Operation Catapult
E1013732
Operation Catapult was a controversial World War II British naval action in July 1940 in which the Royal Navy attacked and neutralized elements of the French fleet to prevent them from falling into German hands after France’s armistice with Germany.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Operation Catapult canonical | 3 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
World War II military operation
ⓘ
naval operation ⓘ |
| aftermath |
Vichy France broke off diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
used by German and Vichy propaganda against Britain ⓘ |
| belligerent |
United Kingdom
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Vichy France NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| carriedOutBy | Royal Navy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| casualties | over 1,000 French sailors killed at Mers-el-Kébir ⓘ |
| cause | France’s armistice with Germany in June 1940 ⓘ |
| characterizedAs |
controversial
ⓘ
preemptive strike ⓘ |
| commander |
Dudley North
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
James Somerville NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| component |
attack on French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
negotiations and stand-off at Alexandria ⓘ operations against French ships at Dakar ⓘ seizure of French ships in British ports ⓘ |
| conflict | World War II ⓘ |
| country | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| legalStatus | disputed under international law ⓘ |
| location |
Alexandria, Egypt
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Dakar, French West Africa NERFINISHED ⓘ Mers-el-Kébir NERFINISHED ⓘ Oran NERFINISHED ⓘ Plymouth, United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ Portsmouth, United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableShipDamaged | French battleship Dunkerque NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableShipEscaped | French battleship Strasbourg GENERATED ⓘ |
| notableShipSunk | French battleship Bretagne NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| objective | to prevent the French fleet from falling into German hands ⓘ |
| opposedBy | Marcel-Bruno Gensoul NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| orderedBy | Winston Churchill NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| partOf | Battle of the Atlantic NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Armistice of 22 June 1940
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Free French Forces NERFINISHED ⓘ Vichy France NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| result |
major French warships at Mers-el-Kébir neutralized
ⓘ
severe deterioration of Anglo-French relations ⓘ strengthening of British naval security in the Mediterranean ⓘ |
| startDate | 1940-07-03 ⓘ |
| target |
French Navy
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
French aircraft carrier Béarn NERFINISHED ⓘ French battleship Bretagne NERFINISHED ⓘ French battleship Dunkerque NERFINISHED ⓘ French battleship Provence NERFINISHED ⓘ French battleship Strasbourg NERFINISHED ⓘ French destroyers at Mers-el-Kébir ⓘ French submarines in British ports ⓘ |
| timePeriod | July 1940 ⓘ |
Referenced by (3)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.