Throughout September 1940, the British people’s attention was almost entirely dedicated to the unfolding Battle of Britain. Yet this was not the only major theatre of the war which saw action during that month – in West Africa, British and Free French forces were preparing for an assault on Dakar, the capital of the Vichy French colony of Senegal and a valuable port.
After the Fall of France in June, the French Empire overseas had entered something of a state of disarray, as France’s colonial governors were unsure as to whom they should declare their allegiance – the Vichy French Government had been established on the mainland, yet the French Resistance under Charles de Gaulle had also been set up in June, meaning there were two possible French entities to which the colonies could declare for. Eventually, most colonial governors decided to declare their support for Vichy France, while only Cameroon and Equatorial Africa decided to take the risky option and join Free France. As a result, the majority of the French Empire was under Axis control, and thus Britain and her allies faced the task of securing control of said colonies (along with the overseas possessions of Italy) to prevent Hitler exploiting them.
It was decided by British and Free French generals to target the port of Dakar, for numerous reasons. One significant factor was that it would provide the Royal Navy, along with other Commonwealth navies and the ships of the former French navy which had joined Free France, a new base on the Atlantic. Another advantage of securing Dakar was that it could potentially lead to Vichy French control over West Africa unravelling, thereby allowing the Free French to secure a sufficient base of operations to function a government-in-exile. So, in late September, British and Free French forces (assisted by the Australian heavy cruiser
HMS Australia).
Allied forces arrived at Dakar on September the 23rd, and attempts by de Gaulle and the Free French to have the Vichy French administration in Senegal peacefully turn sides quickly failed – this led to the British and Free French naval forces present organise operations to take Dakar by force. While Royal Navy ships confronted the Vichy French fleet present, Free French troops landed at Rufisque, near Dakar, with the intention of advancing towards the city from land. In spite of heavy fire from Vichy French troops, the Free French forces were able to establish a beachhead, and thus began to advance towards Dakar [1].
Meanwhile, at sea, British forces were able to successfully neutralise the Vichy French ships – several components of the Vichy French fleet were destroyed, including the submarine
Bévéziers [2], thereby allowing the Allies to gain naval supremacy surrounding Dakar. Eventually, by the 25th, the battle was over, and de Gaulle’s forces had succeeded advancing towards the port and forcing the Vichy French to retreat – after the capture of Dakar, Pétain’s Government in Vichy gave the order for Senegal to be abandoned as a whole, and thus the Free French gained a new base. Amongst the Free French troops who played a significant part in the capture of Dakar was one Henri Orléans, the Orléanist claimant to the (defunct) French throne, who had joined the French Armed Forces in 1939 and, after the Fall of France, had joined the Free French. This would just be the start of one of several events which would involve Henri before the war came to a closure.
Following the capture of Dakar (and, by an extension, Senegal as a whole), de Gaulle established a Free French administration for the colony, and, during the rest of September and early October, consultation began between British and Free French officers in Dakar on the Allies’ next move in West Africa, and the potential capture of the rest of the Vichy French colonies in the region - a goal which seemed close to fruition, given the troops available to the Allies now that Britain no longer needed to focus the majority of its resources on defending the British Isles.
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[1] In our timeline, the Free French landing was partly hindered by fog, which caused it to fail. In this timeline, no such fog occurs, and thus the landing is a success.
[2] In our timeline, this submarine torpedoed the British battleship
HMS Resolution, causing significant damage to it – in this timeline, it is destroyed before then, and thus
Resolution remains in service throughout the battle, thereby giving extra support to the Allies.