“A hateful decision”
Winston Churchill’s order to sink a French naval fleet off Algeria in July 1940 killed 1,300 French sailors and bitterly turned Vichy France against her former British ally
After France was defeated, the British made the controversial decision to sink the French fleet in Algeria
The British naval attack on the French fleet at Mers-el-kébir, Algeria, was one of the most controversial military decisions of Churchill’s premiership. A strike against a former ally, Mers-el-kébir resulted in the deaths of almost 1,300 French sailors and hardened the resolve of the newly established pro-german Vichy regime against Britain.
After the fall of France, the French signed an armistice with Nazi Germany on 22 June 1940. Article 8 stated: “The French fleet… will be demobilised and disarmed under the supervision of Germany or, respectively, Italy. The German government solemnly declares… that it has no intention of using… for its own purposes the French fleet stationed in ports under German supervision.”
The British refused to believe that the French Navy would not be commandeered by the Germans. This belief was based on previously broken German promises and their refusal to allow French military personnel to transfer to the UK. The French Navy’s commander, Admiral François Darlan, assured the British that the fleet would not come under German control, but he also refused requests to allow his vessels to come under British control or move them to the French West Indies.
With France’s Atlantic ports in German hands and the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean presence threatened, the British faced a huge dilemma. The French fleet was one of the biggest in the world and could greatly assist the Germans for an invasion of Britain. Churchill could not fully trust the new Vichy government and with the British Empire now alone, drastic measures were required.
Most of the French Navy was scattered among France’s African colonies and also at Portsmouth, England. Operation Catapult was launched to put French naval vessels under British control, which was successful in both England and Alexandria, Egypt. However, the most powerful group of French warships was at Mers-el-kébir near Oran, Algeria. Consisting of battleships, destroyers and dozens of aircraft, this was a powerful force with alarmingly ambiguous allegiances.
The British could not allow the French ships at Mers-el-kébir to fall into Axis hands; the French Navy were also hamstrung because they could not surrender without orders from the Vichy government. To do so could have been regarded as treason, but on 27 June 1940 the British War Cabinet decided to sink the French fleet if they did not agree to an ultimatum.
Admiral Sir James Somerville led Force H from Gibraltar to Mers-el-kébir. This consisted of numerically superior battleships, cruisers, destroyers and an aircraft carrier. Somerville was directed by Admiral Sir Dudley Pound: “You are charged with one of the most disagreeable and difficult talks that a British Admiral has ever been faced with, but we have complete confidence in you to carry it out relentlessly.”
“Thoroughly ashamed”
Force H hemmed in the French fleet at Mersel-kébir, which was commanded by Admiral Marcel-bruno Gensoul. Somerville sent an initially generously worded but firm ultimatum on 3 July 1940 that began, “It is impossible for us, your comrades up to now, to allow your fine ships to fall into the power of the German 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.”
Somerville then presented two main options for the French: “(a) Sail with us and continue the fight until victory against the Germans.
(b) Sail with reduced crews under our control to a British port.” A third option allowed for demilitarisation in the Caribbean, with immediate sinking only being the final resort. The last sentences were ominous: “If you refuse these fair offers, I must with profound regret, require you to sink your ships within six hours. Finally, failing the above, I have orders from His Majesty’s Government to use whatever force may be necessary to prevent your ships from falling into German hands.”
Negotiations foundered between the conflicted fury of the French high command and the blunt insistence of the British. The talks failed and Churchill ordered the British to commence firing at 5.54pm on 3 July. The attack only lasted for ten minutes but caused huge destruction. The battleship Bretagne exploded while two others – Dunkerque and Provence – were ran aground. A destroyer was severely damaged while just one battleship, Strasbourg, and some escort destroyers escaped to Toulon.
The carnage and the deaths of 1,300 sailors caused Vichy France to cut diplomatic ties with Britain. The attack was universally condemned throughout France and prompted Vichy military retaliation against Gibraltar. Anglo-french relations were damaged for years and hardened Vichy resistance against the British during campaigns across Africa and Asia.
In the aftermath, Somerville despairingly wrote: “We all feel thoroughly ashamed,” while Churchill announced the news of the attack to the House of Commons with “sincere sorrow”. Conversely, the action demonstrated to the world, and particularly the United States, that Britain was determined to keep fighting the
Axis powers at whatever cost. Nevertheless, Churchill later reflected: “This was a hateful decision, the most unnatural and painful in which I have ever been concerned.”
The controversy regarding Mers-el-kébir has continued after Churchill acknowledged that he left the moral “judgement” of the attack
“to history”. Nevertheless, André Jaffre – a surviving French sailor – attempted to be magnanimous. Speaking in 2010 he said: “It’s not betrayal. It was war with all that unfolds. I was deeply saddened that our English friends had sunk us, but what can you do? Let us be honest, have you ever seen an intelligent war?”