Confusions and Capitulations

Except for the death in the air of the war's most celebrated casualty to date, the Southern Theatre provided little action other than minor border and naval raids. But of confusion, countermand, cross-purposes and capitulation there was dramatic news aplenty.

As the week ended in London, Great Britain formally recognized long-nosed General Charles de Gaulle, with his London recruiting committee, as "the leader of all free Frenchmen, wherever they may be, who rally to him in support of the Allied cause." But the British Foreign Office hedged when the General appeared to be shy of supporters. To recognize his group as France's government while the U.S. recognized Petain's regime, would have been embarrassing indeed.

Bound In Morocco. General Auguste Nogues (pronounced "no-guess"), commander in chief of North Africa and Resident General of Morocco, had crisply announced that all territory under him would continue to be held, his crack Moroccan armies continue to fight. When Edouard Daladier arrived at Casablanca to argue with him, General Nogues, who served under the late, great Marshal Lyautey in building France's African Empire, arrested M. Daladier, kept him aboard his steamer Massilia guarded by Senegalese troopers. Off Casablanca lay six French cruisers, 21 submarines, 20 trawlers and minesweepers, 60 tankers and other vessels; also the incomplete new battleship Jean Bart, towed down from Brest with only four forward guns mounted. These, too, were to defend French North Africa.

Presently, in Casablanca, arrived the man whom great Lyautey designated in 1916 to succeed him as Governor of Morocco: General Henri Joseph Eugene Gouraud. the white-whiskered "Lion of Champagne." who, wounded at Gallipoli, had his right arm amputated instead of nursed along, so that he could get back into action a month sooner. Whatever General Gouraud said to General Nogues, it had instant effect. Presently the latter, and also Governor General Georges Le Beau of Algeria, saluted the Petain Government and announced "an end to hostilities" in North Africa.

In Syria, reputedly at the behest of his predecessor, General Maxime Weygand, Commander in Chief Eugene Mittelhausser of France's Army of the Near East likewise first denounced, then honored the Petain armistices. This announcement affected the actions of a dozen French warships, including at least three battleships still with the British at Alexandria. The attitudes of the commanders of these French ships remained unknown, but farther east, French surrender of Djibouti to the Italians gravely endangered British control of the Strait of Bab el Mandeb, far gate of the Red Sea.

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