Churchill's Hour by Michael Dobbs

Author:Michael Dobbs [Dobbs, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Mers-el-Kébir, near Oran in French Algeria. 3 July 1940. Less than two weeks after the armistice with the Germans.

The French fleet lay at anchor behind the harbour wall, in the shadow of the steep cliffs that ran along this section of the North African coast. As dawn broke, a British naval destroyer appeared on the horizon. She was under full steam. As she drew nearer, she signalled to the French: ‘A British Fleet is at sea off Oran waiting to welcome you.’

It proved to be a most imposing welcome. The fleet consisted of the battleships Valiant and Resolution, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, two cruisers, eleven destroyers—and HMS Hood.

They knew each other, the French and the British. The Hood and the French flagship Dunkerque had sailed together as allies against the German fleet, and the British commander sent a message to his French counterpart, Admiral Gensoul, suggesting that they should continue to do so. He proposed that the French fleet should sail to a British port and continue the fight, or if that were not acceptable, the fleet should be handed over to the British so that they could continue the fight alone. Failing that, the British suggested, the fleet should be put out of commission so that it was unable to fight for anyone. But if none of these options were acceptable, the French were told, their fleet would be sunk.

The British fleet steamed to and fro across the bay, waiting for a reply. But it was several hours before Gensoul at last agreed to talk. A British officer arrived by motor boat, yet as he drew near the fleet he could see that tugs were standing by and control positions were being manned. The French were preparing to sail.

At 4.15 in the afternoon, the British officer, Captain Holland, was at last allowed on board the Dunkerque to meet with Gensoul. The French admiral explained, formally, coldly, that he took orders only from the French Government. Holland replied that the terms his own Government had offered were not negotiable.

All these events had been followed by Churchill from the Cabinet Room. He reached the conclusion that Gensoul was interested only in delay, and that French submarines and air reinforcements were on their way. He gave orders that the matter was to be settled quickly.

At 5.15, while Gensoul was still talking with Holland, the British commander on HMS Hood sent a new signal to the French. He said that unless his terms were accepted within fifteen minutes, their fleet would be sunk.

Holland quit the Dunkerque five minutes before the deadline expired. He later wrote that Gensoul had bidden him a most courteous farewell, and that as he sailed past the battleship Bretagne, the officer of the watch had come to attention and honoured him with a stylish salute.

At 5.29, a minute before the deadline, Gensoul signalled that he could not accept the British terms. However, he declared he would be willing to sail his fleet to the USA. He must have known it was a hopeless gesture.

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