The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa (modern-day Senegal), which was under Vichy French control, and to install the Free French under General Charles de Gaulle there.
After the conclusion of the armistice between France and Germany in June 1940, there was considerable confusion as to the allegiance of the variou...
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The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa (modern-day Senegal), which was under Vichy French control, and to install the Free French under General Charles de Gaulle there.
After the conclusion of the armistice between France and Germany in June 1940, there was considerable confusion as to the allegiance of the various French colonies. Some, like French Cameroun and French Equatorial Africa, joined the Free French, but others, such as French North Africa, French West Africa, Syria and French Indochina, remained under Vichy French control. The French fleet in the Mediterranean had been able to counter the Italian navy there leaving the British Royal Navy free to concentrate on the German warships in the North Sea and Atlantic. The possibility that the French fleet might fall into German control led the British to attack the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir....
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