On 27 Nov 1942, during WWII, French Admiral Jean de Laborde sank the French fleet anchored in Toulon harbor, off the southern coast of France, in order to keep it out of German hands. In June 1940, after the German invasion of France and the establishment of an unoccupied zone in the southeast, led by Gen. Philippe Petain, Adm. Jean Darlan was committed to keeping the French fleet out of German control. At the same time, as a minister in the government that had signed an armistice with the Germans, one that promised a relative “autonomy” to Vichy France, Darlan was prohibited from sailing that fleet to British or neutral waters. But a German-commandeered fleet in southern France, so close to British-controlled regions in North Africa, could prove disastrous to the Brits, who decided to take matters into their own hands by launching Operation Catapult: the attempt by a British naval force to persuade the French naval commander at Oran to either break the armistice and sail the French fleet out of the Germans’ grasp—or to scuttle it. And if the French wouldn’t, the Brits would.
The British were prepared to “not play nice” with the French, if necessary, to keep the fleet out of German hands. As it turns out, the French didn’t “play nice” with the Germans, so Brit action was unnecessary. That’s how things are done in war. But today, the USA is at war with Radical Islam and we spend all our time “playing nice” with our enemies. In war the deal is that if you fight or work against us we kill you. It’s time for the US Govt to figure that out.
