Britain and France invaded Egypt over a canal, and the US shut it down in days
When Egypt's President Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal in 1956, Britain, France and Israel launched a coordinated invasion to retake it. US President Eisenhower, furious at not being consulted, threatened to sell off British bonds and torpedo the pound; the invaders withdrew within weeks. Historians mark it as the moment Britain and France's status as global superpowers visibly ended.