Posted on 11/27/2006 2:49:13 AM PST by mainepatsfan
1942 : French scuttle their fleet
On this day in 1942, French Admiral Jean de Laborde sinks the French fleet anchored in Toulon harbor, off the southern coast of France, in order to keep it out of German hands.
In June 1940, after the German invasion of France and the establishment of an unoccupied zone in the southeast, led by Gen. Philippe Petain, Adm. Jean Darlan was committed to keeping the French fleet out of German control. At the same time, as a minister in the government that had signed an armistice with the Germans, one that promised a relative "autonomy" to Vichy France, Darlan was prohibited from sailing that fleet to British or neutral waters. But a German-commandeered fleet in southern France, so close to British-controlled regions in North Africa, could prove disastrous to the Brits, who decided to take matters into their own hands by launching Operation Catapult: the attempt by a British naval force to persuade the French naval commander at Oran to either break the armistice and sail the French fleet out of the Germans' grasp-or to scuttle it. And if the French wouldn't, the Brits would.
And the British tried. In a five-minute missile bombardment, they managed to sink one French cruiser and two old battleships. They also killed 1,250 French sailors. This would be the genesis of much bad blood between France and England throughout the war. General Petain broke off diplomatic relations with Great Britain.
But two years later, with the Germans now in Vichy and the armistice already violated, Admiral Laborde finished the job the British had started. As the Germans launched Operation Lila, the attempt to commandeer the French fleet, Laborde ordered the sinking of 2 battle cruisers, 4 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 1 aircraft transport, 30 destroyers, and 16 submarines. Three French subs managed to escape the Germans and make it to Algiers, Allied territory. Only one sub fell into German hands. The marine equivalent of a scorched-earth policy had succeeded.
A: So they can see the old French navy.
Typical French way of doing things. Self centered, self righteous, self absorbed, and self destructive.
They would not listen to reason until after it was too late. They collaborated with a monstrous enemy, and then blamed everyone else for themselves because of the calamity.
"They collaborated with a monstrous enemy, and then blamed everyone else for themselves because of the calamity."
I agree.
If 1,250 French sailors were killed when the Brits sank part of the fleet, the blood was on the hands of the French Vichy collaborators. The French were as difficult an ally then as they are now.
They would not listen to reason until after it was too late. They collaborated with a monstrous enemy, and then blamed everyone else for themselves because of the calamity.
I think you are missing the point of this story. This is about a French Admiral who did not collaborate and destroyed military hardware before allowing it to fall into the hands of the Nazis. While you may have other gripes with the French, the actions of this French Admiral likely saved the lives of many British and American sailors.
I am reminded of a remark attributed to Churchill:
"Of all the crosses that I have had to bear, none has been quite so heavy as the Cross of Lorraine."
Thank you - I'm on your side with this
Churchill's and Ike's biggest pain in the neck was....guess who....DeGaulle.
"The Germans had no need of the French navy. The only direction a French warship goes is REVERSE !"
Have you ever read about the French fleet that aided the rebels in the American Revolution?
What's on the bottom of Scapa Flow?
No such thing as the French Navy... just a bunch of guys from the army who know how to swim.
What "missiles" could they be?
HMS Ark Royal?
Among other things, most of the remnants of Germany's WW1 navy. They were scuttled there by the Brits after the war.
No -- it was the remaining German crews aboard the "High Seas Fleet" that scuttled their own ships several months after 11/11/18. Purpose: humiliation of the RN and salvation of IGN pride.
Thanks for the correction.
But a German-commandeered fleet in southern France, so close to British-controlled regions in North Africa, could prove disastrous to the Brits, who decided to take matters into their own hands by launching Operation Catapult: the attempt by a British naval force to persuade the French naval commander at Oran to either break the armistice and sail the French fleet out of the Germans' grasp-or to scuttle it. And if the French wouldn't, the Brits would. And the British tried. In a five-minute missile bombardment, they managed to sink one French cruiser and two old battleships. They also killed 1,250 French sailors. This would be the genesis of much bad blood between France and England throughout the war. General Petain broke off diplomatic relations with Great Britain.
If the French had acted properly 2 years before and hand not collaborated, there would not have been a need for the French to then act properly a full 2 years later. Their collaboration with the Nazis, and their failure to act in accordance with their ally by treaty and by word (Great Britain) was shameful, cowardly, and unjust.
The actions of the johnny-come-lately French Admiral do not impress me as much as they do you.
The actions of the johnny-come-lately French Admiral do not impress me as much as they do you.
Yawn.
I have no intention of judging the history of France. But I do know that the actions of this French Admiral prevented the Nazis from acquiring a significant amount of military hardware. While you obviously feel that you can judge a man due to the corruptness of his country and of his leaders, I do not. I see that you are not impressed. I, on the other hand, am always impressed and thankful when someone's actions save American lives.
Yawn.
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