French Navy 1939-42: The Marine Nationale in World War II
80 pages
RAdm R G Melly
Hugues Canal is a serving Captain in the Royal Canadian Navy. Impressively, he has managed to fit in a PhD in War Studies, with the title of his thesis being The Fall and Rise of French Seapower: France’s Quest for an Independent Naval Policy, 1940–1963. In this short, soft-backed book, the author is no doubt drawing on his earlier work to concentrate on a specific era of the Marine nationale in World War II.
Whilst the book indeed concentrates on the period from 1939 to 1942, the author starts by placing the Fleet extant in 1939 into a historical context, arguing that, at the end of World War I, the Fleet was largely intact, but neglected and unappreciated. There followed much soul-searching before the government agreed to re-equip the Navy. Drawing on the outcome of the Washington Naval Conference (1921-22), the Marine nationale entered World War II with a modern and capable fleet, albeit there were serious deficiencies in naval aviation, radar, sonar and anti-aircraft weaponry. The fleet was also focused on confronting the Italian threat, with a result that the ships had limited range and were not well suited to the roles they were required to confront. The need to protect the country’s widespread colonies provided further challenges, particularly when the ability to resupply from metropolitan France was seriously constrained under the Vichy government.
The concluding section of the book explores how the Marine nationale performed in combat, initially against the Axis powers – and latterly against the Allies. Indeed, of the 15 significant actions in which the navy was involved up until the end of 1942, just six were against the Germans. The author observes that, notwithstanding the materiel and logistical challenges faced, the navy mostly remained loyal to the Vichy government and performed its duties professionally and with courage. As France possessed the fourth largest navy in the world at the start of the war, the Allies were understandably keen that it should not fall into the hands of the Germans and acted accordingly. In the face of the disaster that had befallen their country and the perceived duplicity of the British, the majority of the officer corps supported the Vichy government, as they saw it as the last vestiges of French sovereignty. As the Germans moved on Toulon in November 1942, the decision was taken to scuttle what amounted to a third of the Marine nationale, rather than to attempt to join the Allies. For the remainder of the war, the Free French naval forces served with distinction with the Allies.
This eminently readable and well-written book shines a light on a period of the Marine nationale’s history that is perhaps not well known. Illustrated with black & white photographs, colour diagrams and vignettes which provide additional insights into the key events, this was an enjoyable and informative read.
