The Sinai War, also known as “Kadesh Operation” was a military attack on Egypt by Israel, Britain and France on 29 October 1956. The attack followed Egypt's decision of 26 July 1956 to nationalize the Suez Canal after the withdrawal of an offer by Britain and the United States to fund the building of the Aswan Dam. 

Background

Arab economic and military pressure on Israel: In order to pressure Israel, the Arab world implemented a series of economic sanctions against it in the early 1950s. Amongst other actions, Israel's neighbors all sealed their borders and thoroughly blocked all forms of transportation and communication across them.

The Arab world closed its ports to Israeli shipping, as well as to ships originating from or destined for Israeli ports. This action made shipping to Israel almost unfeasible, since no ship stopping in Israel could visit any other port in the region before or afterwards on that trip.

All flights departing from, landing in or passing through Israel were forbidden from passing over Arab air space. Individuals who had an Israeli visa in their passport were refused entry into Arab countries. Arab governments also pursued a campaign designed to dissuade private companies from doing business with Israel, and put a great deal of pressure on other governments to participate in their embargo.

The Arab states and President Nasser of Egypt in particular, created and supported the Fedayeen who conducted cross-border raids against Israelis. The Fedayeen were trained and equipped by Egyptian Intelligence to infiltrate Israel, engage in hostile actions within it and to commit acts of sabotage and murder. The Fedayeen also operated from bases in Jordan.

Sèvres Convention

Three months after Egypt's nationalization of the canal company, a secret meeting took place at Sèvres, outside Paris. Britain and France enlisted Israeli support for an alliance against Egypt. The parties agreed that Israel would invade the Sinai. Britain and France would then intervene, instructing that both the Israeli and Egyptian armies withdraw their forces to a distance of 16 km from either side of the canal.

On 22 October, Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion, Director General of the Ministry of Defense Shimon Peres and Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces Moshe Dayan secretly travelled from Israel to an isolated house in Sèvres to meet the French Minister of Defence Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury, Minister of Foreign Affairs Christian Pineau and Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces General Maurice Challe, and British Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd and his assistant Sir Patrick Dean.

Together, the diplomats and their aides set out the plan of a two-step invasion of Egypt, first Israel had to attack and then the British-French forces would join in.

After 48 hours of negotiations and compromise the seven points agreement was signed by Ben-Gurion, Pineau and Dean. At the insistence of the Israeli diplomats, wanting to prevent being abandoned in the middle of the invasion, each group left Sèvres with a signed copy, written in French

Sir Anthony Eden, the British Prime Minister at the time, denied the existence of such an agreement. In 1956, when Sir Philip stated signed copies of the secret protocols existed, Eden, concerned that revelation of the agreement was a threat to the three governments, sent Dean back to France on the 25 October to collect all copies and leave no trace of the agreements. Christian Pineau at the Quai d'Orsay refused as the Israeli diplomats had already left France. The original Israeli copy of the Protocol of Sèvres is said to be kept within the Ben-Gurion Archives, Sde Boker, Israel. Four days later, Israeli forces marched on Egypt.

The War Stages

Operation Kadesh received its name from the ancient city of Kadesh, mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy, located in the northern Sinai Area. Israeli military planning for this operation in the Sinai hinged on four main military objectives; Sharm el-Sheikh, al-Arish, Abu Uwayulah, and the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian blockade of the Tiran Straits was based at Sharm el-Sheikh, and by capturing the town, Israel would have access to the Red Sea for the first time since 1953, which would allow it to restore the trade benefits of secure passage to the Indian Ocean. The Gaza Strip was chosen as another military objective because Israel wished to remove the training grounds for Fedayeen groups, and because Israel recognized that Egypt could use the territory as a staging ground for attacks against the advancing Israeli troops.

Israel advocated rapid advances, for which a potential Egyptian flanking attack would present even more of a risk. al-Arish and Abu Uwayulah were important hubs for soldiers, equipment, and centres of command and control of the Egyptian Army in the Sinai. Capturing them would deal a deathblow to the Egyptian's strategic operation in the entire Peninsula. The capture of these four objectives were hoped to be the means by which the entire Egyptian Army would rout, and fall back into Egypt proper, which British and French forces would then be able to push up against an Israeli advance, and crush in a decisive encounter.

The Israeli chief-of-staff, Major General Moshe Dayan, first planned to take the vital Mitla Pass. Dayan planned for the 1st Battalion, 202nd Paratroop Brigade, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Rafael Eitan, a veteran of the Israel War of Independence, and future head of the IDF; to drop at Parker's Memorial, near one of the defiles of the pass, Jebel Heitan. The rest of the brigade, under the command of Colonel Ariel Sharon would then advance to meet with the battalion, and consolidate their holdings.

On 29 October 1956, Operation Kadesh, the conquest of the Sinai, began when the battalion dropped into the Peninsula. However, the landing had not gone as planned, and the forces were now several miles from their target, and wasted valuable hours, and physical energy, moving into their positions opposite the Egyptian positions in the pass. The Israelis then dug in, received artillery and weapons from another airlift, and awaited the rest of the brigade.

Meanwhile, the 9th Infantry Brigade captured Ras an-Naqb, an important staging ground for that brigade's later attack against Sharm el-Sheikh. Instead of attacking the town by a frontal attack, they enveloped the town, and negotiated through some of the natural chokepoints into the rear of the town, and surprised the Egyptians before they could ready themselves to defend. The Egyptians surrendered, with no Israeli casualties sustained. The 4th Infantry Brigade, under the command of Colonel Josef Harpaz, captured al-Qusaymah, which would be used as a jumping off point for the assault against Abu Uwayulah.

The portion of the 202nd under Sharon's command continued to advance to meet with the 1st Brigade. En route, Sharon assaulted Themed, and was able to storm the town through the Themed Gap, and was able to capture the settlement. On the 30th, Sharon linked up with Eytan near Nakla.

Dayan had no more plans for further advances beyond the passes, but Sharon decided to attack the Egyptian positions at Jebel Heitan. Sharon would send his lightly armed paratroopers against dug-in Egyptians supported by air and heavy artillery, as well as tanks. Although the Israelis succeeded in forcing the Egyptians to retreat, the heavy casualties sustained would surround Sharon with a lot of controversy. Most of the deaths sustained by the Israelis in the entire operation were sustained at Jebel Heitan.

Casualties

• Israel: 171 fatalities, hundreds injured and 4 prisoners.
• Egypt (estimation): Thousands of injured and fatalities. About 6,000 prisoners, big amounts of ammunition, tanks and military equipment remainder. According to the estimates, in the Sinai War were killed between 1,500 to 3,000 Egyptian soldiers.

The war conclusion and her results

The Soviet Union, who was an Egypt ally, opposed the war, and threatened to be alongside Egypt. United States joined to the Soviet Union demand and asked from Britain, France and Israel to evacuate the area from their forces. France and Britain moved their forces until the end of 1956.

David Ben Gurion, Israel prime minister, agreed under pressure of Britain and France to evacuate the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza in March 1957, but informed that any closing of Tiran straits will constitute cause to additional war.

Emergency forces of the UN, was placed in the Egyptian side of the border with Israel and also in Sharm el-Sheikh. As a result from that, the sailing pathway in Eilat bay remained open to Israeli cruise.

Before evacuating the Sinai Peninsula, Israel executed 2 big operations in order to increase her security in the southern border:

• “Operation Leket”: Booty of firearms, tanks, trucks, combat materials, ammunition, engineering mechanized equipment and militaristic equipment of Egypt were taken to Israel quickly as possible and had serious renovations.

• “Operation Amora”: The Israeli engineering corps destroyed all the Egyptian military traffic foundation in Sinai Peninsula in order to avoid the possibly of Egyptian swift surprise attack in the future.