The 1956 war over the Suez Canal, in which Britain, France, and Israel secretly colluded to attack Egypt, seize the canal zone, and undo Nasser's nationalization — a military success that became a political catastrophe and exposed Britain and France as no longer first-rank world powers.
In October 1956, the leaders of Britain, France, and Israel met in secret in a French villa and signed a plan they all agreed had never happened. Israel would invade Egypt; Britain and France would then step in as peacekeepers and seize the Suez Canal, pretending to separate two armies they had arranged to fight. The military operation worked. The deception did not. Within days an American president the plotters had not consulted forced them into a humiliating retreat. The two old empires of Europe learned that they could no longer act in the Middle East without permission from Washington.