Scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon
1942 destruction of the fleet by Vichy France / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon was orchestrated by Vichy France on 27 November 1942 to prevent Nazi German forces from seizing it.[2] After the Allied invasion of North Africa, the Germans invaded the territory administered by Vichy under the Armistice of 1940.[3] The Vichy Secretary of the Navy, Admiral François Darlan, defected to the Allies, who were gaining increasing support from servicemen and civilians.[4] His replacement, Admiral Gabriel Auphan,[5] guessed correctly that the Germans intended to seize the large fleet at Toulon (even though this was explicitly forbidden in the Franco-Italian armistice and the French-German armistice),[6][7][8] and ordered it scuttled.[9]
Scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon | |||||||
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Part of the German occupation of Vichy France | |||||||
Strasbourg, Colbert, Algérie, and Marseillaise[1] | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Vichy France | Nazi Germany | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Johannes Blaskowitz | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
164 vessels
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
77 vessels
3 destroyers (disarmed) 4 submarines (badly damaged) 39 small ships | 1 wounded[citation needed] |
The Germans began Operation Anton but the French naval crews used subterfuge to delay them until the scuttling was complete.[10] Anton was judged a failure,[11] with the capture of 39 small ships, while the French destroyed 77 vessels; several submarines escaped to French North Africa.[12] It marked the end of Vichy France as a credible naval power[13] and marked the destruction of the last political bargaining chip it had with Germany.[14][15]