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The French fleet in Toulon was scuttled on 27 November 1942 to avoid capture by Nazi German forces. The Allied invasion of North Africa had provoked the Germans into invading the ‘Free Zone’ (Vichy France), officially neutral according to the 1940 Armistice. Vichy Secretary of the Navy, Admiral Darlan, defected to join De Gaulle and the Free French, who were gaining increasing support from both servicemen and civilians. His replacement, Admiral Auphan, guessed correctly that the Germans were aiming to seize the large fleet at Toulon (Operation Lila), and issued orders for scuttling these vessels. The Germans launched a heavy assault, but the naval crews used deception tactics to delay the enemy until scuttling could be carried out. Operation Lila was judged a failure, with the French destroying 77 vessels, with the capture of 39 small ships, while several submarines escaped to French North Africa. It marked the end of Vichy France as a credible power. == Context == After the Fall of France and the Armistice of 1940, France was divided in two zones, one occupied by the Germans, and the "Free Zone", administered by the Vichy regime. The armistice stipulated that the French fleet would be largely disarmed and confined to its harbours, under French control. The Allies were concerned that the fleet, which included some of the most advanced warships of the time, might fall into enemy hands and so the British attacked the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir on 3 July 1940 and at the Battle of Dakar on 23 September 1940. On 8 November 1942 the Allies invaded French North Africa (Operation Torch). It may be that General Dwight Eisenhower, with the support of Roosevelt and Churchill, made a secret agreement with Admiral François Darlan, commander of Vichy Naval forces, that Darlan would be given control of French North Africa if he joined the Allied side. An alternative view is that Darlan was an opportunist and simply switched sides for self advancement, thus becoming titular controller of French North Africa. Following the Allied invasion of French North Africa Adolf Hitler immediately triggered Case Anton, the occupation of Vichy France, and reinforced German forces in Africa. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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