Letters by a modern St. Ferdinand III about cults

At a recent function in Toronto Canada, 65 members of the International Churchill Society gathered for dinner and drinks, and a discussion on the key naval battle of Oran Morocco fought between the British and French navies on July 3 1940. It was a pivotal moment in the war. The French had surrendered, erected their pro-Nazi Vichy government; were beginning to round up the Jews, and had little interest in abiding by either convention or contracts including what was specified in a pre-war agreement between France and Britain that in the event of a defeat of either party, their navy would not be passed over the Germans. By July 1940 however, it was crystal clear to the British high command including Churchill, that they could neither trust the French nor of course the Germans.

In historical revision the British are 'blamed' for Oran and the destruction of the French navy and 1300 French sailors. This is rather insensible and historically ridiculous. The French were allies in all but name with the Germans. The Vichy forces would fight not only the British navy, but the American and British landings in North Africa or Operation Torch in 1942. 250.000 or more Jews were rounded up with a certain degree of enthusiasm by various French authorities on the mainland, and transshipped to the death chambers of central and eastern Europe. The Free French forces under De Gaulle in both West Africa and England never numbered more than 200.000 dispirited troops – a total dwarfed by the Vichy forces. The French resistance, so glorified by Hollywood and French historical rewriting [hearkening back to the 11^th century Chansons de Gestes], never had more than a few thousand active members. Today seemingly every French family had at least 4 members active in the anti-Nazi underground......

Oran marked a turning point. The Americans knew that Churchill was not only serious but firmly in control. The British would fight and rationality as well as courage would inform their policies. From the October 12th ICS dinner, Terry Reardon writes:

“In the summer of 1940 France had signed an armistice with Germany. This agreement stated that the French Fleet "shall be collected in ports to be specified and there demolished under German and Italian control." Although the French Admiral Darlan had previously given assurance that he would never allow the Germans to take the ships, Churchill obviously knew that Hitler could not be trusted. With a semi-circle of German occupied countries facing Britain he had to keep control of the English Channel and could not afford to take any chance on the powerful French Fleet being used by the Axis. ICS Canada Director Gord Walker took over detailing the events of July 3rd with an ultimatum given to the French Admirals. They could join Britain in fighting Germany and Italy; sail to a British port or to the West Indies. If these were not acceptable then they had to sink their ships.”

What is rarely asked is this – why would the French navy and its Admirals want to fight the British? It was pointless, immoral and treacherous. But this question is never asked and the French rarely blamed. The Americans entered the war in 1940 [not so covertly it should be said and only 'officially' on December 7 1941], partly on the basis of Churchill's decision at Oran to sink the French fleet. It is highly likely that the French would indeed have handed the navy over to Hitler, including the largest warships in the world at the time, the Gneisenau. Churchill knew that neither the Germans nor the French could be trusted. Destroying the French navy at Oran was a matter of national survival – an impetus to action which has almost disappeared in today's world.