ATTACK ON MERS-EL-KéBIR

The 'Attack on Mers-el-Kébir', also known as 'Operation Catapult', was a hostile engagement off the coast of French Algeria where a British Royal Navy task force destroyed much of the French fleet stationed there. The incident took place on 3 July, 1940.

Contents

Background

Ultimatum

The attack

Aftermath

Casualties

Royal Navy Order of Battle

French National Navy (''Marine Nationale'') Order of Battle

See also

Notes

External links

Background

In 1940, during World War II, following the armistice between France and Nazi Germany, the potential use of the French fleet against Britain became a vital concern. Such a shift in the balance of power at sea would have seriously threatened Britain's ability to protect her supply lines and jeopardise her chances of survival. Despite Armistice terms denying such a possibility and assurances by French leaders, the British government feared the Germans could take control of the ships (as, indeed, was later attempted in 1942). Winston Churchill ordered that the French National Navy (''Marine Nationale'') should either fight with the British Royal Navy or be neutralised in some way, to prevent it from falling into German hands.
The French fleet was widely dispersed. Some vessels were in port in France; others had escaped from France to British controlled ports, mainly in Britain itself or Alexandria in Egypt. At the first stage of Operation Catapult, the ships in the British ports of Plymouth and Portsmouth were simply boarded on the night of 3 July 1940. On the then-largest submarine in the world, the ''Surcouf'', which had sought refuge in Portsmouth in June 1940 following the German invasion of France, the crew resisted; two British officers and one French sailor were killed. The attack on the French vessels at port sowed anger amongst the French towards their former ally and
increased tension between Churchill and the leader of the Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle. The British clearly did not trust the French and doubted they would resist a takeover by the Germans if the Armistice terms were not respected.
Other ships were the two obsolete battleships ''Paris'' and ''Courbet'', the destroyers ''Le Triomphant'' and ''Léopard'', eight torpedo boats, five submarines and a number of other ships of lesser importance. Many – including the ''Surcouf'' – went on to be used by the Free French forces. Some sailors joined the Free French while others were repatriated to France.

Ultimatum

The most powerful concentration of French warships at the time was the squadron located at the port of Mers-el-Kébir in French Algeria. This consisted of the old battleships ''Provence'' and ''Bretagne'', the modern battleships (or battlecruisers) ''Dunkerque'' and ''Strasbourg'', the aviation transport ''Commandant Teste'' and six destroyers under the command of Admiral Marcel-Bruno Gensoul. The British Admiral James Somerville of Force H, based in Gibraltar, was ordered to deliver an ultimatum to the French, stating:
Somerville did not present the ultimatum personally. Instead, this duty fell to the French-speaking Captain Cedric Holland, commanding officer of the carrier HMS ''Ark Royal''. Admiral Gensoul, affronted that negotiations were not being conducted by a senior officer, sent his own lieutenant, Bernard Dufay, which led to much delay and confusion. As negotiations dragged on, it became clear that both sides were unlikely to give way, with the French commander being loath to agree to demands made under the threat of British aggression. French Marine Minister Admiral Darlan never received the full text of the British ultimatum from Admiral Gensoul, most significantly with regards to the option of removing the fleet to American waters, an option which formed part of the orders, given to Gensoul by Darlan, to be followed should a foreign power attempt to seize the ships under his command.
Before negotiations were formally terminated, British Fairey Swordfish planes escorted by obsolescent Blackburn Skua, were dispatched from the carrier ''Ark Royal'' to drop magnetic mines in the path of the French ships' route to sea. This force was intercepted by French Curtiss H-75 fighters. The Skuas deflected the French fighters from the Swordfish, however, one Skua went out of control and crashed into the sea, killing its crew - the only British fatalities ^[1].
A short while later, on Churchill's instructions, the British ships opened fire. [1]

The attack

The British force consisted of the battlecruiser HMS ''Hood'', battleships HMS ''Valiant'' and ''Resolution'' and the aircraft carrier HMS ''Ark Royal'' plus an escort of cruisers and destroyers. Despite the approximate equivalence of force, the British had several decisive advantages. The French fleet was not prepared for battle and was anchored in a narrow harbour. The main armament of the ''Dunkerque'' and ''Strasbourg'' which was grouped on their bows, could not immediately be brought to bear. The British capital ships, with their guns, also fired a heavier broadside than the French ones.
The British opened fire at extreme range on July 3, 1940 at 16:56. The French eventually replied but ineffectively. The third salvo from the British force and the first to hit resulted in a magazine explosion aboard the ''Bretagne'', which sank with 977 of her crew dead at 17:09. After some thirty salvos, the French ships stopped firing. Meanwhile, the British force altered their course to avoid fire from the French coastal forts. ''Provence'', ''Dunkerque'' and the destroyer ''Mogador'' were damaged and run aground by their crews.
''Strasbourg'' managed to escape from the besieged port with four destroyers. As these five ships made for the open seas, they came under attack from a flight of bomb-armed Swordfish from ''Ark Royal'', two of which were lost (their crews being rescued by the destroyer HMS ''Wrestler''). The bombing attack had little effect, and Somerville ordered his forces to begin pursuing at 18:43. The British cruisers ''Arethusa'' and ''Enterprise'' reported engaging a French destroyer. At 20:20, Somerville called off the pursuit, feeling that his ships were ill-deployed for a night engagement. After weathering another Swordfish attack at 20:55 without damage, ''Strasbourg'' reached the French port of Toulon on July 4.
Subsequently, on July 4, the British submarine HMS/m ''Pandora'' sank the French ''aviso'' (gunboat) ''Rigault de Genouilly'', sailing from Oran. That night, French bombers carried out a retaliatory raid against the British fleet at Gibraltar to no great effect. Since the British believed that damage to ''Dunkerque'' and ''Provence'' was not very serious, British Fairey Swordfish aircraft from ''Ark Royal'' raided Mers-el-Kebir the morning of July 6. One torpedo hit patrol boat ''Terre-Neuve'', who was moored alongside ''Dunkerque'', and was carrying a supply of depth charges. ''Terre-Neuve'' quickly sank and its charges triggered in a huge explosion, causing serious damage to ''Dunkerque'' ^[2].

Aftermath

At Mers-el-Kebir, 1,297 French sailors were killed and about 350 were wounded. Relations between Britain and France were severely strained for some time and the Germans received a propaganda coup.
The action was influential amongst the leadership of the United States, which was gradually preparing public opinion for war. Following the rapid success of the German military, there was considerable speculation that the United Kingdom would soon fall. Martin Gilbert in his biography of Churchill wrote "Within a few days 'Oran' had become a symbol of British ruthlessness and determination".
British Admiral Somerville was less enthusiastic about the action saying that it was "the biggest political blunder of modern times and will rouse the whole world against us…we all feel thoroughly ashamed…" [2]
The French ships in Alexandria under command of Admiral René-Emile Godfroy, including the old battleship ''Lorraine'' and four cruisers, were blockaded by the British in port on 3 July and offered the same terms as at Mers-el-Kébir. After negotiations, the French Admiral agreed on 7 July to disarm his fleet and stay in port until the end of the war. They stayed there until they eventually joined the Allies in 1943.
The last phase of Operation Catapult was an attack on 8 July by aircraft from the carrier HMS ''Hermes'' against the modern French battleship ''Richelieu'', at Dakar. One torpedo hit and damaged the vessel.
''Dunkerque'', ''Provence'' and ''Mogador'' were partially repaired and sailed back to Toulon.
On 27 November 1942, the Germans attempted to capture the French fleet based at Toulon, an operation known as ''Case Anton''. The French scuttled all their ships including ''Dunkerque'' and ''Strasbourg''.

Casualties

French casualties in the action were distributed thus:

'Casualties of the action at Mers-el-Kébir'

	Officers	Petty Officers	Sailors and Marines	Total
''Bretagne''	36	151	825	1012
''Dunkerque''	9	32	169	210
''Provence''	1	2		3
''Strasbourg''		2	3	5
''Mogador''		3	35	38
''Rigault de Genouilly''		3	9	12
''Terre Neuve''	1	1	6	8
''Armen''		3	3	6
''Esterel''	1	5		6
'Total'	48	202	1050	1300

Royal Navy Order of Battle

HMS ''Hood'' - ''Admiral'' Class Battlecruiser - Flagship of Force H
HMS ''Resolution'' - ''Revenge'' Class Battleship
HMS ''Valiant'' - ''Queen Elizabeth'' Class Battleship
HMS ''Ark Royal'' - ''Ark Royal'' Class Aircraft Carrier
HMS ''Arethusa'' - ''Arethusa'' Class Light Cruiser
HMS ''Enterprise'' - ''Emerald'' Class Light Cruiser
HMS ''Faulknor'' - Destroyer
HMS ''Foxhound'' - Destroyer
HMS ''Fearless'' - Destroyer
HMS ''Forester'' - Destroyer
HMS ''Foresight'' - Destroyer
HMS ''Escort'' - Destroyer
HMS ''Keppel'' - Destroyer
HMS ''Active'' - Destroyer
HMS ''Wrestler'' - Destroyer
HMS ''Vidette'' - Destroyer
HMS ''Vortigern'' - Destroyer

French National Navy (''Marine Nationale'') Order of Battle

''Dunkerque'' - Battleship - flagship
''Strasbourg'' - ''Dunkerque''-class battleship
''Bretagne'' - Battleship
''Provence'' - ''Bretagne''-class battleship
''Commandant Teste'' - Seaplane tender
''Mogador'' - Destroyer
''Volta'' - ''Mogador''-class destroyer
''Le Terrible'' - ''Le Fantasque''-class destroyer
''Lynx'' - ''Jaguar''-class destroyer
''Tigre'' - ''Jaguar''-class destroyer
''Kersaint'' - ''Vauquelin''-class destroyer

See also

★ Syria-Lebanon Campaign

Notes

1. Christian-Jacques Ehrengardt & Christopher J. Shores, ''L'aviation de Vichy au combat. Tome I: les campagnes oubliées'', Lavauzelle, 1985
2. Philippe Masson ''La Marine française et la guerre 1939-1945'' p. 164

External links

★ A plan of the Mers-el-Kébir anchorage is available at http://www.hmshood.org.uk/reference/official/adm234/adm234-317.htm

★ "Mers-El-Kebir" (1979) a French made-for-TV movie

★ Churchill's Sinking of the French Fleet (July 3, 1940)

★ "Battle of Mers-el-Kebir", by Irwin J. Kappes, MilitaryHistoryonLine.com