Churchill feared France would declare war on UK

[The Straight Story]

A 1940 telegram sold at auction in London on Sunday revealed that British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill feared France was about declare war on Britain, after a naval skirmish off the coast of Algeria.

Winston Churchill feared that France was about to declare war on Britain in 1940, according to a telegram sent from the British prime minister to governors of the colonies and sold at a London auction on Sunday.

The message, dated July 4 1940, was sent the day after Britain attacked the French fleet in west Algeria to prevent its assets from falling into enemy hands.

In the top-secret message, Churchill justified the raid, which claimed the lives of 1,297 French sailors.

"British naval forces morning 3rd July took up station outside Oran and asked the French naval authorities to take certain steps to prevent a number of important French naval units at this port from falling into German hands undamaged," he said in the telegram, published in the Times newspaper ahead of the auction.

"The French declined to take these steps. Heavy action ensued between British and French naval forces, with great and much regretted loss to the French.

http://www.thelocal.fr/20131104/churchill-feared-france-would-declare-war-on-uk

[trumad]

1. I am currently reading The Last Lion...

A massive Autobiography of Churchill during WW2.

The Vichy regime basically rolled over for the Nazis. Churchill was correct in thinking that they were a threat to the UK.

I tell you--- reading this book has convinced me that good old Winston was one of the baddest ass figures of the 20th century.

[Lurks Often]

2. An unfortunate, but necessary decision

If the Germans had the French Navy's warships it could very well have changed the course of the war in Europe.

As it is, it is only a combination of the Royal Navy's extreme aggressiveness and the tentative handling of the major surface units of the Italian and German navies that allowed the British to keep their sea lanes open.