TaBle of Contents

Summary ........................................ 3
French Order of Battle.................... 7
Force de Raid ................................ 10
Atlantic Fleet ................................ 11
Mediterranean Fleet .................... 12
Officers ......................................... 14
Summary
The story of the French Navy during World War II is one of
bravery, one of tragedy, and one of defiance. The Marine
Nationale was the fourth strongest navy in the world at the
beginning of World War II in the fall of 1939.
Historically, the French navy has mostly contended with their
British counterparts. There were periods when they tried to
contest the British ship-for-ship, but in the latter half of the
nineteenth century a dual strategy was adopted; the defense of
the coasts and supply lines on one hand, and commerce raiding on
the other. This asymmetric strategy is closely associated with the
thinking of Admiral Hyacinthe Aube and a group of admirals
known as the Jeune École (Young school). The Jeune École
supposed that squadrons of British battleships trying to blockade
French ports could best be countered by employing large numbers
of cheap ships and submersibles armed with torpedoes, which
would operate close to their base ports.
Equipment
Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 placed a moratorium on the
construction of battleships for several years and limited cruiser
tonnage to a maximum of 10,000 tons per ship. The French battle
fleet then consisted of several dreadnaught battleships completed
before or during the first world war. These included the Paris,
Courbet, Lorraine, Bretagne, and Provence. The French, along
with all other major naval powers, designed and began
construction of 10,000 ton "treaty cruisers". The first French ships
were the Duquesne and Tourville. These ships mounted a main
armament of eight, 8-inch guns mounted in four twin turrets, two
forward and two aft, both superimposed. This armament was
comparable to treaty cruisers constructed by the other powers.
The French cruisers were not a balanced design though. They
were fast, but virtually unarmored, with only minimal protection
to the turrets, magazines, and machinery areas. These two early
heavy cruisers were followed by five more, each one an
improvement on its immediate predecessor. The seventh heavy
cruiser completed was the Algerie, which was a well-balanced and
powerful design.
The French also completed eleven light cruisers comprising four
separate classes during the 1920s and 1930s. They were also fast,
but carried little armored protection. However, they were more
successful than the early French heavy cruisers were, and many
had active careers even after the French surrender.
One type of warship that French naval design and construction
excelled in was the destroyer. Numerous destroyers of several
different but similar designs were commissioned during the inter-
war years. During the mid-1930's, the French began construction
of large destroyers they called "contre-torpilleurs", which meant
destroyer-killers. These large destroyers were in the same
tonnage range as the smaller light cruisers in several navies, and in
fact they were designated as light cruisers by some. However,
despite their large size and tonnage, their armament was much
more comparable to contemporary destroyers in the French and
other fleets, and they could not match the gunnery firepower of
most light cruisers they might become engaged in battle with.
In the early 1930's, the French began construction of capital ships.
The first two ships, more aptly called battlecruisers rather than
battleships because of their size, higher speed, somewhat lighter
main armament, and less than ideal armor protection, were the
Dunkerque and the Strasbourg. These were handsome ships each
mounting main batteries of eight, 13-inch guns in two quadruple
turrets, both mounted forward. They were designed to counter
the German pocket battleships of the Deutschland class, which
they far excelled in speed and strength, and they were actually
comparable to, or even superior to, the later German
battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.
In the late 1930's, the French finally laid down modern, heavy
battleships of the Richelieu class that were needed to counter the
new Italian battleships of the Littorio class then nearing
completion. Only the lead ship, the Richelieu, and the second
ship, the Jean Bart, were near completion when French resistance
collapsed in June, 1940. The Richelieu had all of her main
armament and secondary armament already installed and was in
the process of commissioning. The Jean Bart was not as far
advanced. She only had one of her two main battery turrets
installed, had no secondary armament, and no anti-aircraft
weapons were installed. Her machinery was incomplete, but her
construction was far enough advanced to allow her to get
underway with difficulty and escape the advancing Germans.
At the beginning of hostilities in September, 1939, the French
battle fleet was inferior to that of its anticipated primary
adversary, the Italian navy. The Richelieu and Jean Bart were far
from being ready, but the Italians already had two Littorio class
battleships in service. The Italians had also spent much time,
expense, and effort during the mid to late 1930's to completely
rejuvenate and modernize their World War I era dreadnaughts.
Upon completion of modernization, these ships were certainly
much superior to the elderly French battleships, which had
received little in the way of modernization during the pre-war
years.
Mission and organization
The French fleet was designed with defense in mind. Unlike the
Americans or British, the French never intended their navy to
dominate waters far from home. The main focus was on
protection of the coastline and the defense of the lines of
communication between France and her overseas possessions and
allies.
The French coastline was divided into five regions maritimes for
coastal defense (even financed by a separate budget), an Atlantic
fleet based mainly in Brest and a Mediterranean fleet based in
Toulon. Other large bases were present in Bizerte, Cherbourg and
Lorient. With the increasing threat from the Italian fleet a new
base was being constructed at Mers-el-Kebir. These fleets had
different strategic goals based upon their envisaged opponents.
The Atlantic fleet would aid the British in defending the Channel
and chasing German commerce raiders that would haunt the
oceans after the declaration of war. For this purpose the elite
Force de Raid was assembled which would join the British for the
hunt.
The Mediterranean fleet however was tasked with keeping the
Italians at bay. Cruisers and Contre-Torpilleurs would perform
spoiling actions and escort duties to keep supply lines open
between France and her north-African possessions and at the
same time would perform hit and run attacks on the Italians. The
older battleships would function as a back-up force on which the
lighter forces could fall-back for support if hard-pressed.
Operations
With the declaration of war with Germany, the Force de Raid
operated jointly with British naval units to form hunter-killer
groups as planned. Until the French surrender in June, 1940,
these hunter-killer groups were stationed at various strategic
locations in ports in Africa, the West Indies, and elsewhere.
French warships also joined up with the British Mediterranean
Fleet based in Alexandria, Egypt.
The French warships saw little action early in the war, but some
did operate with the British Home Fleet during the Norway
campaign, and several French destroyers and smaller craft
assisted with the evacuation of Dunkirk prior to the collapse of
French resistance. The onslaught of the German blitzkrieg was of
such strength and force that the French Army, assisted by the
British Expeditionary Force, could not withstand it. Within weeks
of the invasion, France signed an armistice with Germany,
allowing Germany to occupy large areas of territory within France,
including the entire Atlantic coastline and the capital of Paris.
The French naval high command, believing surrender to be near at
hand, undertook frantic efforts to prevent major units of the
French fleet from falling into German hands, as well as
undertaking efforts to transport the French gold reserves to
Canada and elsewhere. All warships that could get underway
made their escape either to unoccupied territory in the South of
France, to ports in the French overseas territories, or to ports in
Great Britain or Egypt, including the powerful, but incomplete,
new battleships Richelieu and Jean Bart. The French government
understood that it would possess a significant bargaining tool if
the French fleet could be kept intact and out of the hands of the
Germans. The French government moved to Vichy in the area of
France that was not to be occupied by the Germans. Although
nominally quasi-independent, the Vichy French government was
not in a position to act independently either in domestic or foreign
affairs, being under the heel of the German boot. The terms of
the armistice required the bulk of the French fleet to be
demilitarized in French ports, save a small squadron of warships
selected by the Germans that the French were allowed to keep in
operational condition to control its remaining territorial waters
and defend unoccupied French territory.
Although the French agreed to the German terms, many
important units of the French fleet were either in British or British
controlled territory or in ports in overseas French territories. The
British reasonably believed that should those vessels be permitted
to return to France, they might very well eventually fall under
direct control of Germany and might well be used against Britain.
The British government could not permit this to happen.
The British devised plans to seize French warships in British ports,
and require the French to demilitarize those warships under
British supervision and oversight, either in Britain or in French
overseas territories, or to join the British and continue the fight
against Germany. Should the French refuse to accept any of these
alternatives, British commanders were ordered to use force to
destroy the French warships.
The British were successful in seizing two elderly French
battleships, the Paris and the Courbet, which had fled France and
steamed to ports in Southern Britain, as well as the large
submarine Surcouf and some smaller vessels. The French did offer
some resistance, but were quickly overcome. In Alexandria, Egypt,
the French Admiral Godfroy decided to demilitarize his squadron,
including battleship Lorraine, heavy cruisers Suffren, Duquesne
and Tourville, and light cruiser Duguay Trouin and remain there
under British supervision. In the French territory of Martinique in
the West Indies was the only French carrier, the Bearn, and light
cruisers Emile Bertin and Jeanne de Arc. The Admiral in charge of
these ships decided as well to demilitarize, which was also the
result hoped for by the United States. "Free French" naval forces
were formed using light forces that had surrendered or were
captured. They participated in subsequent British naval attacks on
Vichy French territories, naval bases, and warships.
The British success in diplomacy ended there. A powerful
French squadron was at the port of Mers-el-Kebir in French North
Africa under command of Admiral Marcel Gensoul. On July 3,
1940, a British squadron, Force H based at Gibraltar, appeared off
the harbor entrance under the command of Admiral Sir James
Somerville. The British ultimatum was delivered to Admiral
Gensoul, along with a deadline to meet the British demands.
Admiral Gensoul was defiant, and he refused to comply with the
British. He ordered his captains to raise steam and prepare to get
underway for action. Moored to the jetty were the modern,
powerful battleships Dunkerque and Strasbourg, older battleships
Provence and Bretagne, and several destroyers. As the deadline
passed, Admiral Somerville opened fire on the French ships, which
had yet to get underway. The French attempted to reply, but
were still not prepared for action. The British quickly found the
range and inflicted heavy damage. The battleship Bretagne was
hit, caught fire, and exploded. She capsized and sank with heavy
loss of life. The battleship Provence was also heavily hit. She
replied with a few salvos, but quickly lost power and was run
aground to keep from sinking. The proud Dunkerque also became
a target of the British. As she tried to get underway, she was hit
hard and set on fire. The Dunkerque was stopped, unable to
proceed further, but did not sink. The battlecruiser Strasbourg
was the only French capital ship able to get underway and make
for the harbor exit. She came under fire from Force H, which she
responded to, but she sustained only minor damage that did not
hinder her fighting efficiency or speed. Although the British had
laid a minefield across the harbor entrance, the Strasbourg
avoided it and began her run toward France. She was joined by
several destroyers that had also managed to escape. The British
had an aircraft carrier in their squadron, and they launched
swordfish torpedo bombers to attack the Strasbourg. They were
unsuccessful, and the Strasbourg made good her escape, arriving
at Toulon the next day.
1,297 French sailors were killed as a result of the British attack,
and French public opinion took a dramatic turn against their
former allies, the British. Three days later, the British,
unconvinced that they had inflicted sufficient damage against the
battlecruiser Dunkerque to put her out of commission, launched
an air attack on Mers-el-Kebir. The Dunkerque was further
damaged by torpedoes and depth charges that buckled her deck
and caused further extensive damage.
On July 8th, the British followed up with an air attack on the
new, but not fully operational, battleship Richelieu that had
sought refuge at the port of Dakar in West Africa. She sustained
one torpedo hit, causing some damage, but was not crippled. The
British, supported by Free French units, also carried out later
attacks against the Richelieu in an effort to either sink her or keep
her immobilized and non-operational.
The French asked permission of the Germans to discontinue
demilitarizing their ships based upon the new threat from the
British, which the Germans gladly agreed to. The French launched
retaliatory air strikes against the British base of Gibraltar on July
14th and on September 24th and 25th, but caused little damage.
Main bases and fleet regions of the Marine Nationale
French Order of Battle
Force de Raid
The Force de Raid (Raiding Force) was a French naval squadron formed at Brest during naval mobilization for World War II. The squadron
commanded by Vice Amiral Marcel Gensoul consisted of the most modern French capital ships Dunkerque and Strasbourg, screened by the
three newest French cruisers, the eight largest and most modern contre-torpilleurs, and the only French aircraft carrier. The Force effectively
ceased to exist as a separate unit after the British attack on Mers-el-Kébir.

Force de Raid
Order of Battle: France 1940
Event: Atlantic Fleet
Fleet type: Battle Fleet

Officer
M
Capitaine de Frégate 0 points Default officer choice
a
M
Officers

Capitaine de Vaisseau 9 points

a
M
Contre-Amiral 20 points Only allowed in fleets of 150 points or more
a
M
Vice-Amiral d'escadre 26 points Only allowed in fleets of 300 points or more
a
M
Amiral Marcel Gensoul 31 points Only allowed in fleets of 300 points or more
a

Core Fleet
Dunkerque-class Battleship 102 points
Division

- You may upgrade the second Dunkerque-class Battleship to:

Battle

1 - 2 Ships
1st

Admiral-class Battlecruiser +2 points

Choose either the 1st Battle division or a Cruiser division as your Core Fleet choice,
the remaining option can be taken as a Close cover choice instead
La Galissonniére-class Light
division
Cruiser

35 points
Cruiser
1 - 3 Ships

Le Fantastique-class Contre-
Division

20 points
Torpilleur
10th

1 - 3 Ships

Close Cover
Division Division

Mogador-class Contre-torpilleur 26 points

1 - 2 Ships
6th

Le Fantastique-class Contre-
20 points
Torpilleur
8th

1 - 3 Ships

Leander-class Light Cruiser 29 points

division

1 ship
Allied

Hermes-class Light Carrier 10 points - Carrier loadout options:

0 - 1 Ships 1-2 Gloster Gladiator +6 points
Capacity of 4 flights 1-3 Fairey Swordfish +4 points
 Distant Cover
support Bearn-class Fleet Carrier 14 points - Carrier loadout options:
Carrier

0 - 1 Ships 1-3 Dewoitine D.376 +5 points

Capacity of 5 flights 1-2 Loire-Nieuport 401 +6 points
Bourrasque-class Destroyer 13 points - You may upgrade all ships to:
0 - 2 Ships L'Adroit-class Destroyer +0 points

Redoutable-class Submarine 22 points - You may upgrade one ship per fleet to:
Submarine
support

1 Ship Surcouf-class Submarine +0 points

Atlantic Fleet
Besides the mobile Force de Raid, the French fleet was divided into an Atlantic force and a Mediterranean force. The Atlantic Fleet was to join
the British Royal Navy in defending the Channel and keeping the German fleet locked in the North Sea.

Atlantic Fleet
Order of Battle: France 1940
Event: Atlantic Fleet
Fleet type: Battle Fleet

Officer
M
Capitaine de Frégate 0 points Default officer choice
Officers

a
M
Capitaine de Vaisseau 9 points
a
M
Contre-Amiral 20 points Only allowed in fleets of 150 points or more
a
M
Vice-Amiral d'escadre 26 points Only allowed in fleets of 300 points or more
a

Core Fleet
Bourrasque-class Destroyer 13 points - You may upgrade any or all ships to:
Destroyer
division

1 - 3 Ships L'Adroit-class Destroyer +0 points

La Melpomène-class Torpedo
9 points
Boat
0 - 3 Ships

Bourrasque-class Destroyer 13 points - You may upgrade any or all ships to:
Destroyer
division

1 - 3 Ships L'Adroit-class Destroyer +0 points

Chacal-class Contre-Torpilleur 16 points

Destroyer
division

1 - 4 Ships
Large
 Close Cover
Le Fantastique-class Contre-
Division
20 points
Torpilleur
10th

1 - 3 Ships

Dunkerque-class Battleship 102 points

Division
Battle

1 - 2 Ships
1st

La Galissonniére-class Light
division
Cruiser

35 points
Cruiser
1 - 3 Ships

Distant Cover
Courbet-class Battleship 50 points
Land based air Submarine Battleship
division

1 - 2 Ships

Redoutable-class Submarine 22 points - You may upgrade one ship per fleet to:
support

1 - 2 Ships Surcouf-class Submarine +0 points

Dewoitine D.376 5 points

0 - 2 Flights
support

Gourdou-Leseurre 812 HY 4 points

0 - 2 Flights
Latécoère 298 8 points
0 - 2 Flights

Mediterranean Fleet
The Mediterranean Fleet was to counter the Italian presence in the Mediterranean. The fleet contained the aging Bretagne-class Battleships
which were due to be replaced by the new Richelieu-class Battleships.

Mediterranean Fleet
Order of Battle: France 1940
Event: Mediterranean Fleet
Fleet type: Battle Fleet

Officer
M
Capitaine de Frégate 0 points Default officer choice
Officers

a
M
Capitaine de Vaisseau 9 points
a
M
Contre-Amiral 20 points Only allowed in fleets of 150 points or more
a
M
Vice-Amiral d'escadre 26 points Only allowed in fleets of 300 points or more
a
 Core Fleet
division Suffren-class Heavy Cruiser 34 points
Cruiser

1 - 2 Ships

Algérie-class Heavy Cruiser 39 points

0 - 1 Ships

Bourrasque-class Destroyer 13 points - You may upgrade any or all ships to:
Destroyer
division

1 - 3 Ships L'Adroit-class Destroyer +0 points

Bourrasque-class Destroyer 13 points - You may upgrade any or all ships to:
Destroyer

1 - 3 Ships L'Adroit-class Destroyer +0 points

division

Close Cover
Duquesne-class Heavy Cruiser 31 points - Instead of heavy cruisers, you may equip the squadron
division
Cruiser

1 - 2 Ships with 1- 3:

Suffren-class Heavy Cruiser 34 points La Galissonniére-class Light Cruiser 35 points

0 - 1 Ships

Vauquelin-class Contre-
16 points - You may upgrade any or all ships to:
Large Destroyer

Torpilleur
1 - 3 Ships Aigle-class Contre-Torpilleur +0 points
division

- You may upgrade up to two ships to:

Chacal-class Contre-Torpilleur +0 points
La Melpomène-class Torpedo
9 points
Boat
0 - 3 Ships
Submarine

Redoutable-class Submarine 22 points - You may upgrade any or all ships to:
support

1 - 2 Ships Circé-class Submarine -1 points

Minerve-class Submarine -1 points
Sirène-class Submarine -1 points

Distant Cover
Land based air Seaplane Battleship

Bretagne-class Battleship 58 points - Instead of 1-3 Bretagne-class Battleships you may instead
division

1 - 2 Ships select one:

Bretagne-class Battleship (L) 52 points Richelieu-class Battleship 170 points

Lorraine

Commandant Teste-class 14 points - Seaplane tender loadout options:

tender

Seaplane Tender 0-2 Latécoère 298 +8 points

0 - 1 Ships 0-1 Loire 130 +6 points

Dewoitine D.376 5 points

0 - 2 Flights
support

LeO H-257bis 4 points - You may upgrade any or all flights to:
0 - 2 Flights Gourdou-Leseurre 812 HY +0 points

Latécoère 298 8 points

0 - 2 Flights
 Officers
These officers can be used instead of the standard officers if the fleet lists allow it.