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Post by R35T NO MORE on Oct 27, 2017 15:55:30 GMT
Quick bit of info, operation Catapult involved British ships opening fire upon French ships at mers el-kabir. The French had surrendered to Nazi Germany, and the British were worried that if the Axis gained control of the French fleet, England would lose its numerical advantage or have it seriously threatened. The French admiral in-charge of this particular fleet had said that he wouldn't let the ships fall into Axis hands. The British sailed numerous ships to Mers el-kabir, and demanded the French fleet surrender itself and be interned just to make sure. The French seemingly refused and the British opened fire on their former ally, sinking 1 battleship and killing the vast majority of its crew, and they disabled the others. 1 French ship, battleship Strasbourg managed to escape. The rest sufferend extensive damage and left bewildered French sailors wondering why their allies just fired upon them.
Later on, the French scuttled their remaining ships to prevent the Axis acquiring them, affirming their commitment to their word, and causing the French to wonder why the RN opened fire and in their view, betrayed them.
The British attacked as the other option was to place Britain's survival on the word of a French admiral. Attacking was the safer bet. The French however said they were not going to let the Axis have the fleet and they made sure to follow through with that commitment. The British couldn't have known the French were going to do this with 100% certainty however. It would have been a gamble.
What would you have done?
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Vince Cable's Exotic Spresm
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Post by Vince Cable's Exotic Spresm on Oct 27, 2017 18:06:44 GMT
Obviously the deaths were a tragedy, but I'd say it was entirely necessary given the circumstances. I would expect the French to have done the same thing if the roles were reversed.
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zulucalm
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Date registered: Feb 13, 2016 19:43:40 GMT
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Post by zulucalm on Oct 28, 2017 7:29:18 GMT
Obviously the deaths were a tragedy, but I'd say it was entirely necessary given the circumstances. I would expect the French to have done the same thing if the roles were reversed. Tragic as it was I agree with this. Apparently, the British gave a number of warnings but these were either rejected or ignored. It has created bad feeling by the French for this who know about this, ever since.
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