A Day That Shook The World: Suez invasion

(Hulton Archive/Getty)

On 5 November 1956, Britain and her ally France invade Egypt in retaliation for President Nasser's annexation of the Suez Canal.

The Canal had been in British hands for decades, and Prime Minister Anthony Eden considered Nasser's move as an affront to the nation. The rest of the world heartily disagreed, and Eden eventually caved to intense international pressure - finally allowing Egypt control over its most valuable national asset.

Watch original footage from the invasion and the subsequent international outcry in this British Pathé video, above.