pool was declared finished as Hungary and the Soviet Union were both guaranteed advancement at 2–0 compared to the other two teams at 0–2. Pool 3 Belgium defeated Luxembourg 11–5. The match between France and Luxembourg was stopped at 9–6 because Luxembourg was then guaranteed to finish 0–2 and be eliminated. Semifinals The top two nations in each pool advanced to the final. Semifinal 1 Hungary defeated Belgium 11–5 in the first match. Belgium and Italy split the bouts 8–8 in the second, with Belgium taking the match win on touches against, 63–67. This put Belgium in the position of watching the final match, needing either a Hungary win or an Italy victory by blowout (14–2 or better) to advance. When the Italy–Hungary match reached 9 bouts to 3 in Italy's favor, neither outcome was possible and Belgium was mathematically eliminated—ending the pool. Semifinal 2 Great Britain (10–6) and then France (9–7) each defeated the Soviet Union, eliminating the latter team. Final The first two pairings saw Hungary defeat France (9–7) and Italy beat Great Britain (10–6). Hungary and Italy each won again in the second pairings, this time Hungary over Great Britain (10–6) and Italy against France (15–1). With two 2–0 teams and two 0–2 teams, the third set of pairings in the round-robin were effectively a gold medal match and a bronze medal match. France defeated Great Britain 9–3 to take the bronze medal, while Italy prevailed over Hungary 9–3 for the gold. References Epee team Men's events at the 1956 Summer Olympics