Churchill feared France would declare war on UK [View all]
A 1940 telegram sold at auction in London on Sunday revealed that British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill feared France was about declare war on Britain, after a naval skirmish off the coast of Algeria.
Winston Churchill feared that France was about to declare war on Britain in 1940, according to a telegram sent from the British prime minister to governors of the colonies and sold at a London auction on Sunday.
The message, dated July 4 1940, was sent the day after Britain attacked the French fleet in west Algeria to prevent its assets from falling into enemy hands.
In the top-secret message, Churchill justified the raid, which claimed the lives of 1,297 French sailors.
"British naval forces morning 3rd July took up station outside Oran and asked the French naval authorities to take certain steps to prevent a number of important French naval units at this port from falling into German hands undamaged," he said in the telegram, published in the Times newspaper ahead of the auction.
"The French declined to take these steps. Heavy action ensued between British and French naval forces, with great and much regretted loss to the French.
http://www.thelocal.fr/20131104/churchill-feared-france-would-declare-war-on-uk
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