Background of the news happening in the show
Suez Crisis
Egypt used to be a British colony, and its Suez Canal was managed jointly by Britain and France. The strategic significance of the canal in World War II was of great significance. Once the Suez Canal was controlled, the entire Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East could be controlled. During the war, the British army controlled the canal. In 1947, British troops withdrew from the canal, the State of Israel was proclaimed the following year, and the Arab-Israeli War broke out soon after, and Israel was victorious.
In 1952, officers of the Egyptian army staged a coup that overthrew the monarchy of King Farouk. The new government abandoned the old government's pro-Western policies and pursued nationalist policies, which caused Western countries and Israel to start disputes with Egypt over the Suez Canal.
1956 In
1956, the conflict between Israel and Egypt escalated. Both sides frequently attacked each other's territory. The Egyptian government, led by President Gamar Abdul Nasser, closed the Gulf of Aqaba to prevent Israeli ships from using the Suez Canal.
On the other hand, the new government, which implemented Arab nationalism, drifted away from Western countries, openly opposed the Baghdad Treaty Organization, a military organization established by Britain in the Middle East, and developed close relations with the communist camp headed by the Soviet Union. This caused dissatisfaction with the United States, and announced that it would stop providing assistance to Egypt to build the Aswan Dam. On July 26, 1956, Nasser announced that the Suez Canal would be nationalized, and the Aswan Dam was built on its own through the canal's revenue. Because the Suez Canal is an important shipping route for European countries to the East, and British companies and banks own 44% of the canal, Nasser's decision aroused extreme dissatisfaction in Britain and France.
A few months after Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, Britain, France and Israel held a secret meeting in Sèvres, outside Paris. Details of the meeting were not revealed until many years later, and detailed records of the meeting have been destroyed. The three parties at the meeting formulated a careful plan to retake the Suez Canal: first, Israel launched an attack on the Sinai Peninsula, then Britain and France intervened, requiring the armies of both sides to cease fire on both sides of the Suez Canal, and then the troops of the two countries would be stationed in the Suez Canal area, thereby achieve the purpose of taking over the Suez Canal.
time line
On July 26, the Egyptian government announced that it would nationalize the Suez Canal Company and hand over all the company's assets to Egypt. In order to regain control of the Suez Canal, Britain and France planned to hold a conference to implement "international control" on the canal.
On August 16, under the initiative of Britain and France, 22 countries met in London, but failed to reach any agreement.
On September 19, the United States, Britain and France convened 18 countries to meet again in London to discuss the issue of establishing a "Suez Canal Use Association", but no agreement has been reached.
On September 30, Britain and France submitted the Suez Canal issue to the UN Security Council for discussion.
On October 13, the Security Council rejected the British and French demands that Egypt accept the "international management" system proposal.
On October 13, France and Israel agreed on a battle plan.
On October 14, Britain and France held a secret meeting in the village of Aydin to formulate a battle plan. It was decided that Israel would first attack the Egyptian army in the Sinai Peninsula, attracting the main force of the Egyptian army to support; then, the British and French dispatched planes from Cyprus, Malta, Aden and aircraft carriers to bomb Egypt and destroy the Egyptian military base; Landed in Hong Kong, attacked the Canal Zone, and cut off the Egyptian army's retreat; finally, Israel occupied the entire Sinai Peninsula, Britain and France occupied the Sinai Peninsula Canal Zone, and completely wiped out the Egyptian army.
Hungarian Revolution of 1956
In February 1956, after the secret report of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union completely denied Stalin, dissidents appeared in various Eastern European countries under communism. In Hungary, this turmoil was further escalated by the patriotism of the national history: left-wing intellectuals evoked the memory of Petofi, the patriotic poet and revolutionary martyr of the Hungarian revolution of 1849.
In order to calm the turmoil in Hungary, the Soviet Union ousted Matthias Rakosila, a loyal follower of Stalin and unpopular with the Hungarians, the leader of the Hungarian Communist Party, but further strengthened the Hungarians' demands for independence and democratization. Agricultural failure and fuel shortage made the situation more and more serious, and the demand of the people for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary became stronger and stronger.
On the evening of October 23,
a group of students from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics rallied in a square in Budapest and tore down the Stalin statue. The small rally quickly attracted others to join the protest. Even Hungarian soldiers joined the protest, tearing up the Soviet star of their hat. Encouraged, the crowd decided to cross the Danube and head towards the parliament building, numbering at least 100,000.
Despite the protesters' relatively benign demands, the Hungarian security police (secret police) opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds. The people then flipped police cars and set fire to them, and got a lot of weapons from factory workers, and the headquarters of the Hungarian security police was besieged by the crowd. Authorities managed to support the besieged secret police. But the rebels are also filled with ex-fascists and far-right anti-communists, as well as indiscriminate killings of unarmed Communists and the families of Hungarian soldiers. This also led to demonstrations turning violent.
Initially the Soviet Union believed it could cooperate with the new Hungarian government: Soviet troops began to withdraw, and two leaders previously persecuted by Rakosi: Nagy Imre and Kadar Janos were appointed Prime Minister and Party No. A secretary. Najib implemented a series of measures after coming to power, the most important of which was his announcement that Hungary would withdraw from the Warsaw Pact, seeking a neutral status that would make Hungary a country similar to Austria and Switzerland.
The CPSU began to use military power in Hungary. These Soviet soldiers had become accustomed to the Hungarian way of life. Their mission was always to defend the Soviet Union. And this first intervention was confused: for example, when the tank encountered a protest march, the tank accompanied the crowd.
While Soviet troops fought in Budapest, the rest of Hungary was largely quiet and peaceful. Soviet commanders and Hungarian revolutionaries frequently negotiated ceasefires. In Budapest, Soviet troops eventually fought until their hostility to the Revolutionary Army diminished.
These changes were too quick and drastic for the Soviet Union or Kadar, who left Budapest to form a new government in eastern Hungary, claiming to save the republic from fascist counter-revolutionary riots. Kadar returned to Budapest on 4 November, supported by Soviet tanks.
About 200,000 refugees fled to the West, but due to the sphere of influence stipulated in the Yalta Agreement and the nuclear balance between the United States and the Soviet Union, Western countries did not get involved militarily. The Soviets then arrested and executed Najib and other prominent leaders on counter-revolutionary charges. Many of the reforms first introduced in 1956 were retained under Qadar, but there were no major changes in diplomacy.
Source: Wikipedia
View more about The Hour reviews
