Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon

Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II

The French fleet scuttles itself: left is the Strasbourg; next to her, burning, is the Colbert; under the smoke, the Algérie; to the right, the Marseillaise.

Date	27 November 1942
Location	Toulon, France
Result	Vichy French success; German failure to capture the French fleet

Belligerents

Vichy France

Germany

Commanders and leaders

Jean de Laborde

Johannes Blaskowitz

Strength

3 battleships
7 cruisers
18 destroyers
13 torpedo boats
6 sloops
21 submarines
9 patrol boats
19 auxiliary ships
1 school ship
28 tugs
4 cranes
39 small ships

4 combat groups
1 motorcycle battalion

Casualties and losses

3 battleships (scuttled)
7 cruisers (scuttled)
15 destroyers (scuttled)
3 destroyers (seized by Germany)
13 torpedo boats (scuttled)
6 sloops (scuttled)
12 submarines (scuttled)
4 submarines (seized by Germany)
9 patrol boats (scuttled)
19 auxiliary ships (scuttled)
1 school ship (scuttled)
28 tugs (scuttled)
4 cranes (scuttled)
39 small ships (seized by Germany)
12 killed
26 wounded

1 wounded

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 capture of 39 small ships, while the French destroyed 77 vessels and several submarines escaped to French North Africa. It marked the end of Vichy France as a credible power.

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." Officially, both zones were 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.

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Wikipedia