Whose Side Was France on, Anyway?

On November 27, 1942, the French Navy under the direction of Admiral Auphan scuttled a large part of the French ships and submarines in port at Toulon, France, in order to keep these valuable assets out of the hands of the German Kriegsmarine (navy). After Germany had rolled over France in 1940 and the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated to Britain, the defeated French sued for peace and found their country divided between Occupied France and nominally “independent” Vichy France in the South of the country. The Vichy French, so named for the de facto capital city, Vichy, were largely seen by patriotic French and outside countries as collaborators and patsies of the Germans. In fact, Vichy France was in a way now enemies of the Allied nations and had in fact at first resisted by force the Allied invasion of North Africa (Operation Torch) only weeks before the scuttling.

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