After the surrender of the French government in May 1940, the British
were concerned that the resources of the French Empire, and
particularly the powerful French fleet, would be put at the disposal
of the Germans. The British, dependent upon their naval power and the
resources of the Empire and Commonwealth to continue the war, sought
to neutralize the threat of the French fleet and saw an opportunity to
gobble up certain French colonies for themselves. Thus, even while
Britain was locked in a deadly struggle with Nazi Germany, she
continued the centuries-old imperial rivalry with her nearest neighbor
and recent allies. The British attack on the French Mediterranean
fleet at Mers el Kebir is well known, but less often remembered are
the British operations against Vichy forces in West Africa, Syria and
Madagascar. As the latent threat of the French fleet was the chief
source of British concern, the conflict was largely a naval one, but
there were substantial land operations in Syria and Madagascar. In
Syria and Lebanon, Operation Exporter pitted 20,000 British, Indian,
Australian and Free French troops against 35,000 Vichy French who
fought with much greater skill and determination than expected.
Operation Ironclad, the invasion of Madagascar, saw three brigades of
infantry, supported by light tanks, make the first large scale British
amphibious assault since the ill-fated Gallipoli landings in WWI. John
D Grainger narrates and analyses all the British operations, by land,
sea and air, against the French up to the Anglo-American Torch
landings in North Africa. He reveals the initial reluctance of the
British forces to really get stuck into their erstwhile allies and the
reverses that resulted from underestimating the will of the Vichy
French to fight. The complicating factor of De Gaulle's Free French is
another major theme. Above all, what emerges is that these are
fascinating campaigns in their own right that have been unduly
neglected.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781783830794
Publisert
2014
Utgiver
Vendor
Pen & Sword Military (ORIM)
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter