Hugues Canuel - The Fall and Rise of French Sea Power: France’s Quest for an Independent Naval Policy 1940–1963

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Studies in Naval History and Sea Power

Christopher M. Bell and James C. Bradford, editors

Studies in Naval History and Sea Power advances our understanding of sea power and its role in global security by publishing significant new scholarship on navies and naval affairs. The series presents specialists in naval history, as well as students of sea power, with works that cover the role of the worlds naval powers, from the ancient world to the navies and coast guards of today. The works in Studies in Naval History and Sea Power examine all aspects of navies and conflict at sea, including naval operations, strategy, and tactics, as well as the intersections of sea power and diplomacy, navies and technology, sea services and civilian societies, and the financing and administration of seagoing military forces.

Frances Quest for an Independent Naval Policy, 19401963

HUGUES CANUEL

Naval Institute Press

Annapolis, Maryland

Naval Institute Press

291 Wood Road

Annapolis, MD 21402

2021 by Hugues Canuel

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Canuel, Hugues, date, author.

Title: The fall and rise of French sea power : Frances quest for an independent naval policy, 19401963 / Hugues Canuel.

Other titles: Frances quest for an independent naval policy, 19401963

Description: Annapolis, Maryland : Naval Institute Press, 2021. | Series: Studies in naval history and sea power | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020044351 (print) | LCCN 2020044352 (ebook) | ISBN 9781682476161 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781682476307 (pdf) | ISBN 9781682476307 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: France. MarineHistory20th century. | Sea-powerFranceHistory20th century. | FranceHistory, Naval.

Classification: LCC VA503. C33 2021 (print) | LCC VA503 (ebook) | DDC 359/.03094409045dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020044351

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020044352

Print editions meet the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).

Printed in the United States of America.

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First printing

Map by Chris Robinson.

T he number of people who assisted me through the research and drafting of my previous PhD thesis and turning it into this book form are too numerous to mention all by names. Please accept my apologies in advance for any omission.

I am pleased to acknowledge the incomparable support provided by the staff of several institutions who tolerated with admirable patience the burden of guiding me through this endeavor, my first attempt at professional archival research. First and foremost, those in France: the Archives de lAssemble nationale in Paris, the Archives nationales in Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, the Service historique de la dfense in Vincennes and its affiliated section in Cherbourg, the chelon de Cherbourg. I also traveled to repositories outside of France in order to obtain contemporary views and perspectives from supporters and detractors of the French effort at pursuing an independent naval policy within a strategy of alliance: the NATO Archives Service in Brussels, Belgium; the National Archives in Kew, Great Britain; the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland; and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas.

I must also express my sincere appreciation to the librarians of the Department of National Defence, who provided me with essential assistance when I was working from homeport as I struggled through the Royal Military College doctoral program in war studies while a serving officer in the Royal Canadian Navy. I often needed to access the holdings of academic institutions in Canada and from around the world. The staff of the Information Resource Centre at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto, Ontario, as well as that of the National Defence Headquarters Library in Ottawa, Ontario, provided invaluable support in allowing me to pursue my research and check the archives remotely.

I would like to offer my gratitude to my supervising professor, Dr. Chris Madsen, from the Department of Defence Studies at the Canadian Forces College. His valued perspective, outstanding advice, and timely encouragement throughout this lengthy and occasionally frustrating endeavor played a key role in ensuring its completion. I have been extremely lucky to have a supervisor who cared so much about my work and responded to my numerous queries promptly, providing much-needed wisdom and order to my scattered thoughts. All glaring mistakes, silly misinterpretations, foolish assumptions, and erroneous conclusions that remain in the text are mine alone.

Last, it gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the role played by Christopher Bell, professor in the Department of History at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, who facilitated my introduction to the Naval Institute Pressand to all individuals from that prestigious publishing house involved in the publication of my book. Their wise and patient counsel during this long process proved essential in guiding this first-time author to success through the course of the past year.