Pinned post for Q&A :)

"Armed with nothing but a cake and 27 candles."

Awh. 😞

Imagine celebrating your birthday with sind french officers and then getting the order to blow up the guys who just gifted you a nice cake.

I would have thought sailing to a French colony in the West Indies would have been the one leaving the most possibilities for them..

Fadm Chester Nimitz was once asked by one of his staff officers "Why do you have a photo of Douglas MacArthur in such a prominent place?"  The Answer - "To remind me not to be a Horses Ass."  Gensoul could have taken that to heart.

@12:10 "And pray they don't alter it any further". Love this slipped in Empire Strikes Back reference!

"....pray they don't alter it any further..."

Only a fool trusted Darth Schickelgruber twice

The way I read him, Admiral Gensoul was an aristocrat, probably making his rank via political appointment rather than merit and achievement. The fact he never spoke on the matter post war up until his death though, makes me wonder if he truly grasped the enormity his own errors.

In his book “The Second World War: Their Finest Hour” Winston Churchill indulged in a bit of “what if”:
How vain are human calculations of self-interest! Rarely has there been a more convincing example. Admiral Darlan had but to sail in any one of his ships to any port outside France to become the master of all French interest beyond German control. He would not have come like General de Gaulle with only an unconquerable heart and a few kindred spirits. He would have carried with him outside the German reach the fourth Navy in the world, whose officers and men were personally devoted to him. Acting thus, Darlan would have become the chief of the French Resistance with a mighty weapon in his hand. British and American dockyards and arsenals would have been at his disposal for the maintenance of his fleet. The French gold reserve in the United States would have assured him, once recognised, of ample resource. The whole French Empire would have rallied to him. Nothing could have prevented him from being the Liberator of France. The fame and power which he so ardently desired were in his grasp. Instead, he went forward through two years of worrying and ignominious office to a violent death, a dishonoured grave, and a name long to be execrated by the French Navy and the nation he had hitherto served so well.

Gensoul's performance here reminds me of the quote from Hunt for Red October when the Konovalov's torps homed in onto itself- "You arrogant ass, you've killed us"

There exists a lesser known communique attributed to Admiral Gensoul which may shed some light on why the British attacked, it reads as follows: "Your mother was a hamster and your father smells of elderberries". I'll get my coat...👍

Cunningham managed to talk the French admiral in Alexandria into giving up his ships peacefully, and he was pretty annoyed at the pressure Churchill laid on to open fire.

Drach : you’re using Darlan’s photograph for Gensoul.

A nice touch at the end to give a few moments silence to honour the loss of the sailors.

Could not agree more.  Plenty of blame to go around, but Admiral Gensoul shoulders the most as 1) he was the leader on the spot (the buck stops there), and 2) his conduct in placing his personal pride, with his perceived affront at the rank of the British emissary (and it's not like the British sent a mere lieutenant or some such), above his obligation to his fleet/men is unconscionable and indefensible.

36:05 "The British were coming" given the naval history between the British and the French.
That's not exactly the kinda of news a French Admiral wants to hear.

Interesting that Admiral Gensoul apparently never talked about it, even though he lived another 30+ years.
Are there any contemporaneous French records available?

My grand father witnessed it. He was on an ammunition transporter, and the Harbour Captain forbade his ship to remain with the Other ships. He was based outside the harbour and when they saw the Royal Navy coming they just let the Anchor go, and escaped.

Churchill could not trust Britain's future to the promises of one French Admiral no matter how good that person's intentions.

These early days of WW2 don't get enough attention. They didn't have the pitched battles of the later days, but my goodness, the uncertainty, terror, and betrayal is enough to cause nightmares.