What would happen if the British and Free French succeeded in capturing Dakar in Operation Menace? Would the other Vichy colonies be more encouraged to be Free French?
I recall bits here & there about a large portion of the French gold reserve ending up in Dakar. It had been evacuated in June 1940 & for whatever reason this portion did not make it to Algeria. Any experts able to clarify this?
I don't recall the exact amounts but from memory roughly 45% of the reserves ended up in New York, 45% end up in Thies which is about 25 miles inland on Dakar, and 10% in Fort-de-France in Martinique.I recall bits here and there about a large portion of the French gold reserve ending up in Dakar. It had been evacuated in June 1940 and for whatever reason this portion did not make it to Algeria. Any experts able to clarify this?
After Operation Menace they then moved it another 450-odd miles inland to what's now Mali.IIRC the gold reserves were further inland? And moved even further after the raid?
I don't recall the exact amounts but from memory roughly 45% of the reserves ended up in New York, 45% end up in Thies which is about 25 miles inland on Dakar, and 10% in Fort-de-France in Martinique.
After Operation Menace they then moved it another 450-odd miles inland to what's now Mali.
I'm afraid not, this is all from quite a few years ago. The only reason it stuck in my memory is that previously to then I had been under the, mistaken, impression that a lot more had ended up in Fort-de-France with the balance staying in Dakar. Instead nearly half of it ended up spending the war in New York of all places! It makes sense since the French were planning for an extended war so it would have been used for purchasing supplies, as for why it wasn't seized there was the whole complex situation of which Ally recognised which French government and then throw in the fact that the Banque de France was a private company at the time as well.Thanks for that. Any good sources to recommend on this.
I'm afraid not, this is all from quite a few years ago. The only reason it stuck in my memory is that previously to then I had been under the, mistaken, impression that a lot more had ended up in Fort-de-France with the balance staying in Dakar. Instead nearly half of it ended up spending the war in New York of all places! It makes sense since the French were planning for an extended war so it would have been used for purchasing supplies, as for why it wasn't seized there was the whole complex situation of which Ally recognised which French government and then throw in the fact that the Banque de France was a private company at the time as well.
It would alarm the Axis, which might press to have German or Italian forces posted in Morocco or elsewhere in North Africa to insure against a similar Allied coup there.
always thought Axis could have threaded needle between France, Spain, and Italy and occupied the international zone of Tangier, IF they had built a sufficient force of Condors and u-boats pre-war to make it worthwhile.
There were a inquiry or two from the Germans about a maritime reconissance base in Morroco. As I understand the response was 'no'.
Pétain wet dream was Franco-like neutrality. Pétain had been ambassador to Spain and met Franco. Also, French and Spanish militaries had fought together in the Rift war. After the trauma of 1940, France lacked the will to fight further. In order to preserve that neutrality, Pétain (shall I say, Pierre Laval and his clique) was willing to compromise with the Germans... including give them French jews by the thousands. Disgusting. That how Vichy worked.
What Pétain failed to understand was that France could not stay out of WWII since it had been one of the major power to enter the war, plus the empire and the fleet, and finally, for the Wallies it was not possible to land in continental Europe and crush Germany without entering into France. Sooner or later France was bound to face its responsabilities in WWII. neutrality was impossible, not with Germany occupying half of the country.
Pétain and his government sometimes refused German requests, and sometimes conceded. It was pathetic.
They mostly resisted to German requests on two specific points: a) the empire and b) the fleet.
For example, the fight in Syria in May and June 1941: at the beginning the Luftwaffe wanted to fly Ju-88s from French bases in Syria (they were based in Rhodes). Vichy said "no" but as Germany was pissed off, Vichy had to fight against the British and Australians.