Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, Cold War

Suez Crisis

Suez Crisis was a battle fought in 1957 at Sinai Peninsula, in what is now Egypt. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at Sinai Peninsula. It was part of the Arab–Israeli conflict. The recorded result: See § Aftermath. Recorded strength: 175,000; 45,000; 34,000 against 90,000.

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Fought1957
WhereSinai Peninsula, Egypt29.500N, 34.000E, placed at the location, approximate
OutcomeSee § Aftermath
BelligerentsIsrael; United Kingdom; French Fourth RepublicagainstEgypt
Part ofArab–Israeli conflict1948

Where it sits in the Arab–Israeli conflict

Operation Tarnegol, 1956Operation Musketeer, 1956Battle of Burullus, 1956Suez Crisis, 1957Operation Opera, 1981Operation Wooden Leg, 198519561985Suez Crisis, 1957
6 placed engagements of the Arab–Israeli conflict in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1957 (year precision)
PlaceSinai Peninsula, Egypt
29.500N, 34.000E
KindBattle, Cold War
Territorial changeIsraeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip until March 1957
Strength175,000; 45,000; 34,00090,000
Casualties and lossesIsrael:172 killedUnited Kingdom:22 killedFrance:10 killed1,650–3,000 killed; 215+ aircraft destroyed; 1,000 civilians killed
Commanders
  • David Ben-Gurion
  • Moshe Dayan
  • Asaf Simhoni
  • Haim Bar-Lev
  • Avraham Yoffe
  • Israel Tal
  • Gamal Abdel Nasser
  • Abdel Hakim Amer
Suez CrisisSuez CrisisRaid on Bir el HassanaRaid on NekhlEin Netafim ambush19th Battalion Night Post BattleOperation RavivRaid on Bir el HassanaRaid on NekhlEin Netafim ambush19th Battalion Night Post BattleOperation RavivSuezIsmaïliaAl AqabahMa'an100 km29.500N, 34.000E
Placed at Sinai Peninsula; the exact site is not recorded. with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Suez Crisis
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 50 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Suez Crisis today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-09-28. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 732 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 865 m, 865 m of relief, steep country and today it is 98% bare ground, 2% grassland.

bare ground: 98%grassland: 2%bare ground 98%grassland 2%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 750 mnorth to south, 10.0 km649 to 746 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1957

Suez Crisis is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 144 in present-day Egypt.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q49101, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Suez Crisis, revision 1385353995, read 2026-11-15, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.