A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 299, 15 September 1941, Page 6

A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

French Naval Forces SCATTERED FLEET

. Little has been heard, during the last two weeks of the activities of Admiral Darlan and his satellites, but several correspondents have asked for information concerning ' the present strength and whereabouts of the French fleet that is’ under the control of Darlan and his associates and appointees. It was announced at the beginning of this month that Admiral Darlan bad removed Admiral Leluc from his post as Commander-in-Chief of the French naval forces and had appointed in his stead Rear-Admiral , Auphan, who was said to be the youngest flag officer in the Vichy navy. Reduced Strength

It is difficult to assess the fighting value of the French fleet at the present time, but its strength in capital ships and cruisers was greatly reduced by the events of Juue-July-August of last year. At least three of the battleships and several cruisers are in British hands and others were damaged at Oran and- Dakar, the latter Including the Richelieu and Dunkerque. , ' ' . ■ The battleships Courbet and Baris, each of 22,190 tons, mounting twelve 12-inch guns and modernized in recent years, have been in British ports since June of last year. The Lorraine, of similar size but mounting eight 13.4inch guns, was lying in Alexandria at the time of the collapse of France, and a month later she was “demilitarized” by the removal of her ammunition and other stores and equipment. When the British naval squadron, commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir James Somerville, attacked the French fleet on July 3, 1940, at Mers--el-Kebir, Oran, the battleship Strasbourg succeeded in escaping to Toulon, but her sister-ship Dunkerque was badly damaged, set on fire and had to -be beached. Three days later she was bombed by aircraft to complete her disablement. Admiral Darlan was reported some months ago to have claimed that the Dunkerque had been repaired, but this may be doubted. The' battleship Bretagne which was at Mers-el-Kebir was so badly damaged that she capsized and can be regarded as a total loss. The Provence, a sister-ship, was heavily shelled and so severely damaged that she, too, is probably quite unfit for service. These ships of 22,190 tons, mounted 10 13.4 in. guns.

Important Losses The Richelieu, a brand-new battleship of 35,000 tons, mounting eight 15 in. guns, was attacked and disabled While lying in Dakar harbour on July 8, 1940. A British naval launch entered the port under cover of darkness and dropped depth charges under the counter of the Richelieu. The explosions probably wrecked the ship’s rudder and propellers. The following day she was torpedoed by aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm, flown from H.M.S. Hermes. As there are no docking facilities at Dakar for a ship of her size and weight, the Richelieu probably is still lying at anchor in a disabled condition. The Jean Bart, a sister-ship to the Richelieu, was towed to Casablanca, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, in June of last year. She was in an uncompleted condition then and is believed to be still minus her 15in. gun turrets end other important equipment. The hull of the Clemenceau, a third ship of this type is said to have been wrecked by explosives in the shipyard at Brest just before the capitulation of France last year. A further ship, the Gascogne, does not appear to have been iaid down. . French naval war losses included a cruiser of 4770 tons destroyed by an internal explosion at Casablanca in September, 1939, 15 destroyers, nine submarines, two sloops, and a number of small auxiliary craft. Several vessels, probably destroyers, took part in the Syrian operations, and are now interned in the Turkish port of Alexandretta. Far And Wide

France’s only aircraft-carrier, the converted battleship Bearn, with the light cruisers Emile Bertin and Jeanne d’Arc, have been lying at Martinique m the West Indies for more than a year, as have the light cruiser La-n.otte-Piequet and two sloops in Saigon. The Bin. gun cruisers Suffren, Duquesne and Tourville, and the light cruiser Duguay-Trouin, have been demilitarized and lald-up at Alexandria. Of cruisers still under the control of Vichy at Toulon, or in African ports there are the 10,000-ton Sin. gun ships Algerie, Colbert, Dupleix, and Foch; six 6in. gun light cruisers, all of 7600 tons, and another of 7250 tons. There are believed to be about 50 modern, fast destroyers, some torpedoboats and an unknown number of submarines, mainly distributed between Toulon and the North African ports. The Free French naval forces are made up of the crews of a number of ships who elected to fight on the side of Britain and the ships include some destroyers and submarines. They are commanded by Admiral Muselier. Two Admirals

It is of interest to record that RearAdmiral Auphan, who, as stated above, has been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the French naval forces controlled by Vichy, visited Wellington some three-and-ff-half years ago. He was then a captain in command of the training cruiser Jeanne d’Arc, which was carrying a large number of naval cadets. The ship was on a world cruise in the course of which she arrived in Wellington on February 20, 1935, and departed six days later for Auckland and French possessions in the Pacific. Another French flag officer who has been in the news recently is Admiral J. M. C. Abrial, the present GovernorGeneral of Algeria. He visited Wellington about 12 years ago as a senior captain in command of the 10,000-ton S-inch gun cruiser Tourville. She was then a brand-new ship and was making it round-the-world cruise. The Tourville arrived in Wellington on August 8, 1929, and departed eight days later for the South Sea Islands. Later m the cruise the commander left the Tourville to take up the appointment of chief of the staff to the Commander-in-Chief of the French Mediterranean Forces. . . Admiral Abrial played a distinguished part in the defence of Dunkirk during the evacuation of the British and French armies from that port last year. His remarkable skill ajjd gallantry in command of the French naval forces at Dunkirk gained him the unusual distinction of a citation in an Army Order of the Day. He was subsequently awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, with which he was invested by Admiral Darlan. Admiral Abrial during a visit to London was invested by the King as an honorary K.C.B. (military division).—(S.D.W.)