TROUBLE FOR THE FREE FRENCH FORCES
{Ministry of Information 1944} (below)
De Gaulle’s Free French Forces almost collapsed twice. The first incident occurred July 3, 1940. There
was suspicion that the Vichy government would give the Nazis 200 French warships. To prevent this,
Churchill ordered a surprise attack on the warships in Algeria. Over 1,200 French sailors were killed. This
was a shock to the world. The French also now had a reason to distrust both Great Britain and the Free
French movement.
While at first de Gaulle didn’t know how to react, he supported his ally, Churchill. He also
understood the logic behind what Churchill had done. De Gaulle then went on the radio and tried to convince
the French people that it was a tragedy that needed to be done, and was for the best of both Britain and the
Free French Forces. The second incident was late in the summer of 1940 when both de Gaulle and Churchill
thought it would be beneficial if their forces could take the coastal city of Dakar in French West Africa from
the Vichy forces. The planned day of the attack de Gaulle felt that they should call off the attack. The British
disagreed and proceeded. It turned out to be a major failure. The London and Washington newspapers
directed nearly all of their harsh criticism towards de Gaulle. De Gaulle was hurt by this criticism. He decided
to not let it ruin his relations with such an important ally (Banfield 39-40) “I went through a terrible time, I
thought of blowing my brains out.” -de Gaulle 1940 (referring to his thoughts on the criticism)
Most of the early supporters of de Gaulle’s Free French movement came from the French in the African
colonies. De Gaulle seized the opportunity in Africa to build his government for his Free French Forces. On
October 27, 1940 Charles established the “Defense Council of the Empire” in Brazzaville, Congo (Banfield 41-
42).
was suspicion that the Vichy government would give the Nazis 200 French warships. To prevent this,
Churchill ordered a surprise attack on the warships in Algeria. Over 1,200 French sailors were killed. This
was a shock to the world. The French also now had a reason to distrust both Great Britain and the Free
French movement.
While at first de Gaulle didn’t know how to react, he supported his ally, Churchill. He also
understood the logic behind what Churchill had done. De Gaulle then went on the radio and tried to convince
the French people that it was a tragedy that needed to be done, and was for the best of both Britain and the
Free French Forces. The second incident was late in the summer of 1940 when both de Gaulle and Churchill
thought it would be beneficial if their forces could take the coastal city of Dakar in French West Africa from
the Vichy forces. The planned day of the attack de Gaulle felt that they should call off the attack. The British
disagreed and proceeded. It turned out to be a major failure. The London and Washington newspapers
directed nearly all of their harsh criticism towards de Gaulle. De Gaulle was hurt by this criticism. He decided
to not let it ruin his relations with such an important ally (Banfield 39-40) “I went through a terrible time, I
thought of blowing my brains out.” -de Gaulle 1940 (referring to his thoughts on the criticism)
Most of the early supporters of de Gaulle’s Free French movement came from the French in the African
colonies. De Gaulle seized the opportunity in Africa to build his government for his Free French Forces. On
October 27, 1940 Charles established the “Defense Council of the Empire” in Brazzaville, Congo (Banfield 41-
42).
"The President [of the US] was unwilling to invest his military or diplomatic resources in what he regarded as the uncertain future of France. He looked upon such a move as an unwarranted risk of good capital. To him, France was simply one more factor to manipulate-much as he might manipulate Congressional factions to pass legislation-in the drive to achieve victory over the Axis." (Viorst 55)