Other than the fact that as part of the French/German armistice deal, the French ships would remain in harbour - with minimum fuel - and used by nobody. Churchill's ultimatum was that the ships in Dakar and Mers-el-Kébir be handed over immediately or sail to America (which would have amounted to the same thing, even though America wasn't yet "officially" at war with the Axis). When they didn't comply, the ships were attacked and destroyed, and the German propaganda coup was that thirteen hundred French "caretaker" sailors had been needlessly killed. History is written by the victors, ask any Channel Islander what they think of Churchill. Peter
________________________________ From: Gerald Wallace <[email protected]> To: mogtalk2 <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, 18 July 2012, 9:59 Subject: RE: [mogtalk2] NON MOG- war time poster Thank you Christopher and Jeff, your accounts have made sense of this image. Gerry. ________________________________ Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:56:34 -0700From: [email protected]: Re: [mogtalk2] NON MOG- war time posterTo: [email protected] Bonjour, 'British betrayal' is the thing. In brief, in July 1940 with the capitulation of France, there was a risk for the Allies was that the French fleet might come under the control of the German navy and be ordered engage in operations against them, the Allies. Said French fleet was anchored in the harbour at Mers-El-Kebir in Algeria. The British fleet sailed up to the entrance of the port and invited the French to come over to their side. The French were under the orders of the Vichy government and the fleet's commanders refused to betray those orders. The British gave the French time to change their minds and then sunk or damaged a goodly part of the fleet, or at least most of it. There's a memorial to the French sailors in the cemetary at Brest. A couple of months later, the Allies tried to capture the port of Dakar in Senegal in order to install Free French troops there. The attempt failed. The 'betrayal' bit is a way of portraying what might be considered to be simple common sense, albeit tragic. The two incidents reinforced the age-old feeling in French minds of perfide Albion. But we love them still, don't we . . . Christopher. Amiens, France. ________________________________ From: Gerald Wallace <[email protected]> To: mogtalk2 <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, 17 July 2012, 23:38 Subject: [mogtalk2] NON MOG- war time poster Can anybody explain this propaganda poster, recently seen in a French museum? My apologies for the poor quality, but it is obvious the figure looming at the back is Churchill. Gerry. View posts on The Mail Archive http://www.mail-archive.com/mogtalk2%40listbox.com/ Modify Your Subscription View posts on The Mail Archive http://www.mail-archive.com/mogtalk2%40listbox.com/ Modify Your Subscription View posts on The Mail Archive http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Modify Your Subscription ------------------------------------------- View posts on The Mail Archive http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ [http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/] Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=22459785&id_secret=22459785-4a39ddf8 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
