1956 Sinai Campaign
“Operation Kadesh” – A war with Egypt
Letter Excerpts:
The port of Haifa was seen in the distance with many ships including the captured Egyptian destroyer. Speaking to some sailors…I found out some very interesting things about the boat & the Sinai Campaign.
— August 5, 1957
“Everyone here says next time Syria starts it will be another Sinai.”
— July 24, 1957
“I saw many captured Egyptian tanks; some that were destroyed and left exactly as they fell.”
— August 29, 1957
“Sunday morning I am going for a ride on the captured Egyptian destroyer… It is the first time a destroyer had ever been captured in modern times.”
— August 23, 1957
“Then came the biggest thrill of all, the appearance of the captured Egyptian Destroyer now the Israel Navy Destroyer SS Haifa. She looked great and it felt great to speak to the crew, of whom a few were refugees from Nasser and Egypt. “
— August 25, 1957
From its beginnings, EL AL proudly flew the Jewish star on the tail of its aircraft.
The same factory years later in the bustling city of Ramat Gan.
Bob Jacobs’ trip to Israel was just one year after the Sinai Campaign of October, 1956 and there were many references in his letters to this war. The military operation, also called “Operation Kadesh”, sought to put an end to terrorist incursions of the “fedayeens” into Israel. Adding to this was the tension created when Egyptian President Nasser decided to nationalize the Suez Canal. The “Suez Crisis” (another name for this episode) drew France and England into the conflict with Egypt too.
Israeli soldiers prepare to enter Sinai/Gaza during the ’56 war
In a swift, sweeping operation of 100 hours, the entire Sinai peninsula (including “Sharm e-Sheikh”) fell into Israeli hands, at a cost of 231 soldiers killed. The defeat of the Egyptian forces included a battle at sea, where an Egyptian destroyer along with its 250 crew members were captured in proximity to the Port of Haifa. The Egyptian warship, called “Ibraham El Awal”. was towed back to Haifa where it was repaired, and later entered the Israel Navy as the “I.N.S. Haifa”.
As seen from these letters, this amazing feat was publicized throughout Israel, as Israelis and tourists alike hopped aboard the captured Egyptian ship for a free ride.
The captured Egyptian destroyer, “Ibraham El Awal” renamed the “INS Haifa” –
“the first time a destroyer had ever been captured in modern times.”
In January 1957, Israel withdrew from the Sinai in the face of US pressure asserted by US President Eisenhower and Secretary of State Dulles. Many Israelis protested the withdrawal.
Israel recaptured the Sinai in the 1967 Six-Day War, but Prime Minister Menachem Begin surrendered it to Egypt as a result of the 1979 Camp David Accords.
A destroyed Egyptian T-34 tank lays lifeless in the Sinai desert.
Israel captures Egyptian destroyer and its crew
100,000 Israelis protest withdrawal from Gaza & Sinai 1957
The Sinai Campaign: Israel’s 1956 war with Egypt
David’s possible changes and links
The original memo sent by David to Lenny with the links showing all the opposition to Israel’s occupation of Sinai from US and the reaction of Israelis to this pressure from the US
July 30, 1957
“Everyone here says next time Syria starts it will be another Sinai.”
July 24, 1957
“Then came the biggest thrill of all, the appearance of the captured Egyptian Destroyer now the Israel Navy Destroyer SS Haifa. She looked great and it felt great to speak to the crew, of whom a few were refugees from Nasser and Egypt. They were all ready to pay Nasser back a few things they owed him for what he did to their families in Egypt…”
August 25, 1957
“Sunday morning I am going for a ride on the captured Egyptian Destroyer, I saw it this afternoon. It is the first time a destroyer had ever been captured in modern times.”
“So that’s what I do now. It’s a great feeling they all have especially the veterans of Sinai.”
August 20, 1957
“I saw many captured Egyptian tanks; some that were destroyed and left exactly as they fell.”
August 29, 1957 Letter to Alan
“The port of Haifa was seen in the distance with many ships including the captured Egyptian destroyer. Speaking to some sailors which was later verified by someone a vet from the air force, I found out some very interesting things about the boat & the Sinai Campaign.”
August 5, 1957
Suez Canal Crisis
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Suez Canal Crisis: Anglo-French Soldiers March In (1956) | War Archives
In record time and with few casualties Anglo-French troops take over the Canal Zone during the highly-controversial Suez Crisis. For Archive Licensing Enquiries Visit: https://goo.gl/W4hZBv Explore Our Online Channel For FULL Documentaries, Fascinating Interviews u0026 Classic Movies: https://goo.gl/7dVe8r #BritishPathé #History #SuezCanal .
https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/history/pages/the%20sinai%20campaign%20-%201956.aspx
Sinai Campaign –
The Sinai Campaign, fought to put an end to terrorist incursions into Israel and to remove the Egyptian blockade of Eilat, marked the final transformation of the IDF into a professional army capable of large-scale operations. A battle plan for the operation was adopted in early October 1956, but was revised following Israel’s secret agreement with Britain and France. Under this agreement, Israel would transfer the focus of action as close to the Suez Canal as possible.
On its own account, the Israeli government also drew up a course of action allowing it to convert the operation into a brief raid, should the British and French, contrary to the secret agreement, not intervene. In a new plan, adopted on October 25, it was decided to launch the operation with a paratroop landing, and to hold the Armored Corps back until October 31.
At 17:00 on October 29, Israeli units parachuted into the eastern approaches of the Mitla Pass near the Canal – a political rather than tactical or strategic objective. The action provided the pretext for a French and British ultimatum to Israel and Egypt, calling on both sides to cease hostilities and withdraw from the Canal area. For diversionary reasons, Israeli forces also advanced on southern and central axes.
The following day, October 30, Britain and France issued the planned ultimatum, but to no effect, as heavy fighting between Egyptian and Israeli units persisted. In a swift, sweeping operation of 100 hours, under the leadership of then Chief of the General Staff, Moshe Dayan, the entire Sinai peninsula fell into Israeli hands, at a cost of 231 soldiers killed. Reserve units, about which many misgivings had been uttered before the war, conducted themselves honorably. A reserve brigade, equipped with requisitioned civilian buses, negotiated the difficult desert track and captured Sharm e-Sheikh at the southernmost tip of the Sinai peninsula.
The Sinai Campaign did not so much introduce new principles and policies as reaffirm the direction the IDF had already taken. Above all, the doctrine that the determining factors in Israel’s mode of warfare would be the Armored Corps and the Air Force was confirmed. The Air Force was still deficient; its development was one of the lessons learned from that war; armor had proven its ability and was there to stay. If 1948 was undoubtedly the War of the Infantry, the uncontested queen of the battlefield in the war of 1956 was Armor.
Once more Israel gained a breathing space of about ten years. Attention now turned to the north, where the Syrians – since 1953 – had been attempting to thwart Israel’s National Water Project. Having failed, they undertook to divert the headwaters of the Jordan (originating in Syria), by a manouever designed to leave Israel high and dry. Water is a classical reason for war in the Middle East; but a brief, resolute employment of artillery and tanks prevailed on the Syrians to refrain from their spiteful exercise.
Although Israel had been compelled to withdraw from Sinai without any security guarantee, UNEF – the United Nations Emergency Force, was established to guard against a recurrence of past events. As a result, the fedayun ceased to exist. On the other hand, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), was reorganized and its principal military arm, the Fatah – one of a confusing array of para-military and terrorist organizations – began operations on 1 January 1965, at first from across the Lebanese border. Never an existential threat to Israel, it was a constant nuisance from there on and a temptation to divert attention and energy from the main task, preparations for yet another round.
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Israel withdrew frew Sinai in January 1957 after strong pressure on Israel from D
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Withdrawl from GAZA AND SINAI
100,000 Israelis Protests against Israel’s withdrawal from Sinai
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As seen from these letters, this amazing feat was publicized throughout Israel, as Israelis and tourists alike hopped aboard the captured Egyptian ship for a free ride.