The Alexandria plan called for an intensive land campaign culminating in a tank battle near Cairo. Such an advance would have required the coalition to defeat the Egyptian army well inland before imposing a political result. Planners instead returned to Port Said, where an amphibious force could seize the canal entrance and operate close to naval support. Changing the objective reduced the scale of the land war while keeping the canal at the centre of the operation.
Notable Point · 35:21-35:56
Why Port Said Replaced an Alexandria Advance
An earlier concept envisaged a drive from Alexandria toward Cairo, but planners returned to Port Said as the more practicable objective.