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Operation Catapult
Citation: C N Trueman "Operation Catapult"
historylearningsite.co.uk.
Operation Catapult was the name given to Britain’s attack on the naval fleet of France in July 1940. Operation Catapult was an attempt to ensure that the Germans did not get their hands on the six battleships and two battle-cruisers that the French had in their fleet.
The German attack on France had been staggeringly successful in the spring of 1940. After Dunkirk, the French made it clear that they were willing to sound out from the Germans terms of surrender. Britain gave its support to this but on one condition – that the French fleet had to sail to British harbours.
If Britain was to fight Germany alone, she needed to exploit to the full her naval supremacy. The fall of France would have given Germany the use of French Channel and French Atlantic ports which by the very nature of their geographic positions threatened the Royal Navy. If Germany was successful in the western Mediterranean Sea – especially as her ally Italy had entered the war on June 10 – then British naval supremacy in the Mediterranean as a whole would be threatened. Therefore, Britain had to do all it could to reduce this impact. Fearing that the Germans would take over and then use the French Navy, Britain requested that it should sail to Britain before the French surrender. Britain also feared the German takeover of her naval bases at Dakar and Mers el Kébir both of which could have been used to attack Allied convoys going around the African coastline to the Far East .
“Provided, but only provided, that the French fleet is sailed forthwith for British harbours pending negotiations, His Majesty’s Government give their full consent to an enquiry by the French government to ascertain the terms for an armistice for France.”W Churchill
Many of the ships in the French Navy were modern in design though lacking in modern radar and sonar. Admiral of the Fleet Darlan had done a great deal to improve the efficiency and discipline found within the navy. The navy had played its part in the evacuation at Dunkirk and as the German Army marched west, the French Navy sailed for its African bases. A number of older ships had sailed for Plymouth and Portsmouth (two old battleships, three submarines and eight destroyers) but two modern battle-cruisers, six destroyers, two older battleships and a seaplane carrier docked at Mers el Kébir near Oran in Algeria. Six cruisers were based in Algiers and a number of ships were based in Alexandria in Egypt where they were supporting Admiral Cunningham’s Eastern Mediterranean Fleet. The new battleship ‘Richelieu’ sailed from Brest to Dakar.
Darlan told the British that the French fleet would never fall into the hands of the Germans. When the French were presented with the Germans terms of surrender they included the instruction that all French warships were to return to harbours in France where they would be disarmed. The German terms stated that the Germans would not use the French ships for their own purposes, with the exception of coastal boats that would be used for mine-sweeping.
The British ambassador at Bordeaux, Sir Ronald Campbell, communicated these terms to London. Churchill went on radio to castigate the French for accepting the Germans terms. However, in the midst of his anger, Churchill was not informed of a last-minute concession made by the Germans on June 22nd. Pétain insisted that disarming the warships had to happen in French African ports – not in France. The Germans agreed to this. On June 23rd, Campbell and his staff left Bordeaux for Britain and he never got to know about this concession. After this, communication between Churchill’s government and the French became patchy at best. The formal agreement to the terms of the surrender occurred on June 30th at Wiesbaden.
The lack of communication between the British and French was to have dire consequences. As early as June 20th, Darlan had sent a coded order to the captains of the warships based in French African ports – do not surrender your ships intact to the Germans. On June 24th, he repeated this order with specific instructions to make preparations to scuttle the ships if it seemed likely that they would be captured. The British were unaware of this instruction and on June 27th the British government took the decision that the French ships could not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Germans and that the Royal Navy would ensure that this would not happen.
On June 28th, Force H was created under the command of Vice-Admiral James Somerville. The flagship for Force H was ‘HMS Hood'; the battleships ‘Resolution’ and ‘Valiant’ and the carrier ‘Ark Royal’ with eleven destroyers made up this force. It was to be based in Gibraltar.
On July 1st, Somerville received his first order as the commander of Force H – “to secure the transfer, surrender or destruction” of the French warships in North Africa. On July 3rd, Force H arrived at Mers el Kébir and the commander of the French ships there, Admiral Gensoul, was given four choices:
1) Join the British fleet and continue to fight the Germans
2) Be escorted to the West Indies or to a British port
3) Have the ships disarmed at Oran under the supervision of the British
4) Scuttle the ships where they were harboured.
If Admiral Gensoul refused to accept any of these choices, Somerville would use force to destroy the ships. However, many senior officers in Force H were wary of using force against a navy that had until recently been fighting on their side. They expressed their reservations to Somerville who, impressed by their arguments and stance, forwarded this information to the Admiralty. He received a reply that the government expected the French ships to be destroyed and that was their “firm intention”.
Tense talks occurred between the French and the British. Gensoul refused to meet the British naval officer – Captain Holland – on his flagship ‘Dunkerque’. However, Holland was informed that the French would not start any action but force would be met with force if the Royal Navy did start to attack Gensoul’s fleet. Matters were made more tense when the British mined the entrance to the harbour at Mers el Kébir using planes from the ‘Ark Royal’. Gensoul kept in contact with Darlan during this stand-off. However, the records show that Gensoul only told Darlan of one of the British ultimatums – that the fleet would be destroyed within six hours – the other choices were never relayed to Darlan. In response to this message, Darlan ordered all other French naval ships in the Mediterranean to steam to Mers el Kébir to assist Gensoul. The Admiralty picked up this message and relayed it to Somerville – that he could shortly expect far more French warships in the area around Oran. This effectively forced Somerville’s hand.
At 18.00 on July 3rd, the British opened fire. The Royal Navy’s ships were in open water and could manoeuvre themselves into a perfect firing position. The French could not do this as they were in the confined space of a harbour. The first ship to be sunk was the battleship ‘Bretagne’. A shell exploded her ammunition and within seconds the ship capsized. 977 men were lost. The ‘Dunkerque’ was also hit and damage to her boiler room took away her power so that she had to drop anchor in harbour. The ‘Provence’ was also hit and was beached by her captain to prevent the ship from sinking with subsequent loss of life. The destroyer ‘Mogador’ was also hit with the loss of 37 men. In the confusion and disguised by the extensive smoke, the battleship ‘Strasbourg’ managed to leave Mers el Kébir and somehow avoided the mines at the harbour entrance.
After a thirteen minute bombardment, Somerville ordered an end to the firing. The ‘Strasbourg’ managed to get the Toulon. Force H returned to Gibraltar. On July 4th, planes from the ‘Ark Royal’ were ordered to return to Mers el Kébir and finish off the ‘Dunkerque’ as it was believed that the ship had only sustained minor damage. The attack led to the deaths of 150 men and put the ‘Dunkerque’ out of action for one year.
An attack by the aircraft carrier ‘Hermes’ on the ‘Richelieu’ at Dakar damaged the new battleship but never put it completely out of action.
Delicate negotiations at Alexandria led to a non-violent settlement whereby the French disarmed their ships and de-fuelled them after Cunningham gave his word that no force would be used against men who had worked so well with the British fleet under his command in the Eastern Mediterranean.
At Plymouth and Portsmouth, armed British sailors took over the French ships that were harboured there. In the struggle to take control of the submarine ‘Surcouf’ a French officer was killed and two British officers were wounded. The French crews were interned in the Isle of Man or in a camp near Liverpool.
Was ‘Operation Catapult’ a success? A number of large French warships were destroyed and did not fall into the hands of the Germans. Whether they would have tilted the naval balance towards the side of the Germans will never be known as when the Germans entered the port of Toulon, where the surviving French warships were harboured, the French scuttled them.
The great damage done was to French/British relations. In late May 1940, the French and British navies had been comrades-in-arms during Dunkirk. Just weeks later, over 1000 of the French sailors who had served at Dunkirk were dead – killed during Operation Catapult. Many in France found this hard to take or accept and it has been argued that it encouraged some French people to collaborate with the Germans, though the evidence for this is hard to gather. The internment of sailors who had sailed to Britian at the request of the British government was another source of great anger. To others, it showed that the British would be resolute and heartless in its attempt to stop the German military steamrolling over all of Western Europe and that ‘Operation Catapult’ was just one part of this resolute approach.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/world-war-two-in-western-europe/operation-catapult/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Mers-el-K%C3%A9bir
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Citation: C N Trueman "Operation Catapult"
historylearningsite.co.uk.
Operation Catapult was the name given to Britain’s attack on the naval fleet of France in July 1940. Operation Catapult was an attempt to ensure that the Germans did not get their hands on the six battleships and two battle-cruisers that the French had in their fleet.
The German attack on France had been staggeringly successful in the spring of 1940. After Dunkirk, the French made it clear that they were willing to sound out from the Germans terms of surrender. Britain gave its support to this but on one condition – that the French fleet had to sail to British harbours.
If Britain was to fight Germany alone, she needed to exploit to the full her naval supremacy. The fall of France would have given Germany the use of French Channel and French Atlantic ports which by the very nature of their geographic positions threatened the Royal Navy. If Germany was successful in the western Mediterranean Sea – especially as her ally Italy had entered the war on June 10 – then British naval supremacy in the Mediterranean as a whole would be threatened. Therefore, Britain had to do all it could to reduce this impact. Fearing that the Germans would take over and then use the French Navy, Britain requested that it should sail to Britain before the French surrender. Britain also feared the German takeover of her naval bases at Dakar and Mers el Kébir both of which could have been used to attack Allied convoys going around the African coastline to the Far East .
“Provided, but only provided, that the French fleet is sailed forthwith for British harbours pending negotiations, His Majesty’s Government give their full consent to an enquiry by the French government to ascertain the terms for an armistice for France.”W Churchill
Many of the ships in the French Navy were modern in design though lacking in modern radar and sonar. Admiral of the Fleet Darlan had done a great deal to improve the efficiency and discipline found within the navy. The navy had played its part in the evacuation at Dunkirk and as the German Army marched west, the French Navy sailed for its African bases. A number of older ships had sailed for Plymouth and Portsmouth (two old battleships, three submarines and eight destroyers) but two modern battle-cruisers, six destroyers, two older battleships and a seaplane carrier docked at Mers el Kébir near Oran in Algeria. Six cruisers were based in Algiers and a number of ships were based in Alexandria in Egypt where they were supporting Admiral Cunningham’s Eastern Mediterranean Fleet. The new battleship ‘Richelieu’ sailed from Brest to Dakar.
Darlan told the British that the French fleet would never fall into the hands of the Germans. When the French were presented with the Germans terms of surrender they included the instruction that all French warships were to return to harbours in France where they would be disarmed. The German terms stated that the Germans would not use the French ships for their own purposes, with the exception of coastal boats that would be used for mine-sweeping.
The British ambassador at Bordeaux, Sir Ronald Campbell, communicated these terms to London. Churchill went on radio to castigate the French for accepting the Germans terms. However, in the midst of his anger, Churchill was not informed of a last-minute concession made by the Germans on June 22nd. Pétain insisted that disarming the warships had to happen in French African ports – not in France. The Germans agreed to this. On June 23rd, Campbell and his staff left Bordeaux for Britain and he never got to know about this concession. After this, communication between Churchill’s government and the French became patchy at best. The formal agreement to the terms of the surrender occurred on June 30th at Wiesbaden.
The lack of communication between the British and French was to have dire consequences. As early as June 20th, Darlan had sent a coded order to the captains of the warships based in French African ports – do not surrender your ships intact to the Germans. On June 24th, he repeated this order with specific instructions to make preparations to scuttle the ships if it seemed likely that they would be captured. The British were unaware of this instruction and on June 27th the British government took the decision that the French ships could not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Germans and that the Royal Navy would ensure that this would not happen.
On June 28th, Force H was created under the command of Vice-Admiral James Somerville. The flagship for Force H was ‘HMS Hood'; the battleships ‘Resolution’ and ‘Valiant’ and the carrier ‘Ark Royal’ with eleven destroyers made up this force. It was to be based in Gibraltar.
On July 1st, Somerville received his first order as the commander of Force H – “to secure the transfer, surrender or destruction” of the French warships in North Africa. On July 3rd, Force H arrived at Mers el Kébir and the commander of the French ships there, Admiral Gensoul, was given four choices:
1) Join the British fleet and continue to fight the Germans
2) Be escorted to the West Indies or to a British port
3) Have the ships disarmed at Oran under the supervision of the British
4) Scuttle the ships where they were harboured.
If Admiral Gensoul refused to accept any of these choices, Somerville would use force to destroy the ships. However, many senior officers in Force H were wary of using force against a navy that had until recently been fighting on their side. They expressed their reservations to Somerville who, impressed by their arguments and stance, forwarded this information to the Admiralty. He received a reply that the government expected the French ships to be destroyed and that was their “firm intention”.
Tense talks occurred between the French and the British. Gensoul refused to meet the British naval officer – Captain Holland – on his flagship ‘Dunkerque’. However, Holland was informed that the French would not start any action but force would be met with force if the Royal Navy did start to attack Gensoul’s fleet. Matters were made more tense when the British mined the entrance to the harbour at Mers el Kébir using planes from the ‘Ark Royal’. Gensoul kept in contact with Darlan during this stand-off. However, the records show that Gensoul only told Darlan of one of the British ultimatums – that the fleet would be destroyed within six hours – the other choices were never relayed to Darlan. In response to this message, Darlan ordered all other French naval ships in the Mediterranean to steam to Mers el Kébir to assist Gensoul. The Admiralty picked up this message and relayed it to Somerville – that he could shortly expect far more French warships in the area around Oran. This effectively forced Somerville’s hand.
At 18.00 on July 3rd, the British opened fire. The Royal Navy’s ships were in open water and could manoeuvre themselves into a perfect firing position. The French could not do this as they were in the confined space of a harbour. The first ship to be sunk was the battleship ‘Bretagne’. A shell exploded her ammunition and within seconds the ship capsized. 977 men were lost. The ‘Dunkerque’ was also hit and damage to her boiler room took away her power so that she had to drop anchor in harbour. The ‘Provence’ was also hit and was beached by her captain to prevent the ship from sinking with subsequent loss of life. The destroyer ‘Mogador’ was also hit with the loss of 37 men. In the confusion and disguised by the extensive smoke, the battleship ‘Strasbourg’ managed to leave Mers el Kébir and somehow avoided the mines at the harbour entrance.
After a thirteen minute bombardment, Somerville ordered an end to the firing. The ‘Strasbourg’ managed to get the Toulon. Force H returned to Gibraltar. On July 4th, planes from the ‘Ark Royal’ were ordered to return to Mers el Kébir and finish off the ‘Dunkerque’ as it was believed that the ship had only sustained minor damage. The attack led to the deaths of 150 men and put the ‘Dunkerque’ out of action for one year.
An attack by the aircraft carrier ‘Hermes’ on the ‘Richelieu’ at Dakar damaged the new battleship but never put it completely out of action.
Delicate negotiations at Alexandria led to a non-violent settlement whereby the French disarmed their ships and de-fuelled them after Cunningham gave his word that no force would be used against men who had worked so well with the British fleet under his command in the Eastern Mediterranean.
At Plymouth and Portsmouth, armed British sailors took over the French ships that were harboured there. In the struggle to take control of the submarine ‘Surcouf’ a French officer was killed and two British officers were wounded. The French crews were interned in the Isle of Man or in a camp near Liverpool.
Was ‘Operation Catapult’ a success? A number of large French warships were destroyed and did not fall into the hands of the Germans. Whether they would have tilted the naval balance towards the side of the Germans will never be known as when the Germans entered the port of Toulon, where the surviving French warships were harboured, the French scuttled them.
The great damage done was to French/British relations. In late May 1940, the French and British navies had been comrades-in-arms during Dunkirk. Just weeks later, over 1000 of the French sailors who had served at Dunkirk were dead – killed during Operation Catapult. Many in France found this hard to take or accept and it has been argued that it encouraged some French people to collaborate with the Germans, though the evidence for this is hard to gather. The internment of sailors who had sailed to Britian at the request of the British government was another source of great anger. To others, it showed that the British would be resolute and heartless in its attempt to stop the German military steamrolling over all of Western Europe and that ‘Operation Catapult’ was just one part of this resolute approach.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/world-war-two-in-western-europe/operation-catapult/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Mers-el-K%C3%A9bir
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen C. @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc frank LTC (Join to see) @ ltc john LTC John Mohor @ maj william Maj William W. "Bill" Price @ capt marty Maj Marty Hogan @ smsgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ ssgt larry SSgt (Join to see) @ sra christopher SrA Christopher Wright @ msg andrew MSG Andrew White @ ssg pete SSG Pete Fleming @ sgt david SGT (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski @ sp5 robert SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris Ramsey Alan K. Cynthia Croft
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WWII World War Two Military History World History France Naval/Maritime History
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Thanks for reminding us that the British government was determined to destroy military capability which fell into the hands of the Axis powers - most notably Germany which gobbled from the French Vichy government assets and later the Romanian oilfields.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued an ultimatum which was delivered by Captain Cedric Holland, a French-speaking commanding officer of carrier HMS Ark Royal.
"It is impossible for us, your comrades up to now, to allow your fine ships to fall into the power of the German or Italian enemy. We are determined to fight on until the end, and if we win, as we think we shall, we shall never forget that France was our Ally, that our interests are the same as hers, and that our common enemy is Germany. Should we conquer we solemnly declare that we shall restore the greatness and territory of France. For this purpose we must make sure that the best ships of the French Navy are not used against us by the common foe. In these circumstances, His Majesty's Government have instructed me to demand that the French Fleet now at Mers-el-Kébir and Oran shall act in accordance with one of the following alternatives;
(a) sail with us and continue the fight until victory against the Germans and Italians.
(b) Sail with reduced crews under our control to a British port. The reduced crews would be repatriated at the earliest moment.
If either of these courses is adopted by you we will restore your ships to France at the conclusion of the war or pay full compensation if they are damaged meanwhile.
(c) Alternatively if you feel bound to stipulate that your ships should not be used against the Germans or Italians unless these break the Armistice, then sail them with us with reduced crews to some French port in the West Indies - Martinique for instance - where they can be demilitarised to our satisfaction, or perhaps be entrusted to the United States and remain safe until the end of the war, the crews being repatriated.
If you refuse these fair offers, I must with profound regret, require you to sink your ships within 6 hours.
Finally, failing the above, I have the orders from His Majesty's Government to use whatever force may be necessary to prevent your ships from falling into German or Italian hands."
Image: 1940-07 Mers el Kebir location
Background: "British Attacks on the French Fleet from 3 Jul 1940 - 25 Sep 1940
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
The fall of France and the establishment of the Vichy government put the Allied forces in a precarious position. The Vichy French government was non-belligerent, but was also under heavy influence of Nazi Germany. The vast French colonial holdings in North Africa, along with the sizeable French fleet that protected them, became a critical issue that needed to be addressed. The Allied nations, with the Free French led by Charles de Gaulle among them, wanted to gain access to this French fleet, but with the Vichy government operating under German protection, these ships were just as easily turn their guns and fire on the Allies in the Mediterranean Sea. At Oran and Mers-el-Kébir, French Algeria, the French had four battleships, thirteen destroyers, one seaplane carrier, and four submarines; at Dakar, French West Africa, two battleships; at Alexandria, Egypt, one battleship and four cruisers. Should the Germans acquire these ships, either by force or with French cooperation, it would result in a German Navy that could rival the British Royal Navy.
Faced with the potential dangers of this substantial French fleet, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made his decision to strike first, risking harm to British-French relations.
On 3 Jul, French ships in Plymouth and Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom were boarded and captured. Among these ships was the French submarine Surcouf (the largest submarine in the world at the time), four other submarines, old battleships Paris and Courbet, destroyers Triomphant and Léopard, eight torpedo boats, and other smaller vessels. During the boarding some French crews cooperated while others resisted with force; two British officers and one French sailor were killed during the struggles. After the boarding, some crews joined the Free French forces; those who refused were repatriated back to France.
The largest Vichy French fleet was present at Mers-el-Kébir on the same day, which included old battleships Provence and Bretagne, modern battleships Dunkerque and Strasbourg, seaplane tender Commandant Teste, and six destroyers, all under the command of Admiral Marcel-Bruno Gensoul. Code name Operation Catapult, Admiral James Somerville and his British Force H arrived at Mers-el-Kébir, attempting to negotiate before firing the guns. The ultimatum was delivered by Captain Cedric Holland, a French-speaking commanding officer of carrier HMS Ark Royal.
It is impossible for us, your comrades up to now, to allow your fine ships to fall into the power of the German or Italian enemy. We are determined to fight on until the end, and if we win, as we think we shall, we shall never forget that France was our Ally, that our interests are the same as hers, and that our common enemy is Germany. Should we conquer we solemnly declare that we shall restore the greatness and territory of France. For this purpose we must make sure that the best ships of the French Navy are not used against us by the common foe. In these circumstances, His Majesty's Government have instructed me to demand that the French Fleet now at Mers-el-Kébir and Oran shall act in accordance with one of the following alternatives;
(a) sail with us and continue the fight until victory against the Germans and Italians.
(b) Sail with reduced crews under our control to a British port. The reduced crews would be repatriated at the earliest moment.
If either of these courses is adopted by you we will restore your ships to France at the conclusion of the war or pay full compensation if they are damaged meanwhile.
(c) Alternatively if you feel bound to stipulate that your ships should not be used against the Germans or Italians unless these break the Armistice, then sail them with us with reduced crews to some French port in the West Indies - Martinique for instance - where they can be demilitarised to our satisfaction, or perhaps be entrusted to the United States and remain safe until the end of the war, the crews being repatriated.
If you refuse these fair offers, I must with profound regret, require you to sink your ships within 6 hours.
Finally, failing the above, I have the orders from His Majesty's Government to use whatever force may be necessary to prevent your ships from falling into German or Italian hands.
While Gensoul was unlikely to have conceded in any case, dispatching Captain Holland to deliver the message caused Gensoul to also dispatch an officer of equal rank, Bernard Dufay, to receive it, thus causing delay and further confusion. It was also worth noting that Gensoul never sent a copy of this text to French Navy Minister Admiral Darlan.
Before the negotiations were formally ended, the British already took action. Swordfish and Skua aircraft flew into the harbor to drop magnetic mines, and French H-75 fighters rose to meet them. One Skua aircraft was shot down during the action, killing the crew.
At 1754 hours, the warships of the British Force H opened fire, which was consisted of battlecruiser HMS Hood, battleships HMS Valiant and HMS Resolution, escorted by carrier HMS Ark Royal and a number of cruisers and destroyers. Positioned inside the narrow harbor, the French ships were at a disadvantage, unable to train all of their guns at the British. Bretagne was the first French ship to be hit, during the British third salvo, igniting an ammunition magazine which killed 977 by 1809 hours. After about 30 salvos, all French ships were disabled, but coastal guns continued to fire. Seriously damaged, the crews of Provence, Dunkerque, and destroyer Mogador ran the ships aground to prevent sinking. Seaplane carrier Commandante Teste was damaged as well.
Five ships were able to escape the battle, Strasbourg and four destroyers. HMS Ark Royal launched Swordfish torpedo bombers to pursue them, which was unsuccessful with two aircraft shot down; the downed crews were rescued by destroyer HMS Wrestler. At 1843 hours, British warships began to move away from Mers-el-Kébir to pursue the fleeing French ships, but this would also prove to be fruitless, and was called off by Somerville at 2020 hours. At 2055 hours, another round of torpedo aircraft attack came upon the French ships, and again it resulted in no damage. These five French ships would reach Toulon, France on 4 Jul.
At dawn on 6 Jul, HMS Ark Royal launched another strike at Mers-el-Kebir, with Dunkerque and Provence as the main targets; this action was code name Operation Lever. Dunkerque was struck by at least one torpedo, killing 154 and injuring 8. Patrol boat Terre-Neuve, moored alongside Dunkerque, was also hit, killing 8; depth charges stored aboard the patrol boat was ignited, and the explosion caused further damage to Dunkerque.
The actions of 3 Jul and 6 Jul at Mers-el-Kébir took the lives of 1,297 French sailors. A further 350 were injured. The British only suffered 2 deaths, which was the crew of the shot-down aircraft.
The French ships in Alexandria consisted of old battleship Lorraine and four cruisers, under the overall command of Admiral René-Émile Godfroy. They were offered the same terms on 3 Jul by Admiral Andrew Cunningham as those given to Gensoul at Mers-el-Kébir. Godfroy accepted the terms on 7 Jul, opting to keep his ships in place. This fleet would remain in Alexandria until 1943, moving out only after they agreed to join the Free French Navy.
Oran, French Algeria
At 1530 hours on 4 Jul, British submarine HMS Pandora sank French gunboat Rigault de Genouilly which had sailed from Oran. It was the only action that took place at this French naval port.
Dakar, French West Africa
Dakar was not only a major naval port in the region, but it also held the gold reserves of the Banque de France and the exiled Polish government. On 8 Jul 1940, five days after the actions at Mers-el-Kébir, British carrier HMS Hermes launched Swordfish torpedo bombers at Dakar, targeting specifically the battleship Richelieu. One torpedo hit Richelieu below the armored deck, disabling the starboard propulsion shaft. Flooding caused her stern to touch bottom. Richelieu was re-floated a few days later. She was made sea-worthy for emergencies, though she remained in Dakar as a gun platform.
ww2dbaseIn the morning of 23 Sep 1940, a combined fleet of British and Free French ships reached Dakar to conduct negotiations en force. The fleet consisted of aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, battleships HMS Resolutions and HMS Barham, four cruisers, ten destroyers, and several transports with 8,000 troops aboard; the operation was code named Operation Menace. Opposite them, the Vichy French operated the battleship/gun platform Richelieu, three submarines, two cruisers, three destroyers, and several smaller vessels. As Free French personnel arrived by air, other Allied aircraft dropped propaganda leaflets on the city to sway public opinion. Meanwhile, General Charles de Gaulle sent negotiators by ship. The Vichy French reacted with hostility; the messengers that landed at the airport were detained, and the ship carrying de Gaulle's staff was fired upon. At 1000 hours, Australian cruiser HMAS Australia fired warning shots on Vichy French ships that attempted to leave the port, and received return fire from Vichy French coastal guns. The Allied fleet returned fire, setting Vichy French destroyer L'Audacieux on fire and forcing it to be beached. That afternoon, Free French troops landed at Rufisque, northeast of Dakar; facing heavy defensive fire, de Gaulle called off the landing to avoid "shed[ding] the blood of Frenchmen for Frenchmen".
On 24 and 25 Sep, Allied fleet bombarded the coastal fortifications from the sea. Two Vichy French submarines, Persée and Ajax, left port on attack, but were sunk during the process; submarine Bévéziers, however, was able to penetrate the Allied screen and fire her torpedoes at British battleship HMS Resolution. Meanwhile, battleships Richelieu and HMS Barham exchanged fire. Richelieu hit Barham with two secondary gun shells, while Barham hit Richelieu twice with her 15-inch primary guns. Even though a blowback accident disabled Richelieu's number two turret, significantly reducing Vichy-French firepower, the Allies decided to depart to avoid further damage to their fleet.
This Vichy French victory was of little consequence militarily, but on the political scene it was significant. De Gaulle, who was one of the main proponents for this operation, lost much standing among his British peers for not being able to deliver Dakar to the Allies, which was described as an easy goal by de Gaulle.
Gibraltar
In retaliation of the seizures and attacks on French ships, French bombers attacked the British fleet at Gibraltar several times in Jul and twice in Sep.
Epilogue
As expected, relationship between Vichy France and the United Kingdom was severely strained after the attacks; in fact, the Vichy French government immediately broke off all relations with the United Kingdom. Although de Gaulle was also willing to take military action against the Vichy fleet, he criticized the use of significant force that resulted in so many French deaths. Somerville later commented against the attacks, noting they were "the biggest political blunder of modern times and will rouse the whole world against us... we all feel thoroughly ashamed".
French ships Dunkerque, Provence, and Mogador would soon be temporarily repaired and sailed to Toulon in southern France.
British Attacks on the French Fleet Timeline
27 Jun 1940 Despite Admiral Darlan's previous assurances that French ships would not fall into German hands, the British War Cabinet ordered the Royal Navy to seize or destroy all French warships in British and North African ports. In turn, Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville was ordered to take the newly-formed Force H to Algeria.
29 Jun 1940 Operation Catapult: The British Admiralty gave Vice Admiral Somerville explicit instructions to secure the transfer, surrender, or destruction of the French warships at Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria. Force H under his command consisted of battleships HMS Valiant and HMS Resolution, battlecruiser HMS Hood, aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, cruisers HMS Arethusa and HMS Enterprise, and 11 destroyers.
1 Jul 1940 US Ambassador to France William C. Bullitt met with French Marshal Philippe Pétain, who ensured that orders had been given "to every captain of the French Fleet to sink his ship rather than permit [it] to fall into German hands". Later on the same day, Bullitt visited French Admiral François Darlan, who noted that French ships had been ordered to sail for Martinique and Guantanamo should there be a risk that the Germans would gain the French fleet, and if sailing not possible, the ships would be scuttled.
3 Jul 1940 Battle of Mers-el-Kébir: At 0545 hours, Vice Admiral James Somerville and his British Royal Navy Force H arrived off of Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria where a power fleet under French Admiral Marcel Gensoul resided. At 1756 hours, after Gensoul refused to surrender, the British fleet opened fire for 10 minutes. The magazine of French battleship Bretagne was hit, sinking her, taking down 977 French sailors. Battleship Provence, battleship Dunkerque, and destroyer Mogador were damaged. In total, 1,297 French sailors were killed and 350 were wounded. After the battle, French battleship Strasbourg, carrier Commandant Teste, and four destroyers were able to escape from Mers-el-Kébir.
3 Jul 1940 British Navy Vice Admiral Sir Andrew Cunnigham demanded the French warships under French Admiral René-Émile Godfroy, docked at Alexandria in Egypt, to surrender. Negotiations would continue until 7 Jul 1940.
4 Jul 1940 British submarine HMS Pandora sank French gunboat Rigault de Genouilly off Oran, Algeria at 1530 hours.
4 Jul 1940 French bombers attacked the British fleet at Gibraltar, causing no damage.
4 Jul 1940 The French Navy ordered submarines, armed merchant cruisers, and destroyers based in Dakar to sortie to attack British shipping.
6 Jul 1940 Operation Lever: British Royal Navy Force H under Vice Admiral James Somerville returned to Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria. At dawn, Swordfish aircraft from carrier HMS Ark Royal scored several torpedo hits on French battleship Dunkerque, killing 154 and wounding 8. One torpedo hit patrol boat Terre Neuve, detonating depth charges, killing 8; shock waves from the explosion further damaged Dunkerque.
7 Jul 1940 After dark, a boat from HMS Hermes attempted to drop depth charges underneath French battleship Richelieu in Dakar, French West Africa; the attack was not successful.
7 Jul 1940 Operation Catapult: British Swordfish torpedo bombers from carrier HMS Hermes attacked the French battleship Richelieu in dock at Dakar, French West Africa. A torpedo hit caused a 40-foot hole, bringing her to the bottom of the harbor (the harbor was shallow enough for her to be refloated shortly after).
8 Jul 1940 At Casablanca, French Morocco, British motor torpedo boats attacked French battleship Jean Bart, causing damage.
8 Jul 1940 British Swordfish torpedo bombers from carrier HMS Hermes hit French battleship Richelieu at Dakar, French West Africa for the second consecutive day, despite that Richelieu had already touched bottom from the attacks on the previous day.
8 Jul 1940 In England, United Kingdom, General Charles de Gaulle denounced the ongoing British attacks on Vichy French forces.
14 Jul 1940 Vichy French bombers attacked Gibraltar, causing no damage.
31 Aug 1940 8,000 British and French troops departed from Britain for Freetown, Sierra Leone, escorted by British cruisers HMS Devonshire and HMS Fiji and five destroyers. Their destination would ultimately be Dakar in French West Africa, which was still under Vichy control.
6 Sep 1940 British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, battleship HMS Barham, battleship HMS Resolution, and 10 destroyers departed Gibraltar for Dakar.
9 Sep 1940 French intelligence reported a possible invasion of Dakar in West Africa by General de Gaulle's forces, supported by the British. In response, French cruisers Georges Leygues, Montcalm, and Gloire, supported by three destroyers, departed Toulon in southern France to reinforce Dakar.
10 Sep 1940 The French Navy informed the British Naval Attaché in Madrid, Spain at 1800 hours that three cruisers and three destroyers were sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar. Unaware that these ships were en route to Dakar in West Africa, a British-Free French joint target, the British Royal Navy allowed the French warships to pass.
11 Sep 1940 At 0835 hours, six French warships passed through the Strait of Gibraltar at the speed of 25 knots. Realizing they were heading for Dakar in French West Africa, HMS Renown and three destroyers departed at 1600 hours in an attempt to intercept. Overnight, the French fleet stopped at Casablanca to refuel.
12 Sep 1940 After refueling at Casablanca overnight, three of the six French warships (the three cruisers) departed at 0400 hours, sailing full speed for Dakar in French West Africa. Behind them, HMS Renown's group, now with six destroyers in escort, chased in an attempt to intercept.
14 Sep 1940 British battleships HMS Barham and HMS Resolution, several British destroyers, and French sloops Commandant Domine and Commandant Duboc arrived at the Crown Colony of Freetown in West Africa to refuel. These warships were en route to French-controlled port of Dakar.
21 Sep 1940 British carrier HMS Ark Royal, battleship HMS Barham, battleship HMS Resolution, cruiser HMS Devonshire, French sloop Commandant Domine, French sloop Commandant Duboc, and French sloop Savorgnan De Brazza, and several destroyers and troop transports departed Freetown, West Africa for Dakar.
23 Sep 1940 Operation Menace: General Charles de Gaulle arrived with 3,600 Free French troops at Dakar, French West Africa held by Vichy France; his forces were supported by 4,300 British troops and a powerful fleet. The Vichy French forces imprisoned the crew of two Free French aircraft that had landed at Dakar, and then fired upon a boat containing Free French personnel approaching to negotiate (wounding 2). At 1000 hours, British warships approached the harbor, and were also fired upon (killing 5). At 1130 hours, British ships fell back out of the range of shore batteries; at about the same time, Vichy French submarine Persee was sunk while attempting to torpedo the cruiser Dragon. In the afternoon, cruiser HMAS Australia attacked Vichy French destroyer L'Audacieux, forcing her to beach after 81 were killed. De Gualle's first attempt at a landing, at Rufisque Bay, was repulsed, and he began to show reluctance of killing fellow countrymen. Having heard of this sentiment, Winston Churchill urged de Gaulle to "[s]top at nothing".
24 Sep 1940 Operation Menace: Overnight, Governor of French West Africa, Pierre Boisson, rejected Free French demand for the surrender of Dakar. At 0700 hours, British destroyer HMS Fortune detected Vichy French submarine Ajax, which was forced to surface by depth charges and then sunk with gunfire after the crew of 61 was captured. British battleship HMS Barham shelled French battleship Richelieu in Dakar harbor; Richelieu was damaged with two shells and a misfire of her own. French coastal batteries was able to force back the British fleet at 1000 hours. In the afternoon, the British fleet returned. French coastal artillery opened fire again, hitting Barham with four shells, and forced back the British fleet once again. Far to the north, 64 Vichy French bombers from Algeria and Morocco bombed Gibraltar in retaliation, damaging one ship.
25 Sep 1940 Operation Menace: The British fleet bombarded Dakar in French West Africa in the morning. At 0900 hours, French submarine Beveziers attacked British battleship HMS Resolution, damaging her; she had to be towed back by battleship HMS Barham while the rest of the British warships fell back. The British War Cabinet decided to cancel the operation after all attempts to enter Dakar failed. Meanwhile, Vichy French bombers from Algeria and Morocco again bombed Gibraltar in retaliation to the British and Free French attacks on Dakar, lighting damaging port facilities and sinking British anti-submarine trawler Stella Sirius.
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Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued an ultimatum which was delivered by Captain Cedric Holland, a French-speaking commanding officer of carrier HMS Ark Royal.
"It is impossible for us, your comrades up to now, to allow your fine ships to fall into the power of the German or Italian enemy. We are determined to fight on until the end, and if we win, as we think we shall, we shall never forget that France was our Ally, that our interests are the same as hers, and that our common enemy is Germany. Should we conquer we solemnly declare that we shall restore the greatness and territory of France. For this purpose we must make sure that the best ships of the French Navy are not used against us by the common foe. In these circumstances, His Majesty's Government have instructed me to demand that the French Fleet now at Mers-el-Kébir and Oran shall act in accordance with one of the following alternatives;
(a) sail with us and continue the fight until victory against the Germans and Italians.
(b) Sail with reduced crews under our control to a British port. The reduced crews would be repatriated at the earliest moment.
If either of these courses is adopted by you we will restore your ships to France at the conclusion of the war or pay full compensation if they are damaged meanwhile.
(c) Alternatively if you feel bound to stipulate that your ships should not be used against the Germans or Italians unless these break the Armistice, then sail them with us with reduced crews to some French port in the West Indies - Martinique for instance - where they can be demilitarised to our satisfaction, or perhaps be entrusted to the United States and remain safe until the end of the war, the crews being repatriated.
If you refuse these fair offers, I must with profound regret, require you to sink your ships within 6 hours.
Finally, failing the above, I have the orders from His Majesty's Government to use whatever force may be necessary to prevent your ships from falling into German or Italian hands."
Image: 1940-07 Mers el Kebir location
Background: "British Attacks on the French Fleet from 3 Jul 1940 - 25 Sep 1940
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
The fall of France and the establishment of the Vichy government put the Allied forces in a precarious position. The Vichy French government was non-belligerent, but was also under heavy influence of Nazi Germany. The vast French colonial holdings in North Africa, along with the sizeable French fleet that protected them, became a critical issue that needed to be addressed. The Allied nations, with the Free French led by Charles de Gaulle among them, wanted to gain access to this French fleet, but with the Vichy government operating under German protection, these ships were just as easily turn their guns and fire on the Allies in the Mediterranean Sea. At Oran and Mers-el-Kébir, French Algeria, the French had four battleships, thirteen destroyers, one seaplane carrier, and four submarines; at Dakar, French West Africa, two battleships; at Alexandria, Egypt, one battleship and four cruisers. Should the Germans acquire these ships, either by force or with French cooperation, it would result in a German Navy that could rival the British Royal Navy.
Faced with the potential dangers of this substantial French fleet, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made his decision to strike first, risking harm to British-French relations.
On 3 Jul, French ships in Plymouth and Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom were boarded and captured. Among these ships was the French submarine Surcouf (the largest submarine in the world at the time), four other submarines, old battleships Paris and Courbet, destroyers Triomphant and Léopard, eight torpedo boats, and other smaller vessels. During the boarding some French crews cooperated while others resisted with force; two British officers and one French sailor were killed during the struggles. After the boarding, some crews joined the Free French forces; those who refused were repatriated back to France.
The largest Vichy French fleet was present at Mers-el-Kébir on the same day, which included old battleships Provence and Bretagne, modern battleships Dunkerque and Strasbourg, seaplane tender Commandant Teste, and six destroyers, all under the command of Admiral Marcel-Bruno Gensoul. Code name Operation Catapult, Admiral James Somerville and his British Force H arrived at Mers-el-Kébir, attempting to negotiate before firing the guns. The ultimatum was delivered by Captain Cedric Holland, a French-speaking commanding officer of carrier HMS Ark Royal.
It is impossible for us, your comrades up to now, to allow your fine ships to fall into the power of the German or Italian enemy. We are determined to fight on until the end, and if we win, as we think we shall, we shall never forget that France was our Ally, that our interests are the same as hers, and that our common enemy is Germany. Should we conquer we solemnly declare that we shall restore the greatness and territory of France. For this purpose we must make sure that the best ships of the French Navy are not used against us by the common foe. In these circumstances, His Majesty's Government have instructed me to demand that the French Fleet now at Mers-el-Kébir and Oran shall act in accordance with one of the following alternatives;
(a) sail with us and continue the fight until victory against the Germans and Italians.
(b) Sail with reduced crews under our control to a British port. The reduced crews would be repatriated at the earliest moment.
If either of these courses is adopted by you we will restore your ships to France at the conclusion of the war or pay full compensation if they are damaged meanwhile.
(c) Alternatively if you feel bound to stipulate that your ships should not be used against the Germans or Italians unless these break the Armistice, then sail them with us with reduced crews to some French port in the West Indies - Martinique for instance - where they can be demilitarised to our satisfaction, or perhaps be entrusted to the United States and remain safe until the end of the war, the crews being repatriated.
If you refuse these fair offers, I must with profound regret, require you to sink your ships within 6 hours.
Finally, failing the above, I have the orders from His Majesty's Government to use whatever force may be necessary to prevent your ships from falling into German or Italian hands.
While Gensoul was unlikely to have conceded in any case, dispatching Captain Holland to deliver the message caused Gensoul to also dispatch an officer of equal rank, Bernard Dufay, to receive it, thus causing delay and further confusion. It was also worth noting that Gensoul never sent a copy of this text to French Navy Minister Admiral Darlan.
Before the negotiations were formally ended, the British already took action. Swordfish and Skua aircraft flew into the harbor to drop magnetic mines, and French H-75 fighters rose to meet them. One Skua aircraft was shot down during the action, killing the crew.
At 1754 hours, the warships of the British Force H opened fire, which was consisted of battlecruiser HMS Hood, battleships HMS Valiant and HMS Resolution, escorted by carrier HMS Ark Royal and a number of cruisers and destroyers. Positioned inside the narrow harbor, the French ships were at a disadvantage, unable to train all of their guns at the British. Bretagne was the first French ship to be hit, during the British third salvo, igniting an ammunition magazine which killed 977 by 1809 hours. After about 30 salvos, all French ships were disabled, but coastal guns continued to fire. Seriously damaged, the crews of Provence, Dunkerque, and destroyer Mogador ran the ships aground to prevent sinking. Seaplane carrier Commandante Teste was damaged as well.
Five ships were able to escape the battle, Strasbourg and four destroyers. HMS Ark Royal launched Swordfish torpedo bombers to pursue them, which was unsuccessful with two aircraft shot down; the downed crews were rescued by destroyer HMS Wrestler. At 1843 hours, British warships began to move away from Mers-el-Kébir to pursue the fleeing French ships, but this would also prove to be fruitless, and was called off by Somerville at 2020 hours. At 2055 hours, another round of torpedo aircraft attack came upon the French ships, and again it resulted in no damage. These five French ships would reach Toulon, France on 4 Jul.
At dawn on 6 Jul, HMS Ark Royal launched another strike at Mers-el-Kebir, with Dunkerque and Provence as the main targets; this action was code name Operation Lever. Dunkerque was struck by at least one torpedo, killing 154 and injuring 8. Patrol boat Terre-Neuve, moored alongside Dunkerque, was also hit, killing 8; depth charges stored aboard the patrol boat was ignited, and the explosion caused further damage to Dunkerque.
The actions of 3 Jul and 6 Jul at Mers-el-Kébir took the lives of 1,297 French sailors. A further 350 were injured. The British only suffered 2 deaths, which was the crew of the shot-down aircraft.
The French ships in Alexandria consisted of old battleship Lorraine and four cruisers, under the overall command of Admiral René-Émile Godfroy. They were offered the same terms on 3 Jul by Admiral Andrew Cunningham as those given to Gensoul at Mers-el-Kébir. Godfroy accepted the terms on 7 Jul, opting to keep his ships in place. This fleet would remain in Alexandria until 1943, moving out only after they agreed to join the Free French Navy.
Oran, French Algeria
At 1530 hours on 4 Jul, British submarine HMS Pandora sank French gunboat Rigault de Genouilly which had sailed from Oran. It was the only action that took place at this French naval port.
Dakar, French West Africa
Dakar was not only a major naval port in the region, but it also held the gold reserves of the Banque de France and the exiled Polish government. On 8 Jul 1940, five days after the actions at Mers-el-Kébir, British carrier HMS Hermes launched Swordfish torpedo bombers at Dakar, targeting specifically the battleship Richelieu. One torpedo hit Richelieu below the armored deck, disabling the starboard propulsion shaft. Flooding caused her stern to touch bottom. Richelieu was re-floated a few days later. She was made sea-worthy for emergencies, though she remained in Dakar as a gun platform.
ww2dbaseIn the morning of 23 Sep 1940, a combined fleet of British and Free French ships reached Dakar to conduct negotiations en force. The fleet consisted of aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, battleships HMS Resolutions and HMS Barham, four cruisers, ten destroyers, and several transports with 8,000 troops aboard; the operation was code named Operation Menace. Opposite them, the Vichy French operated the battleship/gun platform Richelieu, three submarines, two cruisers, three destroyers, and several smaller vessels. As Free French personnel arrived by air, other Allied aircraft dropped propaganda leaflets on the city to sway public opinion. Meanwhile, General Charles de Gaulle sent negotiators by ship. The Vichy French reacted with hostility; the messengers that landed at the airport were detained, and the ship carrying de Gaulle's staff was fired upon. At 1000 hours, Australian cruiser HMAS Australia fired warning shots on Vichy French ships that attempted to leave the port, and received return fire from Vichy French coastal guns. The Allied fleet returned fire, setting Vichy French destroyer L'Audacieux on fire and forcing it to be beached. That afternoon, Free French troops landed at Rufisque, northeast of Dakar; facing heavy defensive fire, de Gaulle called off the landing to avoid "shed[ding] the blood of Frenchmen for Frenchmen".
On 24 and 25 Sep, Allied fleet bombarded the coastal fortifications from the sea. Two Vichy French submarines, Persée and Ajax, left port on attack, but were sunk during the process; submarine Bévéziers, however, was able to penetrate the Allied screen and fire her torpedoes at British battleship HMS Resolution. Meanwhile, battleships Richelieu and HMS Barham exchanged fire. Richelieu hit Barham with two secondary gun shells, while Barham hit Richelieu twice with her 15-inch primary guns. Even though a blowback accident disabled Richelieu's number two turret, significantly reducing Vichy-French firepower, the Allies decided to depart to avoid further damage to their fleet.
This Vichy French victory was of little consequence militarily, but on the political scene it was significant. De Gaulle, who was one of the main proponents for this operation, lost much standing among his British peers for not being able to deliver Dakar to the Allies, which was described as an easy goal by de Gaulle.
Gibraltar
In retaliation of the seizures and attacks on French ships, French bombers attacked the British fleet at Gibraltar several times in Jul and twice in Sep.
Epilogue
As expected, relationship between Vichy France and the United Kingdom was severely strained after the attacks; in fact, the Vichy French government immediately broke off all relations with the United Kingdom. Although de Gaulle was also willing to take military action against the Vichy fleet, he criticized the use of significant force that resulted in so many French deaths. Somerville later commented against the attacks, noting they were "the biggest political blunder of modern times and will rouse the whole world against us... we all feel thoroughly ashamed".
French ships Dunkerque, Provence, and Mogador would soon be temporarily repaired and sailed to Toulon in southern France.
British Attacks on the French Fleet Timeline
27 Jun 1940 Despite Admiral Darlan's previous assurances that French ships would not fall into German hands, the British War Cabinet ordered the Royal Navy to seize or destroy all French warships in British and North African ports. In turn, Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville was ordered to take the newly-formed Force H to Algeria.
29 Jun 1940 Operation Catapult: The British Admiralty gave Vice Admiral Somerville explicit instructions to secure the transfer, surrender, or destruction of the French warships at Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria. Force H under his command consisted of battleships HMS Valiant and HMS Resolution, battlecruiser HMS Hood, aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, cruisers HMS Arethusa and HMS Enterprise, and 11 destroyers.
1 Jul 1940 US Ambassador to France William C. Bullitt met with French Marshal Philippe Pétain, who ensured that orders had been given "to every captain of the French Fleet to sink his ship rather than permit [it] to fall into German hands". Later on the same day, Bullitt visited French Admiral François Darlan, who noted that French ships had been ordered to sail for Martinique and Guantanamo should there be a risk that the Germans would gain the French fleet, and if sailing not possible, the ships would be scuttled.
3 Jul 1940 Battle of Mers-el-Kébir: At 0545 hours, Vice Admiral James Somerville and his British Royal Navy Force H arrived off of Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria where a power fleet under French Admiral Marcel Gensoul resided. At 1756 hours, after Gensoul refused to surrender, the British fleet opened fire for 10 minutes. The magazine of French battleship Bretagne was hit, sinking her, taking down 977 French sailors. Battleship Provence, battleship Dunkerque, and destroyer Mogador were damaged. In total, 1,297 French sailors were killed and 350 were wounded. After the battle, French battleship Strasbourg, carrier Commandant Teste, and four destroyers were able to escape from Mers-el-Kébir.
3 Jul 1940 British Navy Vice Admiral Sir Andrew Cunnigham demanded the French warships under French Admiral René-Émile Godfroy, docked at Alexandria in Egypt, to surrender. Negotiations would continue until 7 Jul 1940.
4 Jul 1940 British submarine HMS Pandora sank French gunboat Rigault de Genouilly off Oran, Algeria at 1530 hours.
4 Jul 1940 French bombers attacked the British fleet at Gibraltar, causing no damage.
4 Jul 1940 The French Navy ordered submarines, armed merchant cruisers, and destroyers based in Dakar to sortie to attack British shipping.
6 Jul 1940 Operation Lever: British Royal Navy Force H under Vice Admiral James Somerville returned to Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria. At dawn, Swordfish aircraft from carrier HMS Ark Royal scored several torpedo hits on French battleship Dunkerque, killing 154 and wounding 8. One torpedo hit patrol boat Terre Neuve, detonating depth charges, killing 8; shock waves from the explosion further damaged Dunkerque.
7 Jul 1940 After dark, a boat from HMS Hermes attempted to drop depth charges underneath French battleship Richelieu in Dakar, French West Africa; the attack was not successful.
7 Jul 1940 Operation Catapult: British Swordfish torpedo bombers from carrier HMS Hermes attacked the French battleship Richelieu in dock at Dakar, French West Africa. A torpedo hit caused a 40-foot hole, bringing her to the bottom of the harbor (the harbor was shallow enough for her to be refloated shortly after).
8 Jul 1940 At Casablanca, French Morocco, British motor torpedo boats attacked French battleship Jean Bart, causing damage.
8 Jul 1940 British Swordfish torpedo bombers from carrier HMS Hermes hit French battleship Richelieu at Dakar, French West Africa for the second consecutive day, despite that Richelieu had already touched bottom from the attacks on the previous day.
8 Jul 1940 In England, United Kingdom, General Charles de Gaulle denounced the ongoing British attacks on Vichy French forces.
14 Jul 1940 Vichy French bombers attacked Gibraltar, causing no damage.
31 Aug 1940 8,000 British and French troops departed from Britain for Freetown, Sierra Leone, escorted by British cruisers HMS Devonshire and HMS Fiji and five destroyers. Their destination would ultimately be Dakar in French West Africa, which was still under Vichy control.
6 Sep 1940 British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, battleship HMS Barham, battleship HMS Resolution, and 10 destroyers departed Gibraltar for Dakar.
9 Sep 1940 French intelligence reported a possible invasion of Dakar in West Africa by General de Gaulle's forces, supported by the British. In response, French cruisers Georges Leygues, Montcalm, and Gloire, supported by three destroyers, departed Toulon in southern France to reinforce Dakar.
10 Sep 1940 The French Navy informed the British Naval Attaché in Madrid, Spain at 1800 hours that three cruisers and three destroyers were sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar. Unaware that these ships were en route to Dakar in West Africa, a British-Free French joint target, the British Royal Navy allowed the French warships to pass.
11 Sep 1940 At 0835 hours, six French warships passed through the Strait of Gibraltar at the speed of 25 knots. Realizing they were heading for Dakar in French West Africa, HMS Renown and three destroyers departed at 1600 hours in an attempt to intercept. Overnight, the French fleet stopped at Casablanca to refuel.
12 Sep 1940 After refueling at Casablanca overnight, three of the six French warships (the three cruisers) departed at 0400 hours, sailing full speed for Dakar in French West Africa. Behind them, HMS Renown's group, now with six destroyers in escort, chased in an attempt to intercept.
14 Sep 1940 British battleships HMS Barham and HMS Resolution, several British destroyers, and French sloops Commandant Domine and Commandant Duboc arrived at the Crown Colony of Freetown in West Africa to refuel. These warships were en route to French-controlled port of Dakar.
21 Sep 1940 British carrier HMS Ark Royal, battleship HMS Barham, battleship HMS Resolution, cruiser HMS Devonshire, French sloop Commandant Domine, French sloop Commandant Duboc, and French sloop Savorgnan De Brazza, and several destroyers and troop transports departed Freetown, West Africa for Dakar.
23 Sep 1940 Operation Menace: General Charles de Gaulle arrived with 3,600 Free French troops at Dakar, French West Africa held by Vichy France; his forces were supported by 4,300 British troops and a powerful fleet. The Vichy French forces imprisoned the crew of two Free French aircraft that had landed at Dakar, and then fired upon a boat containing Free French personnel approaching to negotiate (wounding 2). At 1000 hours, British warships approached the harbor, and were also fired upon (killing 5). At 1130 hours, British ships fell back out of the range of shore batteries; at about the same time, Vichy French submarine Persee was sunk while attempting to torpedo the cruiser Dragon. In the afternoon, cruiser HMAS Australia attacked Vichy French destroyer L'Audacieux, forcing her to beach after 81 were killed. De Gualle's first attempt at a landing, at Rufisque Bay, was repulsed, and he began to show reluctance of killing fellow countrymen. Having heard of this sentiment, Winston Churchill urged de Gaulle to "[s]top at nothing".
24 Sep 1940 Operation Menace: Overnight, Governor of French West Africa, Pierre Boisson, rejected Free French demand for the surrender of Dakar. At 0700 hours, British destroyer HMS Fortune detected Vichy French submarine Ajax, which was forced to surface by depth charges and then sunk with gunfire after the crew of 61 was captured. British battleship HMS Barham shelled French battleship Richelieu in Dakar harbor; Richelieu was damaged with two shells and a misfire of her own. French coastal batteries was able to force back the British fleet at 1000 hours. In the afternoon, the British fleet returned. French coastal artillery opened fire again, hitting Barham with four shells, and forced back the British fleet once again. Far to the north, 64 Vichy French bombers from Algeria and Morocco bombed Gibraltar in retaliation, damaging one ship.
25 Sep 1940 Operation Menace: The British fleet bombarded Dakar in French West Africa in the morning. At 0900 hours, French submarine Beveziers attacked British battleship HMS Resolution, damaging her; she had to be towed back by battleship HMS Barham while the rest of the British warships fell back. The British War Cabinet decided to cancel the operation after all attempts to enter Dakar failed. Meanwhile, Vichy French bombers from Algeria and Morocco again bombed Gibraltar in retaliation to the British and Free French attacks on Dakar, lighting damaging port facilities and sinking British anti-submarine trawler Stella Sirius.
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British Attacks on the French Fleet
British Attacks on the French Fleet
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