The terms of the infamous armistice at Compiegne stipulated that the French Fleet would not be used by Germany or Italy, but would be immobilized under their control. This set the stage for the attack on Mers el Kebir, which was deemed unfortunate but necessary for British security. Facing both the German and Italian navies, it was stretched thinly in the North Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Far East, and the Mediterranean Sea. The odds were already heavy against the island nation’s main line of defense, the Royal Navy.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his government dreaded the prospect of the French Fleet falling into enemy hands while Britain stood alone against the Axis powers. When the armistice between France and Germany was put into force on June 25, 1940, the fate of the powerful French Navy-the fourth largest in the world-was of critical importance to the British.
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