Episode
308 - Mers El-Kébir: The British Attack on the French Navy
- Podcast
- The WW2 Podcast
- Published
- Jun 1, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2587
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
In the summer of 1940, Britain stood alone. France had fallen, invasion seemed possible, and Winston Churchill faced a grave question: what should be done about the powerful French fleet? Fearing it might fall under German control, Britain launched Operation Catapult. At Mers el Kébir on 3 July 1940, the Royal Navy opened fire on its former ally, killing nearly 1,300 French sailors in one of the war's most painful and controversial decisions. For this episode, I am joined by Edward Abel Smith , author of ' A Hateful Decision ', which tells the full story of this dramatic moment through new research and eyewitness accounts.