French battleship Dunkirk

"We have no eternal allies and we have no permanent enemies; our interests are eternal and constant. Our duty is to protect these interests."

Let's look at what's happening from different angles...

Namely, the capture or destruction of French ships and their colonies around the world by the British, and the beginning of the Anglo-French war of 1940-1942...
So Churchill's version:
The French fleet was deployed as follows: two battleships, four light cruisers, several submarines, including one very large Surcouf; eight destroyers and about two hundred small but valuable minesweepers and submarine hunters were mostly in Portsmouth and Plymouth. They were in our power. In Alexandria there were: a French battleship, four French cruisers (three of them were modern cruisers armed with 8-inch guns) and a number of smaller ships. A strong English squadron guarded these ships. At the other end of the Mediterranean, in Oran and in the neighboring military port of Mers el-Kebir, stood the two best ships of the French fleet - Dunkirk and Strasbourg, modern battlecruisers, significantly superior to Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and built specifically to surpass these latter. The transfer of these ships into the hands of the Germans and their appearance on our trade routes would be an extremely unpleasant event. Along with them were two French battleships, several light cruisers, a number of destroyers, submarines and other ships. Algiers had seven cruisers, of which four were armed with 8-inch guns, and Martinique had an aircraft carrier and two light cruisers.
In Casablanca there was the Jean Bart, which had just arrived from Saint-Nazaire, but did not have its own guns. It was one of the main ships taken into account when calculating the navies of the whole world. Its construction was not yet completed and could not be completed in Casablanca. He could not be allowed to go to any other place. Richelieu, whose construction was much closer to completion, arrived in Dakar. It could move under its own power and its 15-inch guns could fire. Many other French ships of lesser importance were in various ports. Finally, a number of warships at Toulon were beyond our reach.

England, which, as foreigners believed, was trembling on the verge of capitulation to the powerful power that opposed it. England dealt a cruel blow to her best friends yesterday and secured temporary undisputed supremacy at sea. It became clear that the goal of Operation Catapult was to simultaneously capture the entire French fleet available to us, establish control over it, disable it, or destroy it.
Early on the morning of July 3, all French ships in Portsmouth and Plymouth were brought under English control. The performance was unexpected and, of necessity, sudden. A superior force was used, and the entire operation showed how easily the Germans could take possession of any French warships in ports under their control. In England, the transfer of ships, with the exception of the Surcouf, took place in a friendly atmosphere, and the crews willingly went ashore. On the Surcouf, two English officers were wounded, a foreman was killed and one sailor was wounded. One Frenchman was killed in the fight, but successful efforts were made to calm and encourage the French sailors. Hundreds of sailors voluntarily joined us. " Surcouf" after valiant service, died on February 19, 1942 with all his brave French crew.
The fatal blow was to be struck in the western Mediterranean. Here in Gibraltar, Vice-Admiral Somervell with the "Force H", consisting of the battlecruiser Hood, the battleships Valiant and Resolution, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, two cruisers and eleven destroyers, received orders sent from the Admiralty at 2 hours 25 minutes on the morning of July 1:
"Be ready for the 'Catapult' on July 3rd."
The admiral sailed at dawn and found himself near Oran at about 9 hours 30 minutes morning.
Negotiations continued throughout the day. IN 6 hours 26 minutes in the evening the final order was sent:
"The French ships must either accept our terms, sink themselves, or be sunk by you before nightfall."
But the operation has already begun. IN 5 hours 54 minutes, Admiral Somervell opened fire on this powerful French fleet, which was, moreover, under the protection of its coastal batteries. At 6 pm he reported that he was fighting a difficult battle. The shelling continued for about ten minutes, and was followed by fierce attacks by our aircraft operating from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal. The battleship Brittany was blown up. "Dunkirk" ran aground. The battleship Provence ran ashore, the Strasbourg escaped and, although it was attacked and damaged by torpedo planes, it still reached Toulon in the same way as the cruiser from Algeria.
In Alexandria, after lengthy negotiations with Admiral Cunningham, the French Admiral Godefroy agreed to unload fuel, remove important parts from the gun mechanisms and repatriate some of his crews. In Dakar on July 8, the aircraft carrier Hermes attacked the battleship Richelieu, which was also attacked by an exceptionally brave motor boat. The Richelieu was hit by an aerial torpedo and was seriously damaged. A French aircraft carrier and two light cruisers in the French West Indies were disarmed after lengthy negotiations and in accordance with an agreement with the United States.
On July 4th I reported to the House of Commons in detail what we had done. Although the battlecruiser Strasbourg had escaped from Oran and we had no reports that the Richelieu was actually out of action, as a result of the measures we had taken the Germans could no longer count on the French fleet in their plans.
The elimination of the French fleet, as an important factor, almost at a single blow, through violent measures, made a deep impression in all countries. This was done by England, which many had written off as helpless; England and its war cabinet are afraid of nothing and will stop at nothing. And so it was.
On July 1, Pétain's government moved to Vichy and began to act as the government of unoccupied France. Having received news from Oran, it ordered a response - an air raid on Gibraltar, and several bombs were dropped on the port of Gibraltar from French bases in Africa. On July 5, it officially broke relations with Great Britain. On July 11, President Lebrun gave way to Marshal Petain, who became head of state by a huge majority of 569 votes to 80, with 17 abstentions and many absentees."
So you learned about the beginning of events from Churchill’s words, and now let’s look from the other side.
After the treacherous attack from 1940 to 1942, England and unoccupied The Germans were part of France at war!
Did you know about the largest naval battle of the Second World War? I don't think so. They tend to keep quiet about these pages of history... A little background.

After England betrayed its allies and hastily fled from Dunkirk... But Churchill sought to force France to fight to the last Frenchman, although he himself promised only to support with money... The French government, seeing the unreliability of its ally, refused to follow the lead of the British.
On June 10, the Reynaud government, leaving Paris, turned to US President Roosevelt with a desperate request for help. The United States could present an ultimatum to Hitler, demanding that he stop the offensive in France. Finally, the Yankees could offer their mediation services in concluding a truce. However, Roosevelt refused...
On June 22, 1940, in Compiegne, in the same carriage where the armistice was signed in 1918, French representatives signed the surrender.
Under the terms of the truce, the southern part of France remained under the control of the Vichy government. The northern part of the country and the entire Atlantic coast were occupied by German troops. The entire French fleet remained under the control of the Vichy government.
So, Germany did not want to have defeated France as an ally, and demanded that the Pétain government observe the strictest neutrality...
Could French ships and small land units scattered in colonies around the world - in Syria, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, Equatorial Africa and Madagascar - threaten England in any way? Of course no!
IN July 1940 The formation of the Vichy government began in non-German-occupied France. And then Great Britain struck its own to a defeated ally! An attack on him is an act of international robbery according to all international laws.
Until July 3, 1940, soldiers and officers of the French colonial troops treated their recent allies as brothers in arms, friends and assistants, even if they were not very successful in the fight against a strong enemy.By the way, the consequence of this treacherous attack that occurred on July 3, 1940 was that tens of thousands of French people wanted to join the ranks of volunteers to fight against the USSR and Britain as part of the German army!!!

Churchill decides to capture or destroy the French fleet and occupy all French colonies. Of course, he was not thinking about the war with Hitler, but about the post-war division of the world. The plan to attack the French was called "Catapult"...
As a result, the largest naval battle of World War II took place. Although this is, to put it mildly, not entirely accurate. More like a treacherous attack and execution of defenseless victims! This forgotten event happened July 3, 1940 in the Mediterranean Sea near Mers-El-Kebir near the port of Oran in modern Algeria, in those days it was French North Africa. Seven battleships, dozens of destroyers and submarines took part in the battle on both sides. In addition, this was the only battle where, in addition to battleships, deck and coastal aviation, as well as coastal artillery, simultaneously participated.
Any strong fleet is a thorn in Britain's side.
Only she can be the mistress of the seas!

"Round the globe with British water.
English ships are standing near Gibraltar.
Countless flights. The wide way is open.
Your cruiser is off the coast, looking at India.
You left traces of anchors in Africa.
Britannia, Britannia, Lady of the Seas..."

By the way, let's remember her policies in the past. It is necessary to help the weak against the strong, otherwise he may rise and displace Britain on the pedestal, and at the right moment betray him too. How were things in history? Oh yes, not so long ago, during the Napoleonic Wars, the British burned the royalist French fleet in Toulon, having learned that Bonaparte was approaching...
What? Does Denmark want to be neutral in the war? She has a good fleet... She was burned twice along with Copenhagen in 1801 and 1807. It’s better that way...
During the intervention in the RSFSR in 1918, what the British did not drown, they took for themselves. Neither white nor red, you don’t need the Black Sea Fleet! It was no wonder we forced him to be destroyed much earlier in the Crimean War and deprived him of the opportunity to have it for 15 years.

Chronicle of events:

On July 3, Admiral Sommerville's English squadron consisting of the battleships Valiant approached the French naval base of Mers-el-Kebir.

British battleship: "Valiant"

"Resolution"

aircraft carrier "Ark Royal"

light cruisers Arethusa, Enterprise and eleven destroyers.
Here in Mers-el-Kebir the French ships of Admiral Zhansoul were stationed, consisting of the battleships: "Dunkirk"

, "Strasbourg"

"Provence"

and "Brittany"

six leaders, seaplane carrier Commandant Test

and dozens of auxiliary vessels.
Naval aviation was represented by six Loir-130 aircraft and three Bizerte flying boats, as well as four Loir-130 aboard the battleships Dunkirk and Strasbourg.
The air defense of Oran and Mers-el-Kebir consisted of 42 Moran-406 and Hawk-75 fighters at the airfields of La Seña and Saint-Denis-Du-Cig.
In addition, the French had about fifty DB-7 and LeO-451 bombers, but after several vehicles were hijacked by their crews to Gibraltar, the local aviation chief, Colonel Rougevin, ordered the remaining bombers to be rendered unusable.
There were French coastal batteries equipped with obsolete guns: the Canastel battery - three 240 mm guns; Fort Santon - three 194 mm guns; the Gambetta battery - four 120 mm guns and the Espanol battery - two 75 mm guns.
If England had declared war on France at least on July 1, 1940, then Sommerville’s squadron would have faced inevitable defeat. But this was not a war, but a sudden treacherous attack. The French sailors believed that the war was over for them, and the ships, according to the terms of the truce, began to disarm. All battleships were moored with their stern to the breakwater and their bows to the shore, which was the usual method of mooring in peacetime. Thus, "Brittany" and "Provence" could fire only half of their main caliber artillery. Dunkirk and Strasbourg could not shoot at all. The ships' boilers were cold. There was no aerial reconnaissance of the approaches to the base. And in general, the pilots of the French Air Force did not want to fight on principle.
Admiral Sommerville presented the French Admiral Jeansol with an ultimatum to transfer all ships to British control or scuttle them.
The surrender of the ships to England would seriously undermine France's position in future peace negotiations. There is no need to look at the events of 1940 through the prism of the victory of 1945. In the summer of 1940, Hitler, Pétain, Mussolini and many others were confident that the conclusion of peace (at least in Western Europe) would be a matter of a few weeks. Even more important was that the Germans could consider the transfer of ships to England a violation of the terms of surrender and occupy southern France.
During the negotiations, British spotter planes circled low over the French ships, transmitting information to the British battleships, and meanwhile the officers of the battleship Strasbourg were preparing for the ceremonial welcome of their British colleagues and a large banquet.

Suddenly at 4:56 p.m. the British opened fire. The French could not respond accurately. As a result, the losses on the British battleships amounted to two people wounded, and even then this was a consequence of being hit by shells from coastal guns. The battleship Provence received several hits from 381-mm shells, a strong fire broke out, and the ship sank to the ground at a depth of about 10 meters. The Dunkirk, which also had to run aground, was also seriously damaged. "Brittany" also received hits before it left the pier. The battleship began to sink with its stern.

Burning battleship "Brittany"

A thick column of smoke rose above him. At 17:07 it was already engulfed in fire from bow to stern, and 2 minutes later it suddenly capsized and sank, taking with it the lives of 977 sailors.

The sinking of the battleship Brittany

Several Moran MS.406 and Curtiss Hawk 75 fighters finally took to the air, but for unknown reasons did not fire at the British torpedo bombers.

(Photo of the French destroyer "Mogador". Breaking out from Mars-el-Kabir on July 3, 1940, she received a direct hit in the stern by a British 381-mm shell, which led to the detonation of depth charges. The destroyer's stern was completely torn off and it ran aground.)

The battlecruiser Strasbourg with five destroyers broke into the open sea and headed for the main naval base on the southern coast of France - Toulon. At Cape Canastel they were joined by six more destroyers that had sailed from Oran.

Battlecruiser Strasbourg

At 5:10 p.m. The Strasbourg and the destroyers accompanying it literally ran into the English aircraft carrier Ark Royal, which was heading on a collision course. However, the commander of the Strasbourg, Captain 1st Rank Louis Collinet, missed a rare chance to sink a defenseless aircraft carrier with several salvoes of 330 mm guns. He ordered not to open fire, and go your own course. The commander of the Ark Royal did not appreciate the gallantry (or stupidity) of the Frenchman and lifted six Swordfish from the 818th squadron into the air. At 17:45 The Swordfish began bombing Strasbourg. But none of the 227 kg bombs hit the ship, but two English planes were shot down by anti-aircraft fire.

Burning battleship "Provence"

At 7 p.m. 43 min. six more Swordfish attacked Strasbourg. This time the British used torpedoes. Due to dense anti-aircraft fire, the Swordfish had to drop torpedoes more than a kilometer from the battlecruiser, which allowed it to evade in a timely manner. The nearest torpedo passed at a distance of 25 meters astern of the Strasbourg.

Battlecruiser Strasbourg is making a breakthrough:

July 4 at 20:10 The Strasbourg, accompanied by destroyers, sailed safely to Toulon. Soon six French cruisers from Algeria also arrived in Toulon.
During this transition, the patrol ship "Rigo de Genouilly" on July 4 at 14:15. was torpedoed by the British submarine Pandora and sank.
The French were constantly let down by either excessive gallantry or excessive boasting. After the attack on Mers-El-Kebir, the press was told that “the damage to the Dunkirk was minor and would be repaired soon.” The British were upset and decided to finish off Dunkirk.

On July 6, 1940, Swadfish torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal attacked Dunkirk and other ships three times. After the raid, the French had to dig 150 more graves.
British attacks on French ships continued.

On July 7, an English squadron consisting of the aircraft carrier Hermes, the cruisers Dorsetshire and Australia, and the sloop Milford approached the French port of Dakar. On the night of July 7-8, a sabotage boat painted black entered the port. The boat dropped 6 depth charges under the stern of the French battleship Richelieu to disable its rudders and propellers. However, due to the shallow depth, the fuses did not work. After 3 hours, the battleship was attacked by six Soundfish from the Hermes aircraft carrier. Luck smiled on only one “Sourdfish” - its torpedo with a magnetic fuse passed under the bottom of the battleship and exploded at the starboard propellers. There was a hole in the hull with an area of ​​about 40 square meters. m, the ship took 1500 tons of water. In general, the damage was minor, but due to the lack of a proper repair base in Dakar, it took a whole year to bring the Richelieu ready for sea.

The British did not let up and in September 1940 they attacked Dakar again.

British formation "M" of Vice Admiral Cunninghal consisted of the battleships "Barham" and "Resolution", the aircraft carrier "Ark Royal", the cruisers "Devonshire", "Fiji" and "Cumberland", 10 destroyers and several small ships.

The attack on Dakar resulted in a huge three-day battle involving battleships, submarines, carrier-based aircraft, and 240mm, 155mm, and 138mm coastal guns. The British sank the French boats Perseus and Ajax. The city was engulfed in many fires. Civilian casualties: 84 killed and 197 wounded.
However, the main target of the British - the battleship Richelieu - remained intact. Both British battleships and the cruiser Cumberland were heavily damaged.
Failure in Dakar did not stop the British.

In 1941, Great Britain, under a formal pretext, occupied Syria and Lebanon, which France owned under a League of Nations mandate.French Somalia.In 1942, Great Britain, under the pretext of the Germans' possible use of Madagascar as a submarine base, carried out an armed invasion of the island. De Gaulle's troops also take part in this invasion. At that time, a collaborator sentenced to death by the French government... The French are fighting together with the British against the French... Ideal! Is not it? The cherished dream of the British came true: to pull chestnuts out of the fire with the wrong hands... The fighting lasted six months and ended with the surrender of the forces of the French state in November 1942...

During the fighting, 15 French submarines were sunk, i.e. more than the Soviet Navy sank German submarines during the entire Great Patriotic War.

In the fall of 1942, the Americans attacked the French colonies of Morocco and Algeria. November 8, the newest American battleship Massachusetts,

American battleship Massachusetts

The heavy cruisers Tuscaloosa and Wichita, together with aircraft from the aircraft carrier Ranger, attacked the unfinished French battleship Jean Bart in the harbor of Casablanca.

On the French battleship, only one 380-mm turret could operate, and it fired until a direct hit from a 406-mm projectile disabled its lifting mechanisms...

November 27, 1942 years, under the threat of the Nazis seizing the remnants of their fleet, the French sank it in the harbor of Toulon.
In total, the French sank more than 70 ships, including three battleships, 7 cruisers, 30 destroyers and destroyers, and 15 submarines.

Remains of the battleship Dunkirk in Toulon

Tens, if not hundreds of thousands of French civilians died during Allied bombings of French cities in 1940-1944. The exact numbers have not yet been calculated. But we can say with confidence that in World War II the number of French people who died at the hands of the Germans was comparable to the victims of the Anglo-Americans!

P.S. How amused I am by comments in communities from poorly educated anti-Sovietists, liberals and schoolchildren. Regularly trying to say some nasty thing or refer to the greatest expert on Wikipedia.)

Local wars and peacekeeping operations of France in Africa after the Second World War

1960 A new era has begun in French Africa...
In 1960, 14 French colonies in Africa and Madagascar simultaneously became independent. Before the adoption of the French Constitution in October 1958, these colonies became part of the French Union and were organized into two large regional territories - French Equatorial Africa with the island of Madagascar and French West Africa. Both territories had a high commissioner. Under the new French constitution, members of the French Union were offered the status of members of the French Community with the prospect of gaining independence. All French colonies except Guinea (Conakry) agreed. Two years later, the French constitution was changed and the members of the French Community automatically became independent.
But French Africa, having changed, survived. French President General Charles de Gaulle, together with African leaders of the former colonies, created Françafrique. It was a special system of official and unofficial relations between the former metropolis and the colonies. In exchange for maintaining its influence and its economic interests, France accepted the obligation to maintain the security of the region. To this end, cooperation agreements were signed with each new independent African state. The main ideologists and creators of Francefrica were the President's charge for foreign affairs (later President of Côte d'Ivoire) Felix Houphouet-Boigny and the Secretary General of the French President for African and Malagasy Affairs Jacques Foccart.
There were two types of agreements. One is comprehensive, meaning that France is entirely responsible for the defense of a given country. Ten former colonies have signed such agreements. The second type of agreement was only on military-technical assistance. In the early 1960s, all 14 former colonies, with the exception of Guinea (Conakry), signed agreements with France. The same agreements were then signed by France with the former Belgian colonies of Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire, and with the former Portuguese Guinea-Bissau.
President de Gaulle and his entourage headed for French independence in international relations and for the protection of French interests, which were primarily concentrated in Africa. France had no intention of leaving Africa. Therefore, the French African security system was created, consisting of:
1) Local native armies.
2) French military bases located in strategic points in France.
3) Airmobile forces on French territory, ready for immediate redeployment to the zone of a possible military conflict in Africa.
The first floor of this security system for France was the native armies of African countries, which were trained, armed and equipped by the French. The main positions in them were occupied by the French. If necessary, the French pledged to send their elite expeditionary units from France to help the allies in Africa.

Native African armies

The armies of the new countries were of the same type. They were based on infantry battalions and a small number of artillery batteries and armored groups. Aviation consisted, as a rule, of several reconnaissance aircraft, and the naval forces - several patrol boats. The problem was personnel for the native armies.
By the time the colonies gained independence, they had 60,000 French troops in 90 garrisons. The rank and file were native, and almost all non-commissioned officers and, especially, officers were French. Neither the French government nor the Ministry of the Armies initially had any desire to create African armies. But after the colonies gained independence, the need to form a military layer of local African officers became obvious. Until 1965, military universities in France and Algeria were able to train less than three hundred officers, and much more were needed. And then officers began to be appointed from among experienced soldiers and non-commissioned officers, and this negatively affected the overall quality of the command staff.

French intervention troops

Both France and Africa realized that the French army was the only pillar of stability in the vast expanse of France. French troops were deployed in two echelons. Several thousand soldiers were located at African strategic bases, and the main part was located in France, ready for rapid transfer to France. Large warehouses of weapons, ammunition, and equipment were created in African garrisons.
The forces located in France consisted of the 2nd Parachute Regiment of the Foreign Legion and the 3rd and 8th Parachute Marine Regiments. They had neither heavy artillery nor tanks. Only small arms, mortars, anti-tank systems, and light armored vehicles. They were directly subordinate to the President of France. He could decide to use them without consulting anyone. But such issues were often resolved by a special council. At the same time, the final word always belonged to the chief adviser to the president on Africa, Jacques Foccart, who was the creator of Francefrica. He created a unique intelligence network, had unlimited opportunities to resolve issues regarding France, and used bribery and the physical elimination of unwanted African presidents.
In the 1960s, " France's inner circle of friends"in Africa, where French troops, if necessary, could be sent first. These are Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Senegal, Gabon and, with some reservations, Togo.
Second group of countries– this is Chad, Niger, Central African Republic (CAR). France's interests here were not too great, but great importance was attached to the strategic location of these states.
To the minimally significant area of ​​interest included Dahomey (Benin), Congo (with its capital Brazzaville), Congo (Zaire), Upper Volta (Burkina Faso), Guinea, Mali and Mauritania. The regimes of these countries gravitated towards the USSR and Libya, so France’s attitude towards them remained cool for many years. But the establishment of relations with them began with the advent of the socialist F. Mitterrand to presidential power in France.

The French General Staff divided all of France into two special zones -

• Central African (West and Central Africa) and
• Pacific (Madagascar, Djibouti, Indian Ocean islands).

The Central African zone was divided into three overseas zones (zones d'outre de mer). Thus, a security system was created in France, the main component of which was French troops.
The French army had plenty of combat experience in Africa, but now it had to operate in new conditions. Since 1960, France has conducted more than 40 major military operations in Africa. But at the same time, France used its troops selectively. Economic interests played a significant role in this. But in the sense of global strategy, the selectivity of the French was meaningful.
Under d’Estaing, two full-blooded divisions were formed - the 11th Parachute Division, numbering 13,500, and the 9th Marine Division, numbering 8,000. In both divisions, special groups were formed that went on a 6-month mission to France. All the soldiers in them were experienced professionals or volunteers.
Air support group - usually 8-10 Jaguar A fighter-bombers, used for both ground support and reconnaissance. There were military transport aircraft and air tankers. There were C-160 aircraft to transport soldiers from France, but there were always not enough of them. Therefore, the French Air Force depended on the assistance of military transport aviation from the United States and Europeans. And they still do.
In mid-1981, the 31st Brigade was included in the intervention forces, receiving heavy artillery and tanks. Its composition included not only the 2nd Regiment of the Foreign Legion and the 21st Marine Regiment with a battery of 155 mm BF-55 guns, but also a squadron of the 501st Tank Regiment with AMX-30 tanks. But this brigade structure did not imply combat operations against native African rebels, but rather against motorized rifle and tank units of the Soviet army.

In June 1983, Defense Minister Charles Hernu announced a 4-year (1984-1988) program to reform the French armed forces. The Rapid Reaction Force (RRF) was created, intended primarily to conduct military operations in Europe in cooperation with the armies of NATO members. The RRF was essentially a mixture of expeditionary units with a single command. The primary reason for their creation was the desire of France to take a greater part in the defense of Europe from the threat from the USSR. It seemed that the French were leaving Africa. However, Paris's reaction to the conflict in Chad showed that this is completely wrong.

French African policy after de Gaulle

In April 1969, President Charles de Gaulle resigned. His Prime Minister Georges Pompidou won the new elections. But France's African policy remained the same. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who assumed the presidency after Pompidou's sudden death in 1974, showed determination to solve African problems by military force. He called France a buffer against communist expansion in Africa.
President Giscard d'Estaing carried out two of the most famous and successful operations of the French army during the Cold War - in 1978 against the rebel units of the "Katangese gendarmes" in the Congolese (Zairean) province of Katanga (Shaba) and in 1979 overthrew the Emperor of the Central African Republic Jean I (Bokassa).
In 1981, socialist François Mitterrand became president of France. But the change in French African policy expected by political scientists did not happen. The period of François Mitterrand's presidency (1981-1995) was full of military operations in Africa. Mitterrand sent troops to Rwanda three times, Chad and Zaire twice each, and Gabon once. French troops took part in the UN intervention in Somalia from 1992-1995. Pierre Mesmer, the former minister of armies, even once called Mitterrand “a maniac of military gestures in Africa.”
In 1995, hardliner Jacques Chirac became President of France. It is noteworthy that Chirac again appointed Jacques Foccart as his adviser on African affairs! And when Foccart died on March 19, 1997, many assumed that the end of the Françafrique era had come. And the military-political situation in Africa had by this time undergone a serious transformation, since the Cold War had ended. The leading powers ended the confrontation in Africa, leaving the former vassals to decide their own fate. And this has sharply increased the number and scale of armed conflicts here. And Paris began to get tired of the role of “African firefighter” that had been taken upon itself. The spark that catalyzed this fatigue was the Rwandan civil war of 1990-1994. And the participation of the French army in the pacification of Rwanda was subjected to severe criticism throughout the world.

Changing French policy in Africa in the mid-1990s

President Mitterrand made the excuse that Operation Turquoise in Rwanda had “saved tens of thousands of lives,” which was true. But the truth did not save France from a political fiasco. France came under a barrage of criticism from the world media, the UN, humanitarian organizations, and governments. The French were accused of arming the Rwandan army and Hutu militias for the subsequent massacre of the Tutsi tribe. They were accused of delaying the start of the intervention. They were accused of not apprehending a single perpetrator of war crimes and genocide. In general, the meaning of the accusations was that France supported one of the opponents in the civil war and did not stop the genocide of the Tutsi, although such an accusation could more justifiably be brought against the UN, whose troops in Rwanda did nothing at the very beginning, when the killings had not yet begun. massive.
In any case, France's good reputation in Africa was seriously damaged. And the French problems did not end there.
The end of the Cold War, the failures in Rwanda and Zaire, the scandal with arms supplies to Angola - all this in the mid-1990s caused a sharp turn in French African policy. Since 1995, during the presidency of Jacques Chirac, France began developing a new strategic approach to France. Its fundamental principles are not to get involved in native squabbles and inter-tribal strife. And if we are to participate in peacekeeping operations, then only together with the UN and the African Union. This approach, as subsequent interventions showed, turned out to be a dead end.
For many African regimes that existed only due to their political orientation - pro-Soviet or pro-Western - the end of the Cold War meant death. Without exception, all tomorrow's dictators and coup leaders in Africa have declared their commitment to democratic choice. But it never came to the point of putting this choice into practice. France then told its allies in France that democracy was based on alternative elections. However, such understanding reached the natives very slowly...
In May 1996, anti-government riots began in the Central African Republic. Before this, France had never faced such massive and total violence in its former colonies. The way out of the difficult situation seemed obvious - negotiations. But the meeting between the rebel leader Sergeant Syriac Souquet and the French General Bernard Torette ended in nothing, as the rebels demanded the resignation of President Patasse.
And then the French troops began fighting. But although the military success of the French was in the end clear, on the diplomatic front the fiasco of Paris was complete. The head of the UN mission, a purely civilian, Toby Lanzer, who visited the site, was horrified by what he saw. He compared the smoking ruins of Birao with Grozny, which was destroyed during the New Year's assault. Human rights activists accused the French military of conniving with the actions of the Central African intelligence services, which committed an orgy of torture, robbery and murder. The rebels stated in the media that French planes bombed peaceful villages in the north of the country. Paris could only answer all the accusations that they did everything within the framework of the agreement with the CAR.
The mid-1990s saw a dramatic shift in French strategic priorities in Africa, resulting in Paris abandoning its previous "Lone Ranger" policy. The desire to act within the framework of international coalitions led France to an unusual military-political restraint. Many native leaders perceived this as weakness and a sign of the French leaving the Dark Continent. But the main reasons for the inaction of the French army lay rather in the contradictions in the country's top leadership. President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister (1997-2002) Lionel Jospin strongly disagreed on military operations. The prime minister has always blocked the president's decisions to conduct African military operations. Because of this, for example, in 1999, France did not respond to a series of coups d'etat in Africa, as a result of which governments friendly to it were overthrown.

Return to interventionist policies in Africa

On September 19, 2002, another military rebellion broke out in Côte d'Ivoire. Immediately after it began, the French President ordered military intervention in this country. The speed of the decision was explained by the fact that Jacques Chirac had a free hand: Prime Minister Lionel Jospin imprudently ran for the 2002 presidential elections and lost them, after which he left politics altogether.
The core of Nicolas Sarkozy's (2007-2012) election campaign in 2007 was a declared “break” with previous policies. Sarkozy argued that the post-colonial era in Africa was over, and French politics was no longer determined by shadowy informal connections. However, faced with reality, Sarkozy quickly changed his views. In 2008 in Cape Town, in his speech he outlined the reform of relations with African states. France, as before, was responsible for controlling the security system in France, but at the same time intended to share the military burden with the countries of the European Union. But in practice, it turned out that Nicolas Sarkozy completely returned to his previous interventionist African policy.
One Western diplomat, who worked in Africa for a long time, once noted that Sarkozy wants to return France to the status of “gendarme of Africa,” and not only its Francophone part. And there are certain grounds for such a statement.
In particular, France's intervention in the civil war in Libya on the side of the rebel forces (Operation Harmattan) began immediately after the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution No. 1973 of March 19, 2011. French combat aircraft attacked the positions of Libyan government forces. The adoption of such a hasty decision, among other things, was clearly influenced by the long-term Franco-Libyan confrontation in Chad, and by Tripoli’s previous active attempts to interfere in the political situation in other parts of Francophone Africa. True, the French had to face the dismal results of their victory in Libya just a year later in Mali - in the zone of their direct interests.

French military operations in Africa

1956-1963. West Sahara. Supporting Mauritanian and Moroccan troops against the rebels.
1959-1964. Cameroon. Assisting the government in creating security forces and fighting rebel groups of the Union of Peoples of Cameroon.
1961. Tunisia. Operation Bouledogue - invasion of Tunisia to capture the strategic port of Bizerte.
1964. Gabon. Intervention to suppress a military mutiny against President Mba.
1968-1972. Chad. Operations "Limousin" and "Bison" against rebels in the Chadian Tibesti province.
Operation Verbena to support the actions of Moroccan and Zairian troops against rebels in the province of Shaba (Zaire).
1977-1978. Mauritania and Western Sahara. Operation "Lamatin" of the French Air Force against units of the Polisario Front.
. Operation of the 2nd Regiment of the Foreign Legion to defeat the rebels and save the Europeans in Zaire's Kolwezi.
1978-1980. Chad. Operation Tacaud against the rebels of the FROLINAT movement.
1979-1981. Central African Republic. Operations "Caban" and "Barracuda" in the Central African Republic to overthrow Emperor Jean I Bokassa and return President David Daco to power.
1983-1984. Chad. Operation Manta to support the regime of President Hissène Habré.
1985. Chad. A French Air Force raid on the Libyan airbase of Ouadi Doum in northern Chad.
1986. Togo. The landing of 150 French paratroopers after the attempt to overthrow President Gnassingbe Eyadéma.
1986 - present day. Chad. Operation "Epervier". Military presence of French peacekeepers in Chad.
1989. Comoros. Operation Oside to eliminate the consequences of a coup staged by mercenaries under the command of Colonel Bob Denard.
1990. Gabon. Intervention. 2 thousand French soldiers evacuated 1.8 thousand foreign citizens and provided assistance to local security forces during the riots in Libreville and Port Gentil.
1990-1993. Rwanda. Operation Noroit. Supporting the troops of President Juvenal Abyarimana in the fight against the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front.
1991. Zaire. Sending 1,000 French soldiers to Zaire together with the Belgians to support dictator Mobutu Sese Seko during the riots.
1992-1994. Somalia. Operation Oryx. Participation of the French army in the US and UN humanitarian operation in Somalia.
1992-1999. Djibouti. Operation "Iskoutir". Monitoring by French units of compliance with the terms of the truce between the government of Djibouti and the FRUD rebel movement.
1993. Congo. The evacuation of French citizens from Kinshasa after the outbreak of a military mutiny, during which the French ambassador to Zaire, Philippe Bernard, was killed.
1994. Rwanda. Operation Amaryllis. The evacuation of Europeans after the assassination of President Abyarimana and the beginning of the genocide of the Tutsi.
1994. Rwanda. Operation Turquoise. Mission to protect civilians.
1995. Comoros. Operation Azalea to prevent a coup by Bob Denard's mercenaries and the overthrow of President Said Mohammed Johar.
1996-1997. CAR. Operations Almandine - I and - II. Suppression of riots and unrest in the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui.
1996-2007. Cameroon. Operation Aramis. Supporting Cameroon's armed forces to defend the Bakassi Peninsula from Nigerian claims.
1997. Congo. Operation Pelican. Evacuation of 6.5 thousand foreigners from Brazzaville during street riots.
1997. Sierra Leone. Operation Espadon to evacuate French citizens from the country where the civil war began.
1998. Congo. Operation Malachite to evacuate foreign citizens from Kinshasa.
2002 - present day. Ivory Coast. Operation Licorne in Cote d'Ivoire. French troops have separated government and rebel forces following the uprising against President Laurent Gbagbo.
2003. Congo. Operation Artemis in Ituri (Democratic Republic of Congo). Combat assistance to the UN contingent in the region.
2004. Destruction of the Ivorian Air Force in response to an attack on the French base in Bouaké.
2008. Chad. Assisting Chadian troops in the defense of N'Djamena during the rebel assault on the capital and evacuating foreigners.
2008. Support for the Djiboutian army during the border conflict between Djibouti and Eritrea.
2008. French support (together with Libya) for the military operation of the armed forces of the African Union countries - Comoros, Senegal, Sudan and Tanzania against the separatists of Anjouan Island.
2011. Helping the rebels overthrow President Gbagbo, who lost the election.
2011. Libya. Operation Harmattan. Participation of the French army in military intervention.
2013. Mali. Operation Serval. Military intervention. Support operations in Niger.
2013. Central African Republic. Operation Sangaris. Military intervention in the Central African Republic to end the civil war.

“Toulon will be our first military stronghold on the Mediterranean,” said Cardinal Richelieu in 1639. And how he looked into the water. In the 21st century, the military port of Toulon is the main naval base of France: aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines are based here, and huge naval command buildings are located.

Military galleys of the Roman Empire also called at Toulon - then the port was named Telo Martius (Telo is the Ligurian goddess of springs, Martius is the Roman god of war). In the Middle Ages, he got a new name - first Tolon, then Toulon. The first fortifications around the small but lively fishing town appeared only in the 13th century. In 1543, the troops of Charles V and the Turkish fleet of Barbarossa attacked Toulon. 52 years later, city residents built high walls around Toulon with their own money.

The year of birth of the military port of Toulon is unofficially considered to be 1595. The official date is June 30, 1599. On this day, the Parliament of Provence, with the consent of King Henry IV of France, transferred part of the Toulon lands “for the construction and manufacture of commercial and military ships.” The first French galleys set sail in the port of Toulon in 1610.

An invaluable contribution to the development of the military port of Toulon was made by the Grand Master and General Superintendent of Navigation, Cardinal Richelieu. Before him, the costs of maintaining and military equipment of ships lay on the shoulders of the captains. On March 29, 1631, Richelieu made a historic decision - to transfer ownership rights and expenses for maintaining military courts to the state. Eight lieutenant generals monitored the execution of the orders of the Superintendent of Navigation Richelieu, and they also controlled the coastal areas. Each lieutenant general was assisted by at least two commissioners who oversaw the naval service and ports such as Brest, Brouage, Le Havre and Toulon.

In July 1636, 59 Toulon warships recaptured the Lérins Islands, located 800 meters from Cannes, from the Spaniards. Three years later, Cardinal Richelieu declared: “Toulon will be our first military stronghold in the Mediterranean.” The old harbor of Toulon was too narrow, so in 1650, under the leadership of the naval quartermaster Louis Le Roux d'Enfreville, work began to expand it. Ten years later, King Louis XIV of France, during a visit to Toulon, gave d'Enfreville consent to build new military ships for Toulon Fleet. The drawings of some of them - for example, the Admiralty ship "Monarch" - were made by the court artist of Louis XIV, Pierre Puget. Puget decorated the deck of the Monarch with a huge number of sculptures. Half of them didn’t even have time to be gilded - they were in such a hurry to launch the Monarch.

Father of the Midshipmen

Jean-Baptiste Colbert was born in Reims into the family of a small manufacturer in 1619 and had a dizzying career from a notary to the intendant of the house of Mazarin and then - the financial marine intendant of King Louis XIV of France. In 1669, Colbert became Secretary of State and until the end of his life he was responsible for finance, art, public works and maritime affairs. Colbert's personality is controversial. This cruel man did not spare himself or others at work, but he did a lot for the French Navy.

By the way, the expression “send to the galleys” appeared under Colbert. He introduced naval conscription: criminals became rowers on galleys.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert increased the number of sea vessels from 18 in 1661 to 276 in 1683, contributed to the expansion of the Toulon and Brest ports, the ports of Rochefort and Dunkirk, bought from the British. Colbert personally selected port workers and organized a cash fund for the disabled navy, which provided a small annuity to the wounded or the families of those killed at sea. In 1670, Colbert created the first school of naval officers - midshipmen (later this term was adopted by many countries of the world, including Peter's Russia). Maritime customs also owes its birth to Colbert, despite the fact that it received official status several decades later.

Under Colbert, the first coast guard appeared in France. It carried out regular raids along the coast of the state, monitored the unauthorized unloading of goods, and gave alarm signals when enemy ships appeared in the coastal zone.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert divided naval officers into "officers of the sword" (those who fought at sea) and "officers of the pen" (administrative workers who served in ports and colonies). In 1681, edited by Colbert, the first official Decree for the Fleet was issued. It regulates the departure of ships to sea, approves the naval hierarchy and outlines the responsibilities of naval ranks.

The great statesman died in 1683 in Paris, and in 1689 France approved the Code of the Naval Army by Colbert, containing provisions on the service of naval officers.

In 1668, the workshops of the port of Toulon provided weapons to 4 battleships per year. Then the financing of the navy deteriorated, and work on the construction of the Toulon port was stopped. France had a new goal - the Spanish throne (1702-1713). The war over it and the plague that followed it in 1720 destroyed half of the French.

Having barely recovered from the disasters, France launched a new war, this time for the Austrian inheritance (1740-1748). Construction of the military port has resumed. It was then that structures were built in the port, which today are the hallmark of Toulon.

These are the Monumental Gate built in 1738 - today's entrance to the Fleet Museum, and the 24-meter Clock Tower built in 1776 with a bell at the top. More than a hundred years after its construction, the bell announced to the workers the beginning and end of the work shift and reported on the fire. In 1918, the bell was replaced by a siren, and a wooden dummy bell was installed on the tower.

Clock Tower

There were still not enough workers to build the port. In 1748, King Louis XV of France radically solved this problem by reorganizing the entire French navy. The king abolished conscription on the galleys in Marseilles and transferred all naval forces to Toulon. 2,000 convicts took on the construction of the port for free.

In 1778, the first dry dock in the Mediterranean appeared in Toulon. The naval port became the largest enterprise in the city: in 1783 it employed 4,000 workers.

The revolution turned the city into a battlefield. In 1793, a group of royalists (supporters of the monarchy) settled in Toulon, who decided to create a separate republic of Southern France and turned to the British for help. In August 1793, Admiral Samuel Hood led an Anglo-Spanish-Sardinian squadron to the Toulon area and captured the port after fierce fighting. But under the pressure of revolutionary troops and, in particular, Napoleon Bonaparte, the British fled from Toulon.

On May 18, 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed himself Emperor of France. He began the program for the restoration of Toulon several years earlier as first consul. The work was led by the first naval prefect, Rear Admiral Vence. The restoration of the port and the construction of new ships went on around the clock - at night people worked by torchlight. In 1814, 80 warships were stationed in the Toulon roadstead.

Two factors influenced the future fate of Toulon. The first is colonial wars. In 1830 the French conquered Algeria and Toulon became a military port for the new colonial France. It was here that the conquering ships were equipped and sent to North Africa. The second factor is the transition from sailing ships to steam ones. The first steam ships in France were designed by the engineer Dupuis de Lôme.

Pioneer of the steam fleet

According to the nuclear scientist of our time, weapons expert Frank Barnaby, Dupuis de Lôme ranked first among the military shipbuilders of his time in terms of the boldness of his plans and execution skills.

Dupuis de Lôme

Dupuy de Lôme was born in 1815. After graduating from the corps of naval engineers of the French Polytechnic Institute, he got a job as an engineer in the port of Toulon. In 1841, de Lom launched the world's first steam battleship, the 90-gun Napoleon. Subsequently, under the leadership of de Loma, some sailing ships were modernized into steam ones. The ship was cut into two parts, and the middle with the engine was inserted into it.

Thanks to de Loma's first steam ships, during the Crimean War of 1854, the French squadron led by Napoleon defeated the Dardanelles current and entered the Black Sea. At that time, 108 steam ships, including those with a screw engine, were in service with the French Navy.

In 1858, de Lome created the world's first seaworthy battleship, the Gloire, with a wooden hull sheathed in iron. The next three battleships were built on the same principle: the foundries of France could not provide the supply of rolled iron in the quantities needed to build metal ships.

After leaving the navy, de Lome became the head of the shipbuilding enterprises Messageries Maritimes ("Sea Transportation") and FCM (Les Forges et Chantiers de la Mediterranee - "Forge and Construction of the Mediterranean"). For the first, he built high-speed motor ships, for the second, powerful warships.

This man is known for other merits. Thus, he developed a detailed project for crossing the English Channel from Calais to Dover by port-train vessels - the prototypes of our self-propelled ferries. And at the end of his life, de Lom designed underwater vessels. Anticipating his imminent death, he gave these developments to his employee Gustave Zede, who based on them in 1888 built the first French submarine, Gimnot. De Lome died in Paris on February 1, 1885.

The naval port of Toulon entered the era of industrialization. He needed new space and qualified personnel. In 1850, 5,000 people already worked in the port. The port grew at the expense of nearby areas - the village of Mourillon in the east of Toulon, the peninsula of Milo and Brigailon, the harbor of Castineux, which are its terminals to this day.

Monumental Gate

Toulon in the 20th century

The beginning of the 20th century was marred by technological incidents in the port of Toulon. The port cellars and storage facilities in which gunpowder was kept were built back in the 17th century under Louis XIV and were not intended for storing explosive substances. On the night of March 5, 1899, in a warehouse in the Lyagurban area, which contained 100 tons of “black powder” and 80 tons of smokeless “gunpowder B,” the first terrible explosion occurred, destroying everything within a radius of 3 kilometers, including the village of the same name. 55 people died in the disaster.

In 1907, the recently repaired battleship Jena exploded in the port of Toulon, killing 117 people. Explosions in warehouses continued... for 11 years.

On September 4, 1911, the President of the French Republic, Armand Fayer, began a revision and modernization of the fleet. The use of new technologies - for example, torpedoes and radio telegraphs - made the French fleet one of the most powerful in the world.

He remained so until the war with Nazi Germany. More precisely, until the tragic day of November 27, 1942. On this day, 2 German units occupied the most important facilities in Toulon: a telephone center, weapons depots, the air-naval base of Sant-Mandrieux, and a submarine base. During the battles for the port, it became clear that the French would not be able to hold out in it. At the headquarters of the Toulon fleet, a telephone call was heard from the admiralty of the Vichy regime (as the regime of Philippe Pétain was called in France during the German occupation from 1940 to 1944). During the conversation, the Germans damaged the telephone line. A few minutes later an order came over the radio from the Admiralty - to sink all the ships in the port! Without written confirmation of the order, some admirals refused to carry it out.

While the French command was deciding whether or not to destroy their fleet, the Germans took it by storm. The first to be captured was the flagship, the battleship Strasbourg, then the battleship Provence. At 6 o'clock on November 27, the French decided to carry out the order to scuttle the ships. The Provence was the first to go down with the Germans on board. Then the detonators went off on other ships. Some of them - the cruisers Marseillaise, Duplex and Algeria - burned for several days. On June 18, 1940, in Bordeaux, the commander of the French fleet, Admiral Darlan, and other senior naval officers made a decision: not to surrender the fleet to the enemy! In total, 77 of the best French ships were sunk in Toulon: 3 battleships (Strasbourg, Provence, Dunkirk), 7 cruisers, 32 destroyers, 16 submarines, the seaplane carrier Commandant Test, 18 patrol ships and other vessels.

At the time of the liberation of Toulon by the First African Army in 1944, only ruins remained of the military port. And, although 6 dry docks and main workshops were operational within eight months, and in 1946 the Navy Quartermaster School began operating in the reconstructed Rope Production building, the restoration of the Toulon port took many years. True, now it was rebuilt towards the west coast. In 1954, a new maritime Prefecture appeared on the Stalingrad embankment. The port was ready to receive submarines and the Fleet Training Center. In 1956, recognition of the independence of Tunisia, the war in Algeria and the unsuccessful Suez Expedition put an end to France's colonial conquests. French ships from the ports of the former colonial republics were relocated to the port of Toulon. This meant the restoration of historical justice - Toulon again became the main naval stronghold of France in the Mediterranean.

In Toulon, schools for officers and sailors (artillerymen, submariners, signalmen, sappers), a training center for the Health Service, a research center for special devices and an underwater research group were opened. The development of the naval port kept pace with the technological progress of the 20th century: in 1965, the frigate Soufren appeared here with the Mazurka surface-to-air missiles and the Malafon anti-submarine complex.

In 1975, the aircraft carriers Foch and Clemenceau settled in Toulon, and in 1982, the first nuclear submarines. Since 1991, the School of Fleet Administration, previously located in Cherbourg, has joined the Navy Quartermaster School. They received the general name of the Group of Commissariat Schools.

Today Toulon covers an area of ​​2.52 square kilometers. The main forces of the French fleet are based here - Force d'action navale - 100 ships and vessels (more than 60% of the total displacement of the Navy) and 12,000 personnel.

Côte d'Ivoire has two large deep-water seaports: Abidjan (main) and San Pedro. Ports occupy an important place in the existing infrastructure of the RKI and fully satisfy the country’s needs for foreign trade exchange with other states.

The seaport of Abidjan is largest in West Africa. It provides 50% of the total maritime traffic exchange in this region of the African continent (Dakar - 25%, Lomé - 20%, Cotonou - 5%). The port was built in 1950 on the western coast of the Grand Bassam peninsula and the adjacent waters of the Ebrier Lagoon, connected to the waters of the Gulf of Guinea by the Vridi sea channel, 2.7 km long. and 370 m wide, construction of which was completed in 1950.

The Port of Abidjan is a state-owned enterprise with a capital of 20 billion CFA francs and a staff of more than 11 thousand people; There are port offices in Mali, Burkina Faso, France, Belgium and South Africa. The port is managed by an administrative council of 6 people, headed by General Director A. Abuaje (appointed in September 1998). The largest Ivorian government organization dealing with maritime shipping issues is the Societe Ivoirien de Transport Maritim, which provides 40% of the total foreign trade maritime cargo turnover of Côte d’Ivoire. In addition, maritime trade transportation is carried out by a private Ivorian company, Societe Ivoirien de Navigation Maritime.

The port management manages to maintain its competitiveness at a fairly high level and ensure a progressive increase in the annual volume of cargo turnover, which has allowed it to take a leading position in terms of cargo transportation among Western ports. Africa. From 14 million tons. in 1997, the total cargo turnover of the port increased in 1998 to 15.2 million tons. (+8.2%). The total volume of cargo turnover with the countries of the African continent in 1997 amounted to 5.5 million tons, with America - 1.7 million tons, with Southeast Asia - 1.1 million tons. and Europe – 5.3 million tons. At the same time, the largest trading partners for Ivorians in 1997 were: Nigeria (3.3 million tons of cargo), France (1.6 million tons), Spain (726 thousand tons), USA (656 thousand .t.) and Holland (623 thousand tons).

The main export cargoes sent by RKI through the port of Abidjan in 1998 were: cotton(380 thousand tons), coffee(202 thousand tons), cocoa(715 thousand tons), forest(344 thousand tons), bananas(217 thousand tons), pineapples(166 thousand tons), Palm oil(50.6 thousand tons) and rubber(61 thousand tons). Crude oil (4.2 million tons), fertilizers, rice (605 thousand tons) and food products are imported through the port.

Transit cargo also arrives through the port of Abidjan (1998 - 1 million tons) to African countries remote from the coast - Burkina Faso (47.6%), Mali (29.9%), Niger (12.6%) and other West African states. In 1998, the volume of import-export operations of the port in the direction of these countries increased by 30.7%. The predominant part in transit cargo consists of imported goods (70%), of which rice, fertilizers, chemical products, and industrial equipment dominate.

Along with foreign trade flows, the port provides national ships transporting cargo along lagoon routes deep into the Republic of Kazakhstan (up to 400 thousand tons per year). In 1998, 7.2 thousand vessels called at the port (in 1997 - 6.7 thousand). It can simultaneously accommodate 60 vessels of various classes. The port is divided into zones: commercial, fishing, military, oil and timber loading.

The trade zone of the port is the most extensive: the water surface area is over 1000 hectares with a maximum depth of 15-20 m. The zone is divided into 3 sectors and 34 berths. The total length of the berth line of the trade zone is about 3.5 km. (the total length of the port berths is 6 km). On its land part there are 20 warehouses (6 thousand square meters each) for various purposes, fuel and lubricant warehouses, minor repair shops, administrative, customs, pilotage and other port services buildings.

There is a container terminal in the commercial sector of the port. It is equipped with 5 berths with a length of 960 m, 2 container cranes with a lifting capacity of 40 tons each and rail tracks. The terminal has an automated information system for accounting and processing containers with access to international communication lines, allowing data exchange with many ports of the world. The shopping area also includes two parking lots: for unloading used cars (1.6 hectares) and for parking container trucks (4.6 hectares). The number of imported cars in 1998 amounted to 34.2 thousand units.

The fishing area of ​​the port occupies 28 thousand square meters. and has a berth 1 thousand meters long. (210 m with a depth at the pier of 5 m, 615 m - 7 m and 225 m - up to 11.5 m), equipped with technical means for receiving and primary sorting of fish, freezers and storage facilities.

In the northern zone of the port there is a timber loading harbor (45 thousand square meters) and the Karena ship repair plant, which has 3 docks (600 tons, 2.4 thousand tons and 10 thousand tons).

The territory of the oil zone of the port is adjacent to the eastern bank of the Vridi Canal, which in this area is equipped with 3 berths for receiving oil tankers, as well as refueling terminals. The zone has equipment for pumping petroleum products, tanks and railway tanks for their storage and transportation by rail to the refinery in the port area of ​​Abidjan.

The port's military zone is located at the southern end of Banco Bay. It is home to the naval base of Locojoro, equipped with berths and parking lots for small-tonnage patrol boats.

Due to the congestion of the port, it is planned to increase its throughput through the construction of port facilities in the military zone (Locojoro district). For these purposes, the RKI government received a loan of $150 million from the IMF. for 20 years. It is planned to build new berths, areas for storing containers and imported cars, connect railway tracks to the warehouses of the trade zone, expand the berths of the container terminal, and also increase the overall berth depths of the port. The main work will be carried out by the English company TCI.

The port of San Pedro is 350 km away. west of Abidjan in a convenient bay, protected from the Gulf of Guinea by a natural breakwater. The port was put into operation in 1971; construction was carried out by French, West German and Italian companies. The construction of the port cost 11.5 billion CFA francs. The port staff is 400 people.

The port occupies a water area of ​​60 hectares, through which a fairway 650 m long, 150 m wide, and 12.5 m deep is laid, connecting the bay with the waters of the open ocean.

The port of San Pedro has 5 main and 5 elevator berths with a length of 585 m, a multi-purpose pier with a length of 405 m, as well as 4 small piers with a length of 160 m each for the export of timber. The port has 5 anchorages for large vessels and several posts for small vessels making coastal voyages between San Pedro and Abidjan. The depth at the anchorages and at the quay walls reaches 11-12 m. The land part of the port occupies 70 thousand square meters. It houses fuel and lubricants warehouses, covered warehouses (13.8 thousand sq.m.), repair shops, administrative, customs and other port services buildings.

Through the port of San Pedro, RCI exports timber, coffee, cocoa, palm oil, cotton and rubber. The port's annual turnover amounted to 1 million tons in 1998, which is 4% higher than the previous year. The volume of export operations predominates - 77% of the total volume of transportation. The increase in cargo turnover in 1998 was mainly due to imports (+14%), while exports through the port of San Pedro increased by only 0.6% compared to the previous year.

Since 1995, work has been underway at the port to expand it. Thanks to the financial support of Japan, the construction of a new 800 m long pier and a cargo pier is being built, and the construction of an additional fishing pier was completed in 1997. Until 2000, it is planned to improve access roads and equip existing structures with additional equipment. The planned activities will allow increasing the volume of cargo passing through the port to 2 million tons.

After the commissioning of the port of San Pedro, the small shallow water ports of Sassandra, Grand Berebi and Taboo, located in the western part of the Ivorian coast, practically ceased to function and are used only by local fishermen and traders.

The ports of Abidjan and San Pedro are equipped with a system of navigation light beacons and radio equipment for monitoring the maritime situation in the territorial waters zone. Both ports are suitable for trading ships of all classes. The port of Abidjan is also used by the crews of warships of the French, US and British navies. In 1997-98 15 warships of Western countries visited the port. In 1998, 60 ships flying the Russian flag entered Abidjan, usually involved in freight transport. Quite often, foreign ships with crews consisting entirely or partially of Russian citizens enter the ports of Côte d’Ivoire.

Senegalese operation

HMAS Australia fires on Vichy forces in Dakar

Opponents

Commanders

Strengths of the parties

Senegalese (Dakar) operation, code name Operation Threat(English) Operation Menace) - a strategic military operation carried out on September 23-25, 1940 by the joint forces of Great Britain, Australia and Free France against the naval and ground forces of Vichy France with the aim of landing Charles de Gaulle in Dakar.

Background

French poster

Due to Italy's entry into the war against the British Empire, Italian submarines and surface fleets were an obstacle to the transportation of reinforcements, ammunition and equipment from England across the Mediterranean to British Egypt, so the British sent cargo with valuable military materials in a roundabout way around South Africa. At that point in the war it was safer. De Gaulle planned to unite under his banner as much of the French colonial empire as possible, primarily Central and West Africa, most of which was either under the control of the French Vichy government or remained neutral after the defeat of France and the German capture of Paris in June 1940.

Thus, Dakar was an important strategic location from where the enemy could cut off Britain’s Atlantic communications. In addition, under the control of the Vichy government there was a large number of ships that de Gaulle planned to use in the common fight against the Germans and Italians. The main goal of the British, in addition to the naval base itself, which occupied an advantageous strategic position in the central part of the Atlantic Ocean, was the battleship Richelieu.

Preparation

It is interesting that the British, when preparing the operation, observed absolutely no secrecy: the officers openly raised toasts “To Dakar!”, bought maps of Dakar; General de Gaulle, under the pretext of a trip to West Africa, ordered tropical clothes for himself. The most ridiculous situation was when the forklift, having lost control, dropped a box with propaganda leaflets on which was written “To the residents of Dakar” (French. Aux Habitants de Dakar). Leaflets were dropped from airplanes on Dakar for the purpose of psychological treatment of its residents. Fortunately for the allies, Vichy intelligence was satisfied with British misinformation, according to which the true goal of the expedition was not Dakar, but, having gone around South Africa, to land General de Gaulle in Egypt.

While the British were preparing for the operation in Dakar, General de Gaulle was able to establish control over part of French Equatorial Africa. Chad, French Congo and Cameroon came under his control. As a result of these events, Admiral François Darlan, commander of the Vichy French navy, ordered a squadron called the "Groupe Igreux", consisting of three heavy and three light cruisers, to proceed to Equatorial Africa in order to dislodge the "free French". The squadron departed from the port of Toulon in the south of France towards Africa on September 9. Passing through the Strait of Gibraltar near the port of Gibraltar, which was controlled by the British, the squadron used a special signal, as a result of which the British considered it friendly and allowed it to pass. A few days later in London they learned that these were Vichy ships. Vice Admiral Somerville of the British Navy received orders to intercept the YG Group, which had already reached Casablanca on the coast of Morocco. This was a belated order. Due to the sluggishness of the British consulate staff, information about the Vichy squadron did not reach London in time, primarily Churchill and the war cabinet. Vice Admiral Somerville failed to intercept the Vichy "Groupe Igruppe" from Casablanca, and it arrived in Dakar.

Aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal

Thus, at the beginning of September 1940, the Vichyists, in addition to the battleship Richelieu, had at their disposal in Dakar three light cruisers, three destroyer leaders and 7-8 submarines. Five naval squadrons were based at the nearby Ouacama airfield. The battleship was not completed; only main gun turret No. 2, two turrets of 152 mm guns (the 3rd had no ammunition) and all 100 mm anti-aircraft guns could operate on it.

The British, not wanting to enter into open confrontation with the French, decided to use the so-called Free French Naval Forces. In this operation they were represented by the 600-ton minesweepers Commandant Duboc (fr. Commandant Dubok), "Commandant Domine" (fr. Commandant Dominé) and "Savorgnan Brazza" (fr. Savorgnan di Brazza), and the English “cover” under the command of Admiral Cunnigham consisted of the battleships HMS Barham (Rus. "Barham") and HMS Resolution (Russian) "Resolution") (both 8,381 mm guns), aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal (Russian) "Ark Royal"), heavy cruisers HMS Devonshire (Russian) "Devonshire"), HMS Cumberland (Russian) "Cumberland"), HMAS Australia (Russian) "Australia"), light cruiser HMS Delhi (Russian) "Delhi") and a dozen destroyers, not counting smaller ships and transports with landing forces. In total, there are about 8,000 military personnel on board. The entire formation that left Freetown on September 21st received the designation “Force “M”” - after the initial letter of the name of the operation (English. Menace- "threat").

Progress of the operation

On the morning of September 23, 1940, the combined fleet of Great Britain and Free France reached Dakar, which was completely covered in fog. By this time, planes were already circling over Dakar, dropping leaflets announcing the arrival of General de Gaulle’s troops for “protection and food supply.” De Gaulle hoped that it would be possible to do without bloodshed. The bet was placed on the work of agitators previously added to the database. Next, two planes carrying the delegation took off from the deck of HMS Ark Royal to the Dakar Ouakam airfield. But the first reaction from the Dakar authorities was an order to open fire on the planes dropping leaflets, and the crew of the planes that arrived with the delegation was captured and arrested.

General de Gaulle, still hoping for a positive outcome of the operation, sent a telegram to the Governor General of Dakar, Pierre Boisson, asking him to allow the Free French ships to arrive in port. Boisson refused and ordered all Vichy artillery batteries and ships to be put on alert at Dakar. At 06:10, 100 mm anti-aircraft guns began firing from the battleship Richelieu. Commandant Dubok and Commandant Dominé attempted to enter the harbor, but came under fire and were forced to return. In addition, de Gaulle received a message from Thierry d'Argenlier, the commander of his naval forces, which left no doubts and destroyed all hopes. Here is his text: "09:24
1. we managed to land, but we were prevented from meeting with the authorities;
2. Admiral Landrieu refused to meet with me and ordered us to be held by force;
3. I managed to save two of my boats, although on the way out we were fired at by machine guns, two were wounded;
4. the batteries fired at “Brazza”, and “Richelieu” - at “Duboc” and “Domine”;
5. We face organized and determined resistance;
6. no sympathy was noted on the part of the population."

Coastal Artillery of Dakar

Despite this, at 09:30 de Gaulle sent three more ships into the harbor. He demanded not to retreat even if fire was opened on them. However, the ships retreated after the first shot from Richelieu and the British entered the battle.

At 10:00, the coastal artillery of Dakar, following orders to open fire on those ships that approached the shore closer than 20 miles, fired at the English destroyer. The British responded and a real battle broke out. French submarine Persée (Russian) "Perse") on the surface tried to attack the cruisers, but quickly received a number of hits from the Forsite destroyers (Russian. "Foresight") and HMS Inglefield (Russian) "Englefield") and sank. In turn, the coastal battery hit HMS Cumberland with a shell, which had to go to base.

After the fog cleared, de Gaulle tried to land troops from three sloops in the rear of Dakar, in Roufisque Bay. The landing was stopped by two old 95 mm cannons mounted at the foot of the lighthouse, as well as small arms and machine gun fire from Senegalese infantry scattered along the shore. The heaviest loss for the defenders was the death of the leader of the Odeisches, who, after a salvo of 203-mm shells from HMAS Australia, burned for another day.

On the morning of September 24, Boisson received a new ultimatum from the British, in which they openly declared that they feared the transfer of Dakar into the hands of the fascists and demanded that rule be transferred to de Gaulle. The answer was not long in coming:

The battle started unsuccessfully for the French - already at 7 o’clock in the morning, British destroyers sank the Ajax submarine with depth charges (Rus. "Ajax") and captured the surviving crew members. Fifteen minutes later aircraft from HMS Ark Royal attacked Richelieu and achieved two close explosions of 114 kg bombs. The ship's firepower was not affected. Anti-aircraft guns shot down three planes, and fighters chalked up the fourth. At 09:40, the battleships HMS Barham and HMS Resolution, having closed to 12.5 km, opened fire on Richelieu with 381 mm guns. He tried to respond from Tower II, but its first salvo became the last that day: the guns of the right half-turret were out of action. Richelieu continued to fire from two 152 mm turrets. HMS Barham was hit several times by volleys of 240mm shells from shore batteries. The French battleship was also often hit by volleys of 381-mm shells, and finally one of them hit between the bow superstructure and the funnel. In total, Cunningham's battleships fired 160 shells, causing more damage to the transports in the harbor and buildings in the city than to their main target, Richelieu. The second raid did not add glory to the pilots of HMS Ark Royal, but the French shot down two torpedo bombers.