DBpedia – Linked Data Fragments

Matches in DBpedia 2015-04 for { ?s ?p "The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir, part of Operation Catapult and also known as the Battle of Mers-el-Kébir, was a British naval bombardment of the French Navy (Marine Nationale) at its base at Mers-el-Kébir on the coast of what was then French Algeria on 3 July 1940. The raid resulted in the deaths of 1,297 French servicemen, the sinking of a battleship and the damaging of five other ships. The combined air-and-sea attack was conducted by the Royal Navy as a direct response to the French-German armistice of 22 June, which had seen Britain's sole continental ally replaced by a collaborationist, pro-Nazi government administrated from Vichy. The new Vichy government had also inherited the considerable French naval force of the Marine Nationale; of particular significance were the seven battleships of the Bretagne, Dunkerque and Richelieu classes, which collectively represented the second largest force of capital ships in Europe behind the British. Since Vichy was seen by the British (with a good deal of justification) as a mere puppet state of the Nazi regime, there was serious fear that they would surrender or loan the ships to the Kriegsmarine, an outcome which would largely undo Britain's tenuous grasp on European naval superiority and confer a major Axis advantage in the ongoing Battle of the Atlantic. Despite promises from Vichy Admiral of the Fleet François Darlan that the fleet would remain under French control and out of the hands of the Germans, Winston Churchill, still reeling from Dunkirk and stung by the Vichy French collaboration, determined that the fleet was simply too dangerous to remain intact, French sovereignty notwithstanding.In response to the British attack at Mers-el-Kébir and another at Dakar, the French mounted air raids on Gibraltar. The Vichy government also severed diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom. The attack remains controversial. It created much rancour between Vichy France and Britain, but it also demonstrated to the world and to the United States in particular, Britain's commitment to continue the war with Germany at all costs and without allies if need be.A great deal of debate has taken place over the motivations of the British. P. M. H. Bell argues that from London's point of view: The times were desperate; invasion seemed imminent; and the British government simply could not afford to risk the Germans seizing control of the French fleet.... The predominant British motive was thus dire necessity and self-preservation.The French on the other hand, thought they were acting honorably in terms of their armistice with Germany, and were fully convinced they would never turn over their fleet to Germany. French grievances over what they considered a betrayal by their ally festered for generations."@en }

• Attack_on_Mers-el-K%C3%A9bir abstract "The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir, part of Operation Catapult and also known as the Battle of Mers-el-Kébir, was a British naval bombardment of the French Navy (Marine Nationale) at its base at Mers-el-Kébir on the coast of what was then French Algeria on 3 July 1940. The raid resulted in the deaths of 1,297 French servicemen, the sinking of a battleship and the damaging of five other ships. The combined air-and-sea attack was conducted by the Royal Navy as a direct response to the French-German armistice of 22 June, which had seen Britain's sole continental ally replaced by a collaborationist, pro-Nazi government administrated from Vichy. The new Vichy government had also inherited the considerable French naval force of the Marine Nationale; of particular significance were the seven battleships of the Bretagne, Dunkerque and Richelieu classes, which collectively represented the second largest force of capital ships in Europe behind the British. Since Vichy was seen by the British (with a good deal of justification) as a mere puppet state of the Nazi regime, there was serious fear that they would surrender or loan the ships to the Kriegsmarine, an outcome which would largely undo Britain's tenuous grasp on European naval superiority and confer a major Axis advantage in the ongoing Battle of the Atlantic. Despite promises from Vichy Admiral of the Fleet François Darlan that the fleet would remain under French control and out of the hands of the Germans, Winston Churchill, still reeling from Dunkirk and stung by the Vichy French collaboration, determined that the fleet was simply too dangerous to remain intact, French sovereignty notwithstanding.In response to the British attack at Mers-el-Kébir and another at Dakar, the French mounted air raids on Gibraltar. The Vichy government also severed diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom. The attack remains controversial. It created much rancour between Vichy France and Britain, but it also demonstrated to the world and to the United States in particular, Britain's commitment to continue the war with Germany at all costs and without allies if need be.A great deal of debate has taken place over the motivations of the British. P. M. H. Bell argues that from London's point of view: The times were desperate; invasion seemed imminent; and the British government simply could not afford to risk the Germans seizing control of the French fleet.... The predominant British motive was thus dire necessity and self-preservation.The French on the other hand, thought they were acting honorably in terms of their armistice with Germany, and were fully convinced they would never turn over their fleet to Germany. French grievances over what they considered a betrayal by their ally festered for generations.".