The Mers-el-Kebir resolution

[Some Bloke]

"With respect Sir, French senior officers are awkward, prickly b- chaps at the best of times, any small thing to ease matters could mean the difference between sucess and failure, first impressions and all that."

Instead of delegating the negotiations to Captain Holland of the Ark Royal, Admiral Somerville commanding force H decides to conduct the negotiations in person. This avoids the initial confusion and delays (not to mention the insults to personal and national pride unwittingly inflicted on the French Admiral). The options are also presented in reverse order from the original (i.e. The option to sail to Martinique or US waters is option A rather than C.)

Gensoul therefore sends the ultimatum to Darlan, the French Naval Minister, unedited. Darlan's instructions were to accept an offer to sail the French fleet to American waters if it was presented.

From what I can tell I doubt that Gensoul would have been happy at placing his fleet at the mercy of any foreign power and presents the following counter offer (given his actions IOTL I can't see him passing up the opportunity to use deception to strengthen his hand).

His reply is as follows (in French of course):
"Gentlemen, my instructions from Admiral Darlan are quite explicit, to scuttle the ships under my command if we are not permitted to proceed to a French port in a location far removed from either any belligerent party, under minimum escort; and to disarm upon arrival."

Somerville sends this to London (without mentioning the liberties of presentation regarding the Ultimatum, trivial detail really).

While dissapointed at not being able to effectively "capture" a large, modern portion of the French fleet, Churchill and co breath a collective sigh of relief and allow Gensoul to proceed to Martinique.

When Hitler receives word of this, his reaction forms the basis of a pop cultural phenomenon when these events are later dramatised.

The Vichy government moves quickly to placate their neighbours and Darlan is court-martialled, hanged and then buried in an unmarked grave.

Hitler later declares before the Reichstag that the British have shown their true colours as an insidious threat to the new Aryan order and will be dealt with before their interference can cause more obstacles to the 1000 year Reich ...

[Dunois]

If The Mers el Kebir affair is resolved in this way, then it is a significant boost to Free France and the Allies in the middle term. I suspect that the relationship between Churchill and De Gaulle will be a lot better at least initially. The attempt on Dakar might work TTL as well further strenghtening the Free French and allied position in Africa.

Sooner or later the bulk of the fleet transfered in the West Indies will join the allies, likely in 1942. Too late to be of use during the battle of the Atlantic sadly.

[sharlin]

The French DDs were short legged and fuel hogs, but they could have been rushed to the Far East if they were available in 1942.

[Some Bloke]

While there are many seizeures of French vessels in British ports on the 3rd of July, they are very quickly hushed up for many political and diplomatic reason. Mer-el-Kebir is regarded as a major disappointment for de Gaulle and Churchill, and ongoing fighting in the Middle East has done much to sour relations between the French servicemen in England, their hosts and their supposed leader de Gaulle.

This however changes when news is received 2 days later from Alexandria when the French force in port under Rear-Admiral Godfroy opts to continue to fight. As far as most of the world is concerned, Alexandria is representative of French resolve to continue to resist the Germans and the image of French forces voluntarily fighting against the Germans (and by implication under de Gaulle's leadership) is very carefully cultuvated for rest of the war.

By the end of the month, some 7000 men, representing over 10% of all French personell evacuated to England, have declared for de Gaulle. While the Alexandia coup comes too late to affect the outcome of the fighing in Lebanon, Godfroy's squadron does represent a welcome addition to allied naval strength in Mediterranean.

De Gaulle, however, has other plans for this formation, which accompany the British force to Dakar. De Gaulle insists on taking passage on the Lorraine as well has ensuring that the French force arrives before the bulk of the fleet and the troop transports. His initial negotiation efforts are met with scorn by General Boisson, Senegal's governor, who points out that the forces present in Dakar are more than a match for the old Battleship Lorraine and her escorting cruisers. De Gaulle however points out that the fight would be very bloody and that neither one of them would be willing to shed their countrymen's blood.

When the arrival of the British contingent is sighted, Boisson then pointedly turns to General Sir Edward Spears, Churchill's personal liason to de Gaulle, to discuss terms of surrender. This is the political coup the allies, and particularly de Gaulle, had hoped for.

He wastes no time in setting up shop and declaring Dakar to be Free France's provisional Capital and deciding what to do with the large pile of French and Polish gold that had been there since the beginning of the war...

Next up, the exploits of an Officer and a Gentleman.

[Dunois]

Very good Some Bloke, Dakar raylling the Free French is a major coup and a big help for the Allies. Considering the fact that evacuations of French personnel lasted well until the autumn in some respects, I would expect more soldiers and sailors to rally around Free France and De Gaulle with the news from Dakar.

The extra French contribution to the allied cause from West Africa, might just be enough to turn Operation Compass into a strategic victory for the Allies and have the Axis swept off Africa before the Afrikakorps is able to make a meaningful impact. I would then suggest finishing the job and taking North Africa, if De Gaulle is more astute (and he will be TTL as he his credentials are better) the region might join him without any bloodshed.

[Some Bloke]

Even before the bloodless seizure of Dakar, de Gaulle's influence is already making itself felt on the other side of Africa. Almost immediately after the incident in Alexandria, de Gaulle travels over land to the port of Djibouti in French Somaliland to discuss the Governor, General Legentilhomme's General Order No. 4, which condemned the Armestice. De Gaulle delivers a short speech stating that an ever growing number of patriots are pledging their loyalty to the legitimate Government in Exile in London, and that with their help, said government's exile could be brief.
When Legentilhomme asks what reinforcements will be available for his garrison, de Gaulle says that they will arive "in due course" and that in the mean time, he is to hold out against any Italian attack, and to offer all assistance to his British allies once the colony is secure. Le Gentilhomme then approaches his British counterpart in their Somali posessions, Brigadier Chater and relays his instructions from de Gaulle. The British already know almost all of the Italian's plans and this information is shared with the Djibouti Garrison.


Italian strategists dismiss the French colony as being conflicted in its loyalties and likely to surrender once British Somaliland has been taken. The Italian campaign therefore begins according to the original plan of advancing in 3 columns. The central and eastern column's take their objectives, Hargaisa and Oodweyne on the 5th and 6th of august respectvely, the latter without any opposition. However, on the western flank, things start to go wrong. General Legentilhomme knows that he and his force have been all but ignored by Italian planners, he therefore dispatches roughly a third of his command, including all of his light tanks and camel corps and a battery of Artillery to Ziela to secure communications between himself and British forces in the region.

The French defenders' first artillery strike hits the Italians while they are still in marching order (reconaisance from the 2 camel platoons allowed ideal placement of the guns to attack the enemy line of approach. A battallion level attack under cover from the artillery fixes the still disorderly Italians on a single flank while an attack from the light tank platoon convinces the Italian commander that he is facing a vastly superior force and the western column falls back to Silil awaiting reinforcements.

The Allies, now under the command of Major General Goodwin-Austin, and reinforced by 2 more Batallions from Aden, are outnumbered nearly 2 to 1, however, they retain control of the coastal roads linking French and British Somaliland. The Italians on the other hand, have superior armour and air support as well as the advantage in numbers, but have been forced to reorganise after losing the initiative in the western sector. Due to the fact that the French have armour support and the British don't, the decision is taken to attack Zeila with half the army including the tanks, and for the other half to deal with the British forces. The French by this time have instituted air patrols over all of the territory they control, and the British have used their time to improve defences around the hills of Tug Argan, and both battles end in stalemate. The French cannot risk a sally due to the presence of Italian armour, and the British have not been displaced from their defensive position, and a request for further reinforcements from India has been sent.

[Some Bloke]

By September 1940, the situation appears grim for all combatants in East Africa. Italian gains have been minimal, but the British lack the forces to expel these interlopers. The Italians are also severely overstretched, prosecuting offensive operations on 3 fronts.

British counter attacks in November make small gains in Sudan with the arrival of the 5th Indian Division, but they are contained by superior Italian airpower.

At the same time, 6th Australian Division has begun its deployment to Somaliland. Lt. General Montgomery, the new overall commander for allied forces in Somaliland, has what seems to be the hardest task, commanding a rag tag force of half a dozen different nationalities with very little modern equipment. Montgomery sets up his HQ in Berbera, 16th Brigade marches toward Hargeisa, accompanied by the 6th's Divisional HQ. Extensive communication between this force, Goodwin Austin's deployment and Berbera convinces General Nasi that there is an entire division threatening his line of retreat, and further efforts to secure Berdera are abandoned.

At the same time, the 40th Division, which is containing the Free French force in Zeile, is redeployed North. Having "lost" nearly half of his regular manpower, and believing himself to be outnumbered, General Nasi orders a full retreat from British Somaliland.

By the end of November "Monty's" forces have secured the frontier, While General Le Gentilhomme has crossed the border into Ethiopia. Operation Python, the plan to crush the Italian position in East Africa on all sides, is now underway.

The end of 1940 sees a major allied counter attack in North Africa, Operation Compass. This sees the first of many major changes to British armour doctrine. In this engagment, tanks and infantry are closely coordinated on what is later recognised as the operational level, with tanks and mechanised formations isolating key Italian positions, which are swiftly captured by infantry assaults. By the 11th of december the Italian camps on the Egyptian border are secured, 5 days later, Bardia falls, O'Connor's forces march into tobruk in the small hours of Christmas eve, and by mid January, the Italians have been thrown out of Egypt, their 10th Army anihilated, and El Aghleia has been secured.

While the allies now effectively control both ends of the Suez canal, the situation in Greece is deteriorating rapidly.

(Note: I have chosen not to write about the Battle of Britain because there is little that can be changed in the time frame).

[sharlin]

Very well written, could the addition of French troops possibly help in Crete or will the island still fall? The addition of the Marine National could help with the relief of Malta and provide more escorts for convoys in that region. I'd keep the MN out of the atlantic, French ships were quite short ranged and built for operations in the med.

[Dunois]

Originally Posted by sharlin

Very well written, could the addition of French troops possibly help in Crete or will the island still fall? The addition of the Marine National could help with the relief of Malta and provide more escorts for convoys in that region. I'd keep the MN out of the atlantic, French ships were quite short ranged and built for operations in the med.

It will help but considering that not all of France's North African assets have joined the Allies, the effects won't be as big as one could hope. Ultimately a lot depends on whether or not Operation Compass will be a decisive strategic victory or merely a tactical one as per OTL.

[Some Bloke]

By the end of 1940 almost all of the 60 000 French servicemen evacuated to England have declared for de Gaulle, and extensive recruitment drives are being made in the newly acquired French African colonies.

Following German intervention in Greece, Churchill makes the decision to render assistance. However, this threatens to undermine British efforts in North Africa. Assurances that reinforcements will be available once the fighting is over in the east does little to alleviate Wavell or O'Connor's concerns. It is therefore with some relief when de Gaulle's offers to Free French forces sent to North Africa to those being redeployed to Greece are received.

Operation Lustre begins at the end of february and cooperation between the allies appears close. However, de Gaulle is all too conscious of the fact that French forces have been under British command since the fall of mainland, and he lobbies for an independent force. This request is granted and General Koenig is placed in command of the garrison at Crete.

Although General Wilson's force does much to slow the enemy advance, German superiority in air support and volume of armour makes the defence of the mainland a foregone conclusion, and an evacuation is ordered in the beginning of May, extricating the shattered remnants of the Greek army as well as the expeditionary force. By this time the fighting in East Africa is all but over and a number of aircraft are available to cover the evacuation. These are however, fairly old and heavy casualties are incurred, but this does much to reconcile the RAF and the Army after the recriminations following Dunkirk.

While Greek and British troops are seriously demoralised after the invasion, French morale is at an all time high as they are the first to decisively defeat a German attack. The assault on Crete proves perhaps the most ambitious aerial assault of the war, if not the whole of history, in that, the airbourne troops are operating almost completely independently rather than coordinating with a seaborne landing force.

The Free French forces however are well dug in and have the advantage in terms of heavy weaponry, and Koenig aggresively pushes for counter attacks and night actions to prevent German forces from consolidating, although the action at Maleme attracts some criticism from the seemingly piecemeal deployment of forces to repulse the Germans and the heavy casualties are inflicted on both sides.

Following the establishment of a provisional capital in Heraklion, and re reorganisation of Greek forces evacuated from the mainland, the "Race for the Islands" begins as the allies frantically attempt to secure as much Greek territory as possible, most notably the Dodecanese as a means of mainatining a convoy route through the length of the mediterranean and the Suez Canal.

Next up: Naval operations

[sharlin]

Ooh Crete holds and all that entails = Bombers in range of Ploesti.

[thedarkmaster]

maybe but not soon.....airfields need to be built /upgraded, logistics improved on the island and supply to the island itself secured before that can happen in a meaningful way.

[Some Bloke]

Since September 1940 the Vichy regime has been enduring a major crisis of legitimacy, a significant proportion of the French fleet has declared for de Gaulle, who has been recognised as "Head of the French provisional government" by Great Britain and all of the dominions.

The United States' neutrality entails not only a lack of involvement in the European war, but also silence on what some are already calling "The French Question".

When Dakar was captured by the Free French, the Battleship Richelieu was still not complete and Britain's yards do not have the space to finish the job, the only option therefore is to try the Americans.

Much to de Gaulle's chagrin the US government has dragged its feet on this issue for several complex political and diplomatic reasons stemming from the fact that it recognises neither French regime.

The solution is presented by the British, who argue that, as General Boisson officially surrendered to British forces, all of the French ships that were in Dakar at the time were legally British prizes. Operation Sermon commences in November 1940, when "HMS Richelieu" under heavy escort, sails to New York City for an extensive refit, which lasts until August the following year.

During this time the Italian Navy has been devastated by an airborne strike at the port of Taranto, and has suffered an even graver defeat at the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941, in which the Free French contingent capture the heavy cruiser Pola and sink most of the ships attempting to rescue her, freeing up Admiral Cunningham's force to pursue the Battleship Vittorio Veneto, which had been sighted by one of the British destroyer flotillas.

While Admiral Prydham-Whipple deals with the Light Cruiser division deployed as a rear guard (helped by HMS Valiant), Cunningham attempts, attempts to engage the battleship. It is a single confirmed hit at extreme range that changes the course of this battle. The 15" shell from the Warspite hits Vitorio Venneto's bridge, killing or severely wounding everyone there, with Vice Admiral Iachino among the latter. Command breaks down and eventually a full retreat is ordered, but not before what has become immortalised as the Dawn Strike.

Fearing enemry air attacks, Cunningham orders a final attack from the Carrier Formidable against the curiously unescorted Battleship while the rest of the fleet disengages. While the strike is technically a sucess, most of the torpedo bombers and fighters involved are shot down by the newly arrived air patrols and Warspite herself is severely damaged.

[Geordie]

This looks very interesting...

[zeppelin247]

hopefully the rest of the colonies will fall soon to the Free French

[Dunois]

Still very good Some Bloke!

[Some Bloke]

While the Free French are replacing the Troops diverted to Greece from the beginning of February, the Afrika Korps under General Rommel is also being deployed to shore up the deteriorating Italian position in Greece.

Although ordered to adopt a defensive posture, Rommel realises that he is facing an ever closing window of opportunity to knock the allies off balance before the position in East Africa is consolidated and further reinforcements can arrive and therefore launches a counter offensive toward the end of March.

The Allies at this time are facing seperate problems in that the presence of a significan Free French presence in the Western Desert has raised a new question of overall command. Since the original commander of the Western desert force, Richard O'Connor, had only recently been promoted, and the Free French forces were roughly of Corps size, it was decided that only a full General would be sufficient. Alan Cunningham, is therefore promoted (much the the annoyance of the Free French) and appointed C-in-C Cyranecia.

Although the initial attack is unexpected, the Allies are well dug in around El Agheila, and there is no option but to invest the port. However, this would trap a large, mobile force and require another large scale deployment in order to relieve it. Cunningham therefore resolves to effect a breakout and disengage as much of his force as he can. The fact that roughly a division's worth of troops are cut off and surrounded in the El Agheila itself proves to be a blessing in disguise as Axis forces are pinned in place due to the need to take the position by siege (although this was at the insistance of the Italian commanders rather than Rommel, who favoured a pursuit). The success of the retreat owes much the actions of a Free French armoured batallion under Colonel Hautecloque, which although losing much of its own manpower, buys enough time to allow the bulk of the army to retreat to Agebedia and await reiinforcements from East Africa for their own counter attack including a new commander for the British contingent, as General Neame had been captured in the early stages of the Battle of El Agheila.

[zert]

I am hooked. Look forward to more.

[Andrew Hudson]

[QUOTE=Some Bloke;5241854
While dissapointed at not being able to effectively "capture" a large, modern portion of the French fleet, Churchill and co breath a collective sigh of relief and allow Gensoul to proceed to Martinique.

On the contrary it would be the last thing Churchill wanted. Opening fire on the French fleet wasn't so much done to prevent it from falling into enemy hands but to demonstrate Britain's resolve to fight on particularly to the United States. There is also the possibility that Churchill did it to resolve differences with his own backbenchers as when it was announced or the first time he was cheered by the Tory backbenchers who were unhappy about Chamberlain being deposed.

Admiral Cunnigham persuaded the French ships in Alexandria to demilitarise by persuading Admiral Godfoy to hold a ballot amongst his officers many of whom wanted to go home. However he managed it by disobeying Churchill's instructions and he had overwhelming firepower. Godfoy could have scuttled his ships blocking the harbour entrance and Cunnigham wasn't disciplined. Somerville fell out of favour with Churchill by querying his orders which his officers were less than happy about carrying out. Longer negotiations and less humiltating terms might have prevented the attack but it wasn't what Churchill wanted.

Gensoul tried? probably not if he sails to Martimique he could go into exile. The consequences of no attack? The appeasers in high places would have their hand strengthened. No undeclared on and offn war with Vichy France and Britain recognises the Vichy regime. Problems however in 1942 unless Darlan is persuaded to let us use French North Africa as a springboard and further problems with Admiral Darlan and more resentment from De Gualle if Darlan heads the government in exile

[Some Bloke]

March 1941 is seen as a major disappointment for commanders on both sides in North Africa. The Allied advance has been stalled, but Axis forces have failed to retake El Aghelia and are forced to mount a costly siege, the greates cost being time. Aerial attakcs have failed to entirely deter seaborne supply and the Italian collapse in East Africa means that allied reinforcements are on their way.

In June the Allies launch Operation Broadsword, an attempt to relieve El Aghelia and resume the advance. This proves to be a qualified sucess in that while the siege is lifted allied forces sustain heavy losses and are obliged to consolidate. The actions of Brigadier "Jock" Cambell however prove to be instrumental in trapping some of the erstwhile besiegers and their would be rescuers into a pocket which is crushed by the Free French corps, this includes much of the German 5th light division and much of the Axis heavy artillery as well.

By this time Operation Barbarossa has been launched and further reinforcement presents a seriously logistical challange for the Axis now the the allies control several strategically vital islands from which to amount aerial and seabourne assaults on axis shipping. By mid september troops from East Africa have begun deploying in Cyrenicia and the Free French have also been reinforced. British forces in the region have been reorganised as the 8th Army under Lieutenant-General O'Connor.

Rommel meanwhile has been severely chastised by both Italian and German high command for breaking orders instead of going on the defensive and is stripped of much of autonomy mandated in his original brief.

The Battle of Sirte in mid October 1941 proves to be the decisive engagement in the North Africa campaign. It is this engagement that breaks the back of the already severely weakened Africa Corps, as well much of the mobile arm of Italian forces in the region. With North Africa all but secured, de Gaulle is confident enough to begin overtures to the French leadership in Tunisia and Algeria. It is a combination of these events that propmt the Axis to implement Operation Atilla ...