French North Africa, June 22nd, 1940
General Nogues reaction, to news of the armistice negotiations had been to proclaim he would fight on from North Africa. His proclamation had been met by widespread support elsewhere in the empire, with commanders from Georges Catroux in Idochina and Mittelhauser in Syria to Paul Legentihoppe in Djibouti and Leon Cayla in Madagascar declaring they would follow his lead and Charles De Gaulle in London offering to place himself under his orders. But Nogues had quickly soured to the idea of fighting on. He first suppressed news of De Gaulle's call for resistance in June 18th. Then with the armistice not giving up the fleet and the empire he proclaimed the armistice was "honourable". North Africa would follow the lead of Petain's government.
Constantinople, June 23rd, 1940
People start flocking in the Greek and Armenian churches in numbers unprecedented for any normal Sunday. At the end of the mass they would sign on the books for the call for the queen of cities to join Greece. By the end of the day nearly 90% of the Greek and Armenian adult population had signed for union. Alexandros Zannas and
Antonis Benakis were already in Constantinople representing the Greek government to receive the results.
Andkillen, Norway, June 24th, 1940
The allied lines in Mo-i-Rana had first been attacked by a single German division to no effect. Then the single division had become three and soon after four and the Germans had start gaining ground. The allies had still contested the German advance step by step and were fighting on, Churchill had resisted French pressure to withdraw while the three French brigades in the area, as well as the Polish highland brigade were too heavily engaged against the Germans to be pulled out and truth to tell too small given the number engaged in France to be worth pulling out in the first place. But now France had capitulated and general Bethouart, the commander of the French and Polish forces in Norway had to take his own decision whether he was going to fight on or follow Petain's lead. It was not an easy decision to take. The Poles had made it clear they would fight on and so had the commander of the 13e DBLE. If Bethouart laid down his arms it would open a major gap to the allied line probably leading to the destruction of the Norwegian and British forces. Follow the orders from Vichy to surrender and betray the allies his forces with dying side by side since April or fight on. In the end it was not much a a dilemma. Bethouart and the three French brigades in Norway joined Free France.
French Polynesia, June 24th, 1940
New Hebrides became the first French territory to join Free France. Despite some resistance the rest of French Polynesia would follow over the next few weeks.
French coast, June 25th, 1940
Between the destruction of Poland and the surrender of France the free Polish army had grown to 127,000 men and 6 divisions. Of these the 1st and 2nd divisions, formed mostly from soldiers escaping Poland had been stationed n Constantinople while the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th divisions had been formed in France. the 5th and 6th divisions had been still training but the 3rd and 4th divisions had been heavily engaged. 4th division had been forced to escape into Swiss territory and internment there, while the 3rd division had managed to reach the sea were
operation Aerial the allied evacuation was in full swing. By June 25th, 220,390 men including 144,171 British, 40,517 Poles, 30,601 French, 4,938 Czechs and 163 Belgians had managed to escape.
Constantinople, June 27th, 1940
Benakis and Zannas had been sent to Constantinople to facilitate the Greco-Armenian referendum in support for union with Greece. With France collapsings they had also been sent into Constantinople with express instructions to make certain by any means necessary that in Constantinople, as Dragoumis had put it the Fench should stay in and the Turks out, with the Greek XX Infantry division from Alexandroupolis and XXI Infantry division from Raidestos mobilized and massed on Catalca ready to march into Constantinople should the need arise. Admiral Durand-Viel, Darlan's predecessor as head of the French navy and admiral Raoul Castex, head of the French forces in Constantinople had sat on fence since the armistice, while they received increasingly frantic orders from Vichy to accept the armistice. The 1st and 2nd Polish divisions had already declared they would fight on, and so had the 2nd Armenian regiment. The other two French regiments, 5e REI and 24e RMIC were long service regulars of the Legion and La Coloniale, who would follow their commanders but would hardly mind the order to go on fighting, if anything many had taken the orders to pull back from Uskudar as a professional insult. So in the end it was down to Castex and Durand-Viel. Castex was sympathetic to fighting on and every order from Darlan to stand down pushed him the other way given the rivalry between the two men. Pressure on Durand-Viel wasn't being received much better for similar reasons. The Benakis-Zannas duo would give him just the last push he needed to go to the allied direction. Durand-Viel had been vice president of the Suez Canal company. Benakis had not been chosen by Dragoumis, just due to his family connections. His family was one of the most prominent in the Greek community of Alexandria with large economic interests in Egypt and the Suez, thus Dragoumis had counted that he should be able to influence Durand-Viel and play on his interest to retain the French share in Suez. In the night of the 27th the dice was finally cast. French forces in Constantinople declared for Free France.
Beirut, July 2nd, 1940
Much like Constantinople French Syria was sitting on the fence after the armistice. Gabriel Puax, the high commissioner for the Levant was sympathizing with free France. General Mittelhauser the army commander had been sympathetic, when Nogues had declared he would fight on he had supported him but like many French soldiers of his generation had been an admirer of Petain thus vaccilated. Within his army there were several thousands Armenian volunteers, though only a single Armenian regiment 1 RIA in 191e DI as well as thousands of Lebanese, Kurds , Alevis and Circassians that sympathized with joining Free France out of fear of what would happen to French Syria if it came under German influence given Germany's close ties to Turkey. Castex once he had taken the decision to follow Free France had taken the situation in his hands and the French squadron in Constantinople had sailed out within 48 hours for Beirut escorting two of the three regiments of the 193e DI, before Vichy got into its mind to replace Pouax and Mittelhauser with its own loyalists. Ten thousand men and the guns of Lorraine had proven very persuasive, particularly when the two men, Pouax in particular were sympathetic in the first place. In July 3rd French Syria joined Free France.
Britain, July 3rd, 1940
British boarding parties went aboard the French ships in British ports capturing them with virtually no resistance. Operation Trebuchet, the attempt to neutralize the Marine Nationale lest it fall to the hands of the axis was on...
Toulon, July 3rd, 1940
Jean Bart, was nearly complete when she had been ordered out of Saint Nazaire. Initially supposed to go to Britain, then Casablanca, then Mers el Kebir, after Gensoul's defeat in the Ligurian sea, with the signing of the armstice she had found herself at Toulon where her fitting out could complete. Along with Dunkerque and Bretagne, she would form a very powerful squadron when Dunkerque was fully repaired. But Toulon was too well protected for the British to touch. No action would be taken there.
Mers El Kebir, July 3rd, 1940
With Dunkerque unavailable, Force De Raid had been reconstituted around Strasbourg and Richelieu, recalled from Scapa Flow much to the British discomfort, and moved to Mers El Kebir under the temporary command of rear admiral Lacroix, as Gensoul remained with Dunkerque at Toulon. When the British had showed up with HMS Rodney, Valiant, Resolution and Ark Royal, Lacroix didn't have many particularly palpable options. He could join Free France, even though a protege of Darlan he was sympathetic to resisting the Germans, personally very Anglophile and Castex and Durand-Viel joining Free France was hardly something that could be taken lightly by any French officer. Or he could fight them. As he start negotiating with the British he ordered his own ships to raise up steam and stop disarming. His crews had reacted to the order with cheers thinking they were rejoining the war, but Lacroix himself had been still undecided debating between the options of moving his squadron to the French West Indies or joining Free France. Radio Beirut announcing the French Syria had just joined Free France came at the right moment to break the indecision. Lacroix, with Richelieu, Strasbourg, Algerie and six large destroyers joined Free France. Over the next few weeks so would also a third of the 45,000 French soldiers in Britain...