DBWI French navy doesn't breakout WW2

In the aftermath of the French defeat in world war two there was the question of what the French navy would do. Some wanted to accept the surrender, others wanted to fight on.

In the end Jean Louis Xavier François Darlan, gathered together a bunch of French officers took every naval asset they could which consisted of over 80% of the French navy and sailed to England with the message that they fully intended to fight on damned the conquences.

They would do so and become one of the cores of the free French forces during the war, but what if Darling Darlan had not masterminded this break out and mutiny how would world 2 and world history be changed? How would this influence French culture and how they thought about themselves.
 
Tough to say. Moreso than the French navy, whose only major success before the defense of Malaya was the successful interception of the Tirpitz in 1942 where Richelieu knocked out the German battleship's rear turret and probably decided the battle, I'd say that Darlan's fleet led to more colonies deciding for the Free French, which played a much bigger role throughout the war.

Also, Darlan was the leading French monarchist of the Free French. Might France remain a republic if he had sided with Petain?
 
Ultimately a nations Navy represents a large investment and is also particularly for the larger navys a political tool

Therefore it was not really Darlans place to take the fleet (I as an Englishman am bloody happy that he did) and this did have ramifications on how the Germans occupied France and the Freedom retained by the Petain Government

That being said I can see what was an unpleasent period of French history being even more so what with very little for the French to look back at in terms of resisiting the Nazi's and the Japanese Empire

I mean would you have had the Free French hoovering up all of the 'Vichi' colonies or would that have been down to the British Empire?

Would the French Foriegn Legion have made its famous stand at Patini during operation Matador and the subsequant savage battles of the subsequant defence of the Kra Isthmus?

Would Force S with the Dunkurque, Bearn and Richelieu in company with HMS POW and Repulse and 9 DDs and 5 Crusiers have been able to disrupt the initial landing attempts and sink the Kongo and then fight so well in the Subsequant ABFDA naval actions in the region?

Would the capture of Cean on D-day have been possible without the 1st Free French parachute Brigade occupying the area around Libesy and tying up 21st Panzer all morning until 3rd BR Division pushed through and captured the Northern part of the town by nightfall?

I am not so sure but I do know that French Honor would have been 'worse off' had he not done what he did and the Allied position worse off
 
Ultimately a nations Navy represents a large investment and is also particularly for the larger navys a political tool

Therefore it was not really Darlans place to take the fleet (I as an Englishman am bloody happy that he did) and this did have ramifications on how the Germans occupied France and the Freedom retained by the Petain Government

That being said I can see what was an unpleasent period of French history being even more so what with very little for the French to look back at in terms of resisiting the Nazi's and the Japanese Empire

I mean would you have had the Free French hoovering up all of the 'Vichi' colonies or would that have been down to the British Empire?

Would the French Foriegn Legion have made its famous stand at Patini during operation Matador and the subsequant savage battles of the subsequant defence of the Kra Isthmus?

Would Force S with the Dunkurque, Bearn and Richelieu in company with HMS POW and Repulse and 9 DDs and 5 Crusiers have been able to disrupt the initial landing attempts and sink the Kongo and then fight so well in the Subsequant ABFDA naval actions in the region?

Would the capture of Cean on D-day have been possible without the 1st Free French parachute Brigade occupying the area around Libesy and tying up 21st Panzer all morning until 3rd BR Division pushed through and captured the Northern part of the town by nightfall?

I am not so sure but I do know that French Honor would have been 'worse off' had he not done what he did and the Allied position worse off

how worse off? would it be like Turtledoves Damaged Darling series where the Nazi's win world war two bad or just an extension of the war bad?
 
Probably just 'delay the end of the war' bad. OTL, Berlin was crushed between allies and soviets in early March. Even if the allied landings are much less successful, the soviet push is already in full force and the German economy is collapsing. If the D-day landings are halted or contained, the nazis might conceivably slow down the soviet advance, but even in the worst case scenario, if they hold out until late summer a B28 or three with a special payload will just take off from Britain.
 
Would Force S with the Dunkurque, Bearn and Richelieu in company with HMS POW and Repulse and 9 DDs and 5 Crusiers have been able to disrupt the initial landing attempts and sink the Kongo and then fight so well in the Subsequant ABFDA naval actions in the region?

The Bearn's loss was quite tragic, she was too slow to really get out once daylight broke but still her fighters did their jobs and probably saved the battleships, even if it came at the cost of the Bearn herself. And the Force S destroyers did superb work laying mines off the coast, the Fantastique's using their speed to dart out at night and getting back by dawn.
 
how worse off? would it be like Turtledoves Damaged Darling series where the Nazi's win world war two bad or just an extension of the war bad?

Personally I think extension of the war bad - you know D-day delayed to 44 or even 45?
 
Personally I think extension of the war bad - you know D-day delayed to 44 or even 45?

So they land in 44 but the soviets still capture Berlin anyway by June 1945? 43 to March 45 was a long slog. Even with the German army collapsing in 1944 if the soviets get lucky I don’t see how the Poms and Yanks will cover Caen to Berlin in 12ish months.
 
Oh and I do recommend that if anyone goes to France and has the opportunity to visit Brest, you should go on a tour of 'The Fighting Cardinal' Richelieu, she's in magnificent condition (she is still technically in service) and there's a rather awesome audio guide (thankfully in multiple languages) as you tour the ship.
 
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