Aftermath of the Battle of France

The German and Italian armistices

The armistice of June 22 divided France into two zones: one to be under German military occupation and one to be left under nominal French sovereignty. The occupied zone comprised all of northern France from the Swiss frontier to the Channel, along with the entire Atlantic coast to the western end of the Pyrenees. The unoccupied zone consisted of only the southeast two-fifths of France’s territory. The French navy and air force were to be neutralized, but it was not required that they be handed over to the Germans. Three stipulations of the Germans had been particularly contested by the French negotiators: the economic barrier to be established between the two zones; the requirement that German refugees in France be handed over to the German authorities; and the suggestion that the agreed Franco-German terms might be modified to meet Italian demands.

In that event, the Italians granted generous terms to the French: the only French territory that they claimed to occupy was the small frontier tract which their forces had succeeded in overrunning since June 20. The Italians did, however, demand the demilitarization of “fortified areas and naval bases of Toulon, Bizerte (Tunisia), Ajaccio, and Oran (Algeria).” This provision, along with another that mandated that deployed French naval units be recalled to ports in occupied France, would lead to a bloody clash between the Allies.

The attack on Mers el-Kebir

By tragic irony, the largest naval action of the war until the end of 1940 would be a battle that pitted the British against the French. Prior to the French surrender, the British had agreed to release the Reynaud government from its obligations as an ally, so that it might seek a separate armistice with Germany. This concession was granted with the provision that the French fleet would be placed under effective British control and not surrendered to the enemy. The British held that the Pétain government’s acceptance of Germany’s terms amounted to an act of treachery, as the addition of the French fleet to the Italo-German naval strength would put the Axis on par with Britain.

In the days following the surrender, much doubt remained as to whether French naval officers and colonial administrators would accept the terms arranged by the Pétain government. When it became evident that the governors in French North Africa and Syria intended to do so, Churchill acted swiftly. On July 3 the British launched Operation Catapult, the attempted neutralization of French naval assets. All French naval vessels in British ports were seized, and an agreement was made with those ships in Alexandria, Egypt, to accept internment and demilitarization for the duration of the war. The largest collection of French naval strength, however, was at Mers el-Kebir, Algeria, under Adm. Marcel-Bruno Gensoul.

A British squadron under Vice Adm. James Somerville was dispatched to Mers el-Kebir, and Gensoul was presented with the following options: he could join the British force against their “common enemy”; he could sail his ships to British or West Indian ports for internment; or the British would sink his fleet. Gensoul, furious, stalled for time while radioing for reinforcements and preparing to sail. The British, having intercepted Gensoul’s radio traffic, began mining the entrance to the port to prevent the fleet’s escape. Just before 6:00 pm on July 3, 1940, the British opened fire, initiating the first naval battle between Britain and France since the Napoleonic Wars. The battleship Bretagne exploded when a British salvo struck its ammunition magazine, and the battleships Provence and Dunkerque were so badly damaged that their captains were forced to run them aground. The destroyer Mogador was crippled, and the seaplane tender Commandant Teste suffered minor damage. Only the battleship Strasbourg and its complement of escort destroyers managed to clear the harbour and steam back to Toulon.

Nearly 1,300 French sailors perished during the attack on Mers el-Kebir, and on July 8 Pétain severed diplomatic relations with London. As a retaliatory measure, the French air force bombed British defenses at Gibraltar on July 18 but did little damage. While the sinking of the French fleet represented a breach between two historic allies, it demonstrated to the world—particularly the United States—the lengths to which Britain would go to carry on the fight against Germany.

The end of the Third Republic and the creation of Vichy France

The obvious intent of the two armistices was to reduce France to utter subjection, primarily to Germany. The extent of this was made apparent on July 10, 1940, when Laval pushed the National Assembly to dissolve itself and bring the Third Republic to an end. In its place rose Vichy France, an authoritarian state with Pétain at its head; the Revolutionary slogan “Liberty, equality, fraternity” was replaced with “Work, family, fatherland.” In Laval the Nazis found an eager partner, one who saw France’s future directly tied to Germany’s military success.

Although France had been taken out of the war by the armistice, parts of the French nation continued the fight. De Gaulle had established himself in England as the voice of France’s continued resistance, and on June 28 he was recognized by the British as the leader of Free France. On August 2, 1940, a French court tried him in absentia and sentenced him to death. During the second half of 1940 the equatorial colonies of Chad and Cameroon were led over to the Free French, and de Gaulle found himself not only leader of a voluntary movement to continue the war but responsible for administering a large colonial area. Inside France, by the end of 1940, various local movements of resistance had also formed to frustrate the occupying forces. In the course of time these movements not only grew but formed links with the Free French and would assist with the return of the Allies to the Continent in June 1944.