Episode
Churchill's toughest decision
- Podcast
- HistoryExtra podcast
- Published
- Jun 9, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2146
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
In the summer of 1940, the Royal Navy attacked a French fleet moored off the coast of north Africa, killing almost 1,300 sailors. Winston Churchill described his decision to greenlight the operation as the toughest he ever had to take. But was it the right decision? Edward Abel Smith talks to Spencer Mizen about an incident that would shake Britain's wartime relations with France. ––––– GO BEYOND THE PODCAST To hear more from Edward Abel Smith, don't miss our podcast episode on the remarkable life of Nicholas Winton, the British Schindler, who helped hundreds of Jewish children escape Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War: https://bit.ly/4e80MrF Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices