
September 2012.
Kingseed, Cole Christian (1995). Eisenhower and the Suez Crisis of 1956. Louisiana
State Press. pp. 66–67. ISBN 9780807119877.
Risse-Kappen 1997, p. 86.
Tony Shaw (1996). Eden, Suez and the Mass Media: Propaganda and Persuasion
During the Suez Crisis. I.B. Tauris. p. 171.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Crisis
Charles Williams, Harold Macmillan (2009) p. 250-252
Robert Rhodes James, Anthony Eden: A Biography (1986), pp 462–5, quote p 472
dated 31 July 1956
For Further Reading
The Suez Crisis 1956 (Osprey Essential Histories)-Derek Varble