Why Did British Sailors Try To Seize a French Submarine in 1940? Interest Here's What You Need to Know : The crew of Surcouf was sent to a camp set up on a racetrack in Liverpool. May 3, 2016, 9:59 AM. The British and French betrayal of Poland in 1939 was not only dishonest, it was a military stupidity of truly monumental dimensions. Which they did in a elaborate cermony. I don't understand why the French did not join the French government in exile, continue the fight and help the British. The reason is not well known: it might be for its traditional attachment to the French monarchy; because, before being named "nationale", the Navy had been named "royale" (the navy did not sport the royal titles common with other European navies like the British Royal Navy); or simply because of the location of its headquarters, rue Royale in Paris Plus the only country that's had more wars with England than France is Ireland. Intervention vs isolation: why didn’t America want to get involved? The British soldiers lost most of the battles against the disciplined American soldiers. The very worst of the Nazis hadn't been revealed yet, and they were under orders to be fair to the French. Smashing the British navy would help in his plans to invade England, and the battle, he said, was to end "six centuries of shame and insult." Then the British Empire would have fought World War Two like a Empire with the means of a Empire. The people who wanted France to fight on from its colonies were overruled. I would add that under the terms of the peace treaty with Germany, France would become a neutral nation in the war with full control of its navy. Neither were the auxiliary cruisers or the pocket battleships. If the French navy had sided with the Brits, history would have been different. In December of 1941, they Royal Navy lost both the Repulse and Prince of Wales when Japan attacked them. And if I didn’t know better, I’d even be tempted to say that’s the other way around when one reads the British tabloid press. So much for "following orders" I say ~ now, what do you say? The British responded by issuing orders in council (November 11, 18, and 25 and December 18, 1807) that imposed a blockade on Napoleonic Europe. Cruisers and destroyers (escort destroyers and frigates as well) are the primary ships for this kind of work. With one exeption, the navy of France. Credit: Wikipedia/National Maritime Museum. No, I … The British, more desperate than ever to prevent the Bismarck from joining the war in the Atlantic as well to avenge the loss of the Hood, had called every available ship into the hunt. Lawrence returned to Virginia with stories sure to spark his 10-year-old brother George’s imagination and desire for adventure. Also, Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich spends a great deal of time discussing the French fleet, and makes clear that Hitler was deathly afraid it would be used against him, and took every possible step to insure against it. There existed among French Canadians a tradition of suspicion and even hostility towards the British Empire, and, while sympathetic to France, Britain’s ally, few French Canadians were willing to risk their lives in its defence either. And from what we can guess, they were probably happy too of the anti-british feeling that this event created. The French Navy did not "fight on" for the simple reason that the French government never ceased to exist (unlike in Greece, Norway, the Netherlands, etc., where naval units escaped and fought on). They are fast and carry the underwater detection and tracking equipment, as well as the necessary weaponry to attack and kill submarines. 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