WI: French Fleet demobilized in French Indochina 1940

It was option c of the ultimatum Admiral Somerville was ordered to give to the French, the other two being to either join the British in fighting on or interning the fleet in a British port and repatriating the crews to France.

Thx. Been a very long time since I studied that.
 
Why would anybody be happy with giving the ships to Japan?

French giving up ships that means they lose them potentially forever and lose any future bargaining chips...it also humiliates the French after all losing to Germany is on thing but Japanese officers telling them what to do?
Germany/Italy doesn't get them and this requires a level of inter axis help that was seldom achieved in OTL...
RN still doesn't like IJN getting them and what's to stop them being sold on to KM/RM?
US will be furious as it unbalances the pacific....
The US would certainly be unhappy with Japan having the ships. The US initiated the 2 Ocean Navy Bill based on the collapse of France. In early June 1940, Congress passed legislation that provided for a modest 11% increase in naval tonnage as well as an expansion of naval air capacity. On June 17, a few days after German troops conquered France, Chief of Naval Operations Harold Stark requested $4 billion dollars from Congress to increase the size of the American combat fleet by 70%. On June 18, after less than an hour of debate, the House of Representatives by a 316–0 vote authorized $8.55 billion for a naval expansion program, giving emphasis to aircraft. The Two Ocean Navy Bill was enacted on July 19, 1940.

France has been crushed and humiliated. The reasons for the Germans being light handed and sensitive about the fleet was not to do with French feeling or sensitivities but Britain's attitude. Germany (and France) wanted a negotiated peace with GB as quick as possible but the stubborn Brits were having none of it. In June, the Germans don't have plans to invade GB and so don't want the French fleet for this purpose. In the Jul-Aug phase, GB may be happy the fleet is going to South East Asia as it may defect to the Free French and then be a useful shield against the IJN. By Sep-Oct GB is fully involved in the Battle of Britain and would have limited ability to do anything about the French ships.

I doubt the Germans will be able to get the transfer of ships to a Japanese Naval base and that this would also mean a high level of cooperation between Axis partners. In August the Germans were having issues with the Soviet Union (exceeding the sphere of influence and trade problems) and and were looking at inviting the Soviets to join the Axis but the Russians wanted too much. The Germans were also planning the invasion of Russia so they were on an each way bet. Anything the Germans involve the Japanese with, the Russians will hear about from their agents in Japan.
 
In the French West Indies they are under the watchful eye of the Americans, like the OTL ships that were there. Not as good as being in US ports but close, especially since the French colonies in the Caribbean were dependent on the US for food imports.

Why would the Germans see this as a good outcome when they have the all the cards?
 
It was option c of the ultimatum Admiral Somerville was ordered to give to the French, the other two being to either join the British in fighting on or interning the fleet in a British port and repatriating the crews to France.

IIRC Somerville had 3 options to put to the French and inserted a 4th (I think it was disarm ships in 24hrs which was not possible). Negotiations were difficult because Somerville (probably) couldn't speak French for such a sensitive negotiation and so sent a Captain which the French Admiral took as an insult.
 
Indo-China as destination is highly impractical, as there were no ports large enough to facilitate all the ships (Worlds 5th largest fleet, remember!), besides there were no facilities to maintain these ships of rather complex type. (Which is why the French almost exclusively used more basical Sloops primarily there in the first place, besides an older light cruiser.)

A much more likely destination in a French controlled part of the world would have been either a North African Base, like Mers el Kebir, or Cassablanca, as there were facilities and space there to accomodate such large numbers of warships, besides far closer to France itself, allowing these relatively short ranged ships to get there without requiring assistance of the British (Fuel) or Suez Chanal locks.

Scapa Flow didn't have facilities either. The older light cruiser you refer to was refitted in Japan in Sep 1941 and then disarmed in October. There are no locks in the Suez Canal.
 
Scapa Flow didn't have facilities either. The older light cruiser you refer to was refitted in Japan in Sep 1941 and then disarmed in October. There are no locks in the Suez Canal.

Passing the Suez was only possible with assistance and permission of the UK. Fuel was another problem as no French warship had enough fuel to make a trip from France to Indo China without a fuelstop somewhere, while no friendly ports, or colonies were on the route.

Scapa Flow had facilties present as there were no drydocks, but there were barrack for crew and medical facilities present as well as command and communicationscenters, besides airfrields for local airduties.

So the main French Fleet in Indo China is the same as that same fleet at the bottom of the ocean, meaning useless and lost forever. Why not putting it somewhere closer in friendly waters, rather than having to fight its way through a place that in itself was useless and unable to support it at all?
 
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