Table of Contents
Abstract
In the summer of 1940 Germany started invading the Western European countries like Belgium , The Netherlands , Luxembourg etc . Germany seemed unstoppable as they overran the French and now they were a bug threat to British , only the English Channel stood between the Nazis and the British. Then British prime minister Mr Churchill feared that Germans might seize the entire French fleet , one of the biggest in the world. With these ships in hand Hitler’s aim to invade Britain could become a reality. Churchill was promised by the French government that they would not hand over their navy to Hitler at any cost but it was very difficult from him to rely on mere promises .
French Admiral Darlan who knew Mr Churchill gave him his guarantee that French fleet will not surrender to Hitler no matter what, he even gave out a secret order to every naval commander to sabotage their ships if there is a attempt to seize the Naval fleet. Churchill was not satisfied by the reassurance given by the French , he wanted that all French ships should be handed over to the British navy or they should be sent to Britain . Churchill gave an ultimatum to the French that if they don’t send their ships to Britain then Britain would be left with no choice but to attack the French fleet. Churchill’s deadly decision reveals the darkest side of Britain’s finest hour . This was regarded as the turning point in the World War 2 but some consider as a betrayal as this attack killed around 1300 French sailors who considered British as their ally.
Introduction
Churchill’s Darkest Decision is a documentary which is based on an event which is believed to have changed the face of World War 2. The documentary was directed by Richard Bond and it was made in UK that is the reason the documentary is shown through British perspective and is biased towards them. The documentary tells how after France was annexed by the Germany made Britain fear the Germans as now only English channel was the only thing that stood between English and Germans . British also feared the French Naval fleet would be seized by the Hitler and it would be used against British to overran them making Germany victorious in Europe. Churchill had to take a decision , he had to choose between his people and his ally France. This documentary showcases how Britain turned against its own ally to protect themselves from the Germans.
127 our experts are availableright now
Churchill’s decision to attack on the French naval fleet at Mers -el-Kebir was widely appreciated by the people of Britain as they think this was a turning point in the war where as French has different opinion on this , according to them the attack was a terrible betrayal . It was the first time in 125 years that the two navies were up against each other in hostility and this resulted in French navy loosing 1300 sailors and several others were injured.
Geographical Background
Mers-el-Kebir is a port on the Mediterranean Sea in present day Algeria.It is located in a small district of Ain El Turk which is spread over 10.98km^2 . It was an important port for French as it had an Geographical advantage and it had been an important port for many countries like Spain, Turkey and Roman empire. The French took over the port in 1es.
Objectives
One of the main objective to choose this movie/documentary is to shed a light on one of the most controversial event that according to popular belief is regarded as a event that changed the face of war. Many experts agree that the decision to attack French fleet in Mers-el—kebir was justifiable and that Churchill did the right thing although it costed thousands of life and left numerous injured.
Other objective is to show this documentary/movie through different perspective and not the British or American perspective. People through this documentary saw the British side of the attack although the documentary had ex French Navy men who suffered the British attack on Mers-el-Kebir, they criticised the attack and called It a terrible betrayal . The director tried to keep the documentary unbiased and tried to keep the perspective of the documentary as wide as possible but one can se that there is some British inclination.
Methodology
The methodology that was used by me is watching and critically analysing the movie Churchill’s Darkest Decision which is available on Netflix and for reference I watched a documentary World War II in colour. I went through the political Carrier of Winston Churchill and naval carrier of Admiral Darlan, searched the Internet for facts and numbers regarding the Navy of both the countries France and Britain. Overviewed the 1940 US presidential election in which F.Roosevelt won The election.
Circumstances Leading to the Invasion of France
The German had been at war with the Allies since September of 1939 and there was not much fighting done on the western front until May 1940 . Hitler was determined to invade France as he had a hatred towards the French. His strategy involved overrunning the lower neutral countries like Luxembourg , The Netherlands and Belgium to get closer to the French border . It took Germans 6 weeks to invade western Europe except France, French resisted the Germans but Hitler’s modern method of attack Blitzkrieg was very effective and ultimately France signed an armistice in the June of 1940. It left only Britain who opposed the Germans , Hitler’s aim of complete dominance in Europe.
Churchill’s Fear
The situation began when the French assured the British that they would never capitulate to the Nazis without British approval. Both the country were in an agreement that no one will surrender without the consent of other , French signed the armistice and one of the clause stated that French fleet was to assembled to ports where there was German or Italian control and demilitarised. Churchill’s worst fear turned to reality , it was now clear that Hitler was planning to take over the French fleet. British Royal Navy only feared the French Fleet as it had one of the best naval ships in whole of Europe, The French Navy was the 2nd strongest navy in Europe and only second to British Royal Navy. If French falls under Germany’s hand it would mean that Germans would have control over the Mediterranean sea,where the presence of the German Navy is minimum and this would lead to blockage of supplies to British which comes from India, Africa and other South Asian countries.
The Atlantic region would also be in Danger if Germans would have the French fleet as supplies from US comes from the Atlantic and then there would be no help coming from US Germans we quiet powerful when it came to powerful and good ships, they believed on quality over quantity . Bismarck and Tirpitz where then the largest battleships ever made , they were giving The Royal Navy a run for its money. Churchill once wrote in his diary “out of all things that’s make me awake at night Tirpitz is number one”
Churchill Seeks Help From USA
Churchill was growing impatient as he knew that France would be invaded as it was clear from Germany’s attack in west Europe. Churchill was not convinced by the French Government’s reassurance that Naval fleet would never go under German hands. France was invaded by both Germans and Italians , French had to sign the armistice with Hitler.
Meanwhile Churchill was trying all he could to pursue the then US president Franklin D Roosevelt to help Britain with some US naval ships . Roosevelt had presidential elections that year itself and he had promised the people of America that America would remain neutral in the war. He wanted to help the British but was bound to his words and he also feared that British PM didn’t had the backbone to stand up to the Germans. He knew if Britain was invaded by the Germans then his ships would end up in German hands .
Churchill initially thought that Roosevelt would help as he and Churchill had good relations but he was disappointed when Roosevelt refused saying that US will remain neutral . He wrote a telegram to the US president Roosevelt warning him of the consequences if Britain fell in front of Hitler’s Germany then Hitler’s next target would be US . Then Hitler would have whole Royal navy and French fleet at his disposal , it would not be easy for US navy to take on both the Naval fleets.
Churchill and Admiral Darlan
Churchill now knew that the only person he could believe is French Navy’s chief Admiral Darlan as he had a good relations with him. He requested Admiral to send the ships to Britain or any other ports where there allied powers have control . Darlan understood what Churchill wanted and also what thing was making him so worried , he promised the British PM that under no circumstance the French ships will work for Germans. Churchill wanted more but believed Admiral’s word. Churchill agreed to the Armistice but on a condition that French fleet will have to move to British ports.
This was not acceptable to Darlan who argued that it would leave France defenceless. Churchill now doubted Admiral’s word and thought he might have to do something before French fleet goes into the hands of Germans, Admiral still assured Churchill but Churchill had made up his mind to take matters into his own hands. Admiral had secretly ordered the Naval officers that if there is any attempt to take over thee fleet by Germans then they should sabotage their ships so that they can never be used by Germans. Churchill had to take a stance , either he could believe admiral or he could take matter into his hands.
Churchill’s Ultimatum
After the Armistice was signed France was divided into two parts and Germans demanded the French fleet . Churchill grew impatient on hearing the terms of the armistice , he could no longer believe the words of Admiral Darlan although Admiral still assured him that under no circumstance the French Navy would go in the hands of Germany. Churchill took the matters into his own hand and launched “OPERATION CATAPULT” and gave an ultimatum to the French Fleet. The terms of the Ultimatum are as follows
- Sail with the British and continue the resistance against the Germany
- Sail with reduced crew under British to a British port . The reduced crew would be sent as early as possible .
British said that if French agree on any one of the above condition then French ships would be restored at the conclusion of war and if any damage comes to the ships in the course of above mentioned events then Britain would pay full compensation to France.
There was an alternative too that French could sail their ships to some French ports in West Indies if they don’t want their ships to be used against the Germans to insure the armistice isn’t violated . Their they could be demilitarised to British satisfaction or they could entrusted to the United States and remain safe until the war ends.
Churchill further told that if French would fail to comply to any one of the above mentioned options , he would profound regret will have to sink their ships within six hours. British navy was given clear orders that if French navy doesn’t accept the above terms it can be destroyed. Admiral Darlan again insisted to Churchill that French navy will not fall into the German hand. Those ships who were in British waters were taken to Britain.
Attack on Mers-el-Kebir and It’s Result
Mers-el-Kebir was a French Port in Algeria , it had a huge concentration of French Navy arsenal .A heavy British fleet was sent to the French port situated in Algeria, under the leadership of Admiral Sir James Somerville. Somerville approached Mers-el-Kebir with a force of battlecruiser HMS HOOD, battleships HMS Valiant, HMS Resolution , The Carrier HMS Ark Royal , two light cruisers and 11 destroyers . French didn’t agreed and as the deadline ended under the Instruction of Churchill and order by His Majesty British ships and aircrafts started bombarding the French fleet.
The French were no match for the British navy , they were easy target for the British navy as they were trapped in the port , they didn’t had any space to maneuver .The French lost 3 battleships, 6 Destroyers killing 1297 and wounding many sailors. Churchill now had to justify his attack in the parliament and also to his people, he expected a negative response as Britain and French were allies, last conflict between the two was a century ago. To his surprise his people supported him, they understood the reason behind his decision and didn’t blamed Churchill for the attack. According to them the attack was necessary .This attack impressed the US president Roosevelt as he now knew that Britain would not give up so easily, he dispatched US ships for the help of British Royal navy against the Germans.
Discussion
Churchill’s Decision was right or wrong I still a debate as people with different point of view see this decision with different perspective and they all have different conclusion . If we see the through French perspective or through the perspective of a person who’s country wasn’t involved in the event, Churchill’s decision was a terrible betrayal as French had promised British that under no circumstance will navy go under German hands . Admiral Darlan gave his words to Churchill , still the French fleet was attacked . French suffered a huge loss both in men and machine , the death toll was around 1300 men and several injured. Now if we see through British perspective the attack was totally justified as it was done for the protection of Britain although numerous people died in doing so.
According to me the Churchill took a decision that required courage and being a leader you have to take a decision even if world tells you that you are wrong. He had to think about the safety of his countrymen and during the times of war you cannot trust even the promises made by your friend as you never know what might happen, one should first think about themselves before helping others as every thing is fair in love and war.
Conclusion
The movie/documentary Churchill’s Darkest Decision according to me is quite accurate as it almost covers every aspect of the incident that happened between France and Britain during World War II . Although the perspective of movie is confined , still the director has put a lot of efforts to make the movie as accurate and legit as possible by using correct information , interviewing the Sailors who were present during the conflict and Experts who have knowledge in this field . Movie is quite relevant to the incident that happened and gives a good brief knowledge of that incident
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my History Professor Dr Arjun R. sir for providing me patient advice and guidance throughout the research process and my friends for constantly motivating me to work hard and sharing their knowledge with me.
Last but not the least the Internet for providing usefull facts and figures that helped me complete my submission paper.
References
- https://thoughtco.com
- https://scottmaning.com
- https://medium.com
- https://web.archive.org
- Movie- Churchill’s Darkest Decision
- Documentary- World War II In Colour
