In July 1956, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, prompting a response from Israel, Great Britain and France. By the end of the crisis Britain and France had assembled impressive invasion fleets in the Mediterranean, issued an ultimatum and by the 100th day military action was engaged from Sinai to the Canal. The incident remains one of the great follies of modern history from which the British and French were obliged to timidly withdraw, their posture as global powers diminished