The British were in turmoil. Germany had in merely six weeks, managed to perform a major undertaking,
knocking France out of the war, the English out of the mainland, and only allies left on the
continent. Yet, the British were a power not only in Europe, but on the high seas and the rest of
the world. Yet, with the creation of the puppet Vichy French state, the power abroad was now
in question. Many French colonies were torn on their allegiance, while some like Equatorial
Africa and Cameroon would initially answer the calls from Charles de Gaulle, leader
of the Free French movement. The vast majority would stay under Vichy control. The survival of
the French Resistance would have to be tested in blood, not only of the German occupiers, but of
their fellow kinsmen as well. It is September 23rd, and the battle for Dakar, has begun.
After the conclusion of the armistice between France and Nazi Germany in June 1940,
there was confusion as to the allegiance of the various French colonies.
Some, like Cameroon and French Equatorial Africa, would join De Gaull's Free French forces,
while virtually all others would stay under the puppet state of Vichy France.
There was hope that diplomacy would be able to win the day, however, the British attack of the French
fleet at Mers-el-Kebir turned much of the public and colonial authorities away from peacefully
joining the allies war effort. Thus, it was decided that the only path forward, was bloodshed.
Dakar was chosen as the first of these targets for military takeover for a multitude of reasons.
Dakar housed a port significantly more substantial then that of Freetown in Sierra Leon, then the
only Allied port in West Africa. In addition, the French gold reserves as well as the reserves
for the Polish government were stored within the city. Taking the port would not only
give the Allies strategic advantages within the Continent, but be a huge boost to Allied moral,
thus a contingent of British and Free French forces would make for the colony,
arriving on September 23rd, prepping themselves for the fight that they knew would come.
The two sides facing one another were of roughly equal numbers.
The Allies had at hand one aircraft carrier, that of the HMS Ark Royal. two battleships,
the HMS Resolution and HMS Barham. Five cruisers, including the Australian heavy cruiser Australia,
ten destroyers, and transport for 8,000 troops, a mix of British and French Foreign Legion men.
The Vichy forces in turn, would consist of the battleship Richelieu, a brand new French heavy
class ship. Richelieu would face attacks from British vessels prior to the invasion,
so while she was unable to be used on the high seas, her impressive contingent of 8 15in guns
and anti-aircraft weaponry, left her as a valuable floating battery. To support her, would be two
cruisers, Georges Leygues (lege) and Montcalm, including a fellow contingent of 4 destroyers
and 3 submarines. While the Allies would hold a large troop advantage over the Vichy defenses,
no landing could be attempted until the coastal defenses were reduced,
and as such, the battle would be decided both on the sea, and in the sky's.
On the morning of September the 23rd, three allied aircraft would land at the airport, carrying
with them French officers acting as diplomats, however, all three, as well as the pilots, would
be arrested instantly. Additionally a boat filled with French representatives would be fired upon
by coastal batteries, with their British escort craft coming under anti-aircraft fire from the
Richelieu crew. Vichy ships would attempt to leave port at 10 but were intercepted by Australia,
who would attempt to chase the vessels back into port. The Coastal Batteries would again open fire,
resulting in a multi-hour exchange between the Allied ships and the Vichy batteries.
Free French forces would attempt to land at Rufisque but were spotted by Vichy craft,
and faced heavy fire from strongboxes along the beach. De Gaulle, not wanting to quote
shed the blood of Frenchmen for Frenchmen and refused to carry out another attempt.
The following day saw the allies attempting to sink the Richelieu by way of aircraft,
Nine British Swordfish bombers would be assigned to this operation,
and while they managed to score some hits on the ship, damage was minimal and cost was high. Three
swordfish would be gunned by the Vichy gun crews, while another four would be downed via dogfights
with the Vichy Curtiss Hawks, who would manage to dominate the sky's for the rest of the engagement.
By the 25th, Allied command knew that any further attempts would be largely futile, and withdrew.
Striking a death blow to the West African base of operations for much of the war.
The cost overall was substantially more then anyone had expected.
While the Vichy forces would lose two of their three submarines, 120 men, as well as heavy damage
to one of their cruisers. The allies losses numbered that of the seven Swordfish bombers,
an armed trawler sunk by the coastal batteries, heavy damage to both battleships,
Resolution damaged so heavy that it needed to be towed to Cape Town in South Africa,
as well as a loss of life numbering 37 men. While small on a military scale, the damage done was
largely political, as De Gaulls free French appeal was massively damaged in the eyes of the Allies,
while resources would still be dedicated to his operations, everyone knew that a bloodless
switching of sides for the French colonies was no longer in the cards, and in merely two months,
it would determine whether De Gaull was willing to shed the blood of Frenchmen for Frenchmen.