The transports lumbered off the ground at Cyprus in the purple-streaked dawn, and two and a half hours later dropped the paratroopers over the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The Britons aimed at Port Said, the French for Port Fuad, across the canal's mouth. From the first instant of combat, it became apparent that the Anglo-French could not hope for a quick victory without bloodshed. The Egyptians had littered the drop areas with barbed wire and oil drums, were ready with a desperate and (one of the invaders reported) "bloody good" reception committee.
In the first flash of conflict, casualties were...
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