Sink the French by David Wragg

Author:David Wragg
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781783460564
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2013-05-31T16:00:00+00:00

SEIZURE!

On 30 June, the Admiralty received a copy of a message telegraphed from the French Admiralty to Admiral Odend‘hal at Portsmouth, advising him that the Italians had permitted the stationing of the French fleet at Toulon and in North Africa, with half crews aboard. The telegram continued to say that the Vichy authorities were optimistic about obtaining a similar agreement from the Germans, and ordered Odend’hal to insist on the British government releasing both merchant and naval vessels in British ports. In fact, while the Germans did agree, there was no time to let Odend’hal know. What did happen was that the following day, both the Germans and the British demanded that they should have control over the French warships, with the Germans insisting that all French warships should be returned to France, or the armistice conditions would be changed.

What then followed was that the British implemented plans to seize all French ships in British ports, with those anchored outside being called into port on a number of false, but plausible, pretexts.

At Portsmouth and Plymouth, Operation Catapult, the seizure of French warships, was implemented during the early hours of 3 July. British sailors and marines swarmed aboard the French ships, with armed men stationed at every hatch and in every passage, while British naval officers, armed with pistols, confronted the French commanding officers, demanding that the ships be handed over to the Royal Navy, while their crews would be detained. Aboard the large corsair submarine Surcouf, 2,900 tons surfaced, with her twin 8-in guns and seaplane hangar, the commanding officer insisted on first changing from his pyjamas and into uniform before meeting the British naval officers, Lieutenant-Commanders Griffiths and Sprague. It was explained to Capitaine de Frégate Paul Martin that he and his fellow officers were under arrest, and that they, with their crews, would shortly be taken ashore, after which they could either be repatriated to French territory, meaning North Africa, or could remain in the UK to continue to fight against the Germans. Reasonably enough, Martin asked if he could visit the battleship Paris to discuss the matter with his admiral, and permission was given him, along with the assurance that none of the submarine’s crew would be taken away until he returned.

As Martin was leaving, a pistol shot was heard, and when Sprague ran into the submarine’s wardroom, pistol in hand, he was shot in the head by Bouillaut, the submarine’s gunnery officer. Griffiths shot Bouillaut in the shoulder, before tripping over Sprague’s body, and as he fell, he in turn was shot in the chest by the Surcouf s surgeon, who then turned his gun on a marine sergeant, who was lunging at him with his rifle bayonet, but not before he first bayoneted another French officer.

The turmoil aboard the Surcouf was the only such event in the whole exercise, and possibly was caused by a misunderstanding in an emotionally charged atmosphere. Nevertheless, an attempt was made to scuttle the destroyer Mistral, 1,300 tons, at Plymouth.

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