The Assault on Suez
By James Robinson
ex Royal Marine 1947 to 1971

Dawn had broken, when the first wave of elderly amphibians (Buffaloes) headed towards the beach, driven by the men of the 7th RTR. Each contained thirty tight packed men, of either 40th or 42nd RM Commando or of a Royal Artillery fire control team with a link to naval guns. The elderly amphibians had left the holds of the LSTs two and a half miles out at sea, and had set off landwards with only the rims visible above the waterline.

The guns of the destroyers and frigates were shelling the beach huts and houses on the sea front to the right of the harbour entrance, with the beach huts ablaze providing a smoke screen for the Egyptian soldiers running out of the huts and screening the oncoming amphibians. Naval aircraft took over the task of covering fire as the amphibians drew closer to the beach, the naval aircraft coming in at ground level to take out the huts 200 yards ahead of them.

The square hulks of the Buffaloes rose out of the water and roared up the beach, with extra speed from the absence of armour plating, which should have been but was not provided for and with Bren guns blazing to silence enemy machine gunners on either flank. The amphibians careered past the blazing huts where ammunition was exploding amid abandoned equipment and other items left behind by the Egyptian Army. The Buffaloes jerked to a halt. The men jumped out at commando speed, their green berets bobbing about as they swiftly and quickly forced their way into the Casino Palace Hotel.

The reserve troops came by assault craft, losing two or three men from machine gun fire as they ran across the beach, the only casualties of the beach landing. The Centurions of C Squadron, 6th RTR, soon followed coming ashore through 4 feet of water, where they took up fire positions covering the streets. The men of 40 Commando had the task of clearing the harbour and with 42 Commando, on the right, advanced through the town to seize the gas works and power station and link up with the French at the waterworks.

It had become clear that 42 CDO were confronted with a daunting task, demanding forbearance and courage. Darting figures were to be seen up every alleyway and through windows. Bullets were cracking at every angle, singly and in bursts, but only when a target appeared did the Marines shoot back. 42Cdo dropped snipers off at vantage points, and started to clear the houses one by one, while the Centurions gave valuable support. They fired belt after belt from Browning machine guns at located strong points, put down smoke to cover street crossings, and gave cover across open spaces by use of their hulks. 40 CDO made swift progress, capturing the main police station, and with tank support advanced up the road flanking the harbour towards the Canal company offices. 42 CDO once again met tough opposition in the main government building, from which a great number of Egyptians were ejected.

Brigadier R. W. Madoc, 3rd Commando Brigade, then decided to bring in 45 Commando to start the task of clearing the streets in between 40th and 42nd Commando. 45 Cdo taxied in with a mighty roar made by the assorted fleet of twenty-two helicopters and landed near the Casino Palace. Their Commanding Officer, Lt.-Col. Tailyour, had escaped being hit by many bullets when he landed in the sports stadium that had not yet captured, but had less luck when a naval plane, misdirected by control, dived and opened fire on his men after they had began the task of house clearing and he was one of the nineteen casualties inflicted. 42 Cdo also had a few losses from this strike, but had no complaints about the very accurate strike against the government building that enabled them to gain possession. At about 9am, with Lt.-Col. Norcock commanding, he re-embarked two troops of 42 CDO into the Buffaloes and with tank escort, ahead and behind, led them full tilt up the Rue Mohammed Aly, a wide road flanked by high houses. Egyptians opened up from windows and side roads at some points with women and children around them, and the tanks blazed back with their Brownings and the Commandos with Brens from the top of the Buffaloes. Two anti-tank guns were blasted out by the tanks and more overrun, as they emerged into open territory at the end of the road. The Buffaloes followed with some dead and wounded when the gas works were captured, and then a fight near the prison from which the inmates had been let loose. Egyptian troops were in considerable numbers but soon dispersed from an air strike; the route was clear now to the French at the waterworks. Egyptian self-propelled guns had made an attempt to break out along the causeway, and an air strike was called in to knock them out.

Meanwhile, on the west side of Port Said, C Company, 3rd Para, had resumed their advance. A self-propelled gun had been spotted and engaged by a destroyer. C Company had gained a block of flats and captured the coast guard barracks without great difficulty. A Para patrol, probing forward towards a hospital, came under heavy machine gun and mortar fire, and had four men hit including an officer and sergeant. The fire came from the Arab quarter and the Paras brought up an anti-tank gun to silence the firing. A cool and daring evacuation was made of the wounded by the Para Field Ambulance. The Paras consolidated their hold on the building and kept close watch on the Arab quarter. They could see the refugees streaming along the bund across Lake El Manzala. Although there were many soldiers amongst the refugees, the Paras let them go for fear of hitting civilians.

Meanwhile, a reconnaissance was made of the harbour, headed by minesweepers. Although the harbour was littered with sunken ships, the entrance had not been blocked and it was possible to bring in the tank landing ships with engineering equipment and the remainder of 6th RTR, once a wall had been demolished to allow the tanks to get ashore to get to the assembly point inside the town. The Canal company office was finally taken by 40 Commando but they had run into heavy fire from the warehouses between it and what had been navy house next to the berthing bay. The 20-pounders of the Centurions dealt with the outbreak of firing from the warehouses and the Centurions shelled for about 10 minutes. Even then 40 lost two officers killed and three Marines wounded. To reach the French at the waterworks, A Squadron, 6th RTR, made a detour around the station to come in along the road cleared by 42 Commando.

The Egyptians in the navy house were cornered, and fought desperately. 40 Cdo called for an air strike by naval aircraft on the Navy's old home. The strike went in just as darkness was falling and with superb accuracy using rocket fire. Weird wild figures were seen to be blasted out of windows while flames gushed forth from out of the building. Rather than attack again in darkness and at the end of a long day, 40 Cdo sealed off the area and next morning recovered thirty dead and twenty prisoners from the battered building.

That evening Gen. Stockwell gave out orders for the next part of the operation; starting on the next day, 16th Para were to break out from the causeway and capture Abu Sueir Aerodrome, and the French were to launch an airborne and waterborne assault on Ismalia. During this time a message had been sent out from the HQ ship, HMS Tyne, that there was to be a cease-fire as from midnight. There were about six hours to go before the cease-fire, and Brigadier Butler, with the Paras, gave the order, "Full steam ahead" to the tanks at El Tina, to make for Ismalia, some 38 miles distance. Again, overwhelming force had to be assembled, and not until later did the advance begin, being held up by roadblocks that slowed down the progress of the tanks. They reached El Cap a few minutes before midnight and the cease-fire. Brigadier Butler and his Paras were sorely tempted to go on to the objective, but journalists had tacked themselves to the column and would no doubt reveal any violation of the cease-fire.

Back in the UK, the Prime Minister, Anthony Eden, was applauded by his supporters, and not until President Nasser was seen to emerge as the political winner was anger expressed at stopping the troops from going on to take all the objectives. They were imbued with the will to fight, and had no cause for remorse, as they did what their political masters expected of them.

There was no clear cut ending to the battle in Port Said, and sniping continued through the night from the Arab quarter. When daylight came, 3rd Para had one final firefight before entering the Arab quarter and linking up with 42 Commando. Resistance had been stifled, and the search for weapons hidden in shacks began. In the Arab quarter alone fifty-seven 3-ton lorry loads of weapons had been recovered in the course of a day. The assault on the Canal had ended, and now began the task of policing until the troops of the United Nations could take control.

On the 9th of November 1956, Brigadier Madoc, of the 3rd Commando Bde., and Brigadier Butler, of the 16th Parachute Bde., were informed that they would be leaving Port Said on the 12th-13th-14th November. The Parachute Brigade to Cyprus, the Commando Brigade, less 42 Cdo, to return to Malta, while 42 joined the Brigade in Malta 10 days later before returning to the UK.

It may be of interest, that the commandant, General, Royal Marines, Lieutenant-General C. R. Hardy, who, not in a position of operational command, wished to accompany his Marines into battle, and was seen moving among them giving words of encouragement.