Thanks for letting me know. I was considering watching it, but now I’m scratching that off my list of things to watch. Now I feel bad for Leslie Odom Junior for doing this.
WW2 75th Anniversary Poll–-#12--JULY 1940
-
The Attack on Meris-El-Kebir, part of Operation Catapult and also known as the Battle of Meris-El-Kebir, was a British naval bombardment of the French Navy (Marine Nationale) at its base at Meris-El-Kebir on the coast of what was then French Algeria on 3 July 1940. The raid resulted in the deaths of 1,297 French servicemen, the sinking of a battleship and the damaging of five other ships.
The combined air-and-sea attack was conducted by the Royal Navy as a direct response to the Franco-German armistice of 22 June, which had seen Britain’s sole continental ally replaced by a collaborationist, pro-Nazi government administrated from Vichy. The new Vichy government had also inherited the considerable French naval force of the Marine Nationale; of particular significance were the seven battleships of the Bretagne, Dunkerque and Richelieu classes, which collectively represented the second largest force of capital ships in Europe behind the British. Since Vichy was seen by the British (with a good deal of justification) as a mere puppet state of the Nazi regime, there was serious fear that they would surrender or loan the ships to the Kriegsmarine, an outcome which would largely undo Britain’s tenuous grasp on European naval superiority and confer a major Axis advantage in the ongoing Battle of the Atlantic. Despite promises from Admiral Darlan, the Commander of the French Navy,[2] that the fleet would remain under French control and out of the hands of the Germans, Winston Churchill, still reeling from Dunkirk and stung by the Vichy French collaboration, determined that the fleet was simply too dangerous to remain intact, French sovereignty notwithstanding.[3]
In response to the British attack at Meris-l-Kebir and another at Dakar, the French mounted air raids on Gibraltar. The Vichy government also severed diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom. The attack remains controversial. It created much rancor between Vichy France and Britain, but it also demonstrated to the world and to the United States in particular, Britain’s commitment to continue the war with Germany at all costs and without allies if need be.[4]
A great deal of debate has taken place over the motivations of the British. P. M. H. Bell argues that from London’s point of view:[5]The times were desperate; invasion seemed imminent; and the British government simply could not afford to risk the Germans seizing control of the French fleet…. The predominant British motive was thus dire necessity and self-preservation.
The French on the other hand thought they were acting honorably in terms of their armistice with Germany, and were fully convinced they would never turn over their fleet to Germany. French grievances over what they considered a betrayal by their ally festered for generations.[6]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Mers-el-Kébir
Pretty simple. Do you guys agree with what the United Kingdom did to France during Operation Catapult or do you think that the UK could have tried a different tactic?
-
The description given in the above post of “what the United Kingdom did to France during Operation Catapult” leaves out an important element. Admiral Somerville didn’t simply go into Mers-el-Kebir and start shooting; what he actually did was go into Mers-el-Kebir and give the French authorities four choices, along with a deadline for making up their minds. Britain’s objective was to make sure that the Axis didn’t get their hands on the French fleet, and Britain gave France four options for meeting this British objective:
-
Having the French fleet join the fight against the Axis as Free French units operating out of Britain
-
Having the French fleet interned in a British-controlled port
-
Having the French fleet sail to a French port in the West Indies, where it would remain under some sort of protective custody
-
Having the French fleet attacked and sunk at anchor if France did not agree to one of the three above options by such-and-such a deadline
-
-
The peace terms that France accepted caused an unavoidable perception that Vichy was a puppet regime. Events proved this right, despite the no doubt honourable intentions of some.
I don’t see how the British could have taken the huge risk of leaving the French fleet in the Med.
Suggested Topics
