Anglo French Supreme War Council
Encyclopedia
The Anglo-French Supreme War Council, sometimes known as the Supreme War Council (SWC), was established to oversee joint military strategy at the start of the Second World War. Most of its deliberations took place during the period of the Phoney War, with its first meeting at Abbeville on 12 September 1939. The final three sessions were held in France (Paris, Briare and Tours) during the German Blitzkrieg
of May and June 1940.
on 12 September 1939 with Britain represented by the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain
, and Lord Chatfield
, the French delegation being headed by their Prime Minister, Édouard Daladier
, and General Maurice Gamelin
. The next meeting took place at Hove
on 22 September 1939. At both meetings, discussion centred on Italy and whether it would be possible to deploy military force at Salonika or Istanbul
without provoking Benito Mussolini
. With its huge army mobilised but idle, the French feared an ebbing of military morale and were accordingly bellicose and impatient for action; Britain, on the other hand, shrank from such measures. At the Hove meeting there was also discussion about munitions production and reinforcements to the air and anti-aircraft defences in France. The British party at Hove consisted of Neville Chamberlain
(Prime Minister), Lord Halifax (Foreign Secretary), Sir Alexander Cadogan (Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office) and Edward Bridges (Cabinet Secretary). France was represented by Édouard Daladier
(Prime Minister), General Maurice Gamelin
, Admiral François Darlan
(C-in-C French Navy), Raoul Dautry
(Minister of Munitions), and Jean Monnet
(Chairman of the Franco-British Economic Co-ordination Committee. Chamberlain stated that the Allies could not prevent a German intervention into Yugoslavia
. At this and the two further meetings in 1939, on 17 November (in Paris) and 19 December, the French turned down a British scheme to bomb industrial targets in the Ruhr
if the Germans were to invade Belgium. The French view was that such action would not stop the invasion of Belgium, but it would risk retaliation by the Luftwaffe
against Britain and France.
The meeting of the SWC held in Paris on 5 February 1940 was the first to be attended by Winston Churchill, who, as First Lord of the Admiralty, had been invited to participate by Neville Chamberlain. Here the British rejected France’s proposal for an expedition to Petsamo
in Finland
to help the Finns in the Winter War
for fear that this would provoke Soviet Union
. Sir Alexander Cadogan, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, described it as a ‘silly scheme’. However, a French plan to send forces to Narvik
was approved – this being dependent on agreement from Norway
and Sweden
. The meeting was described by General Ironside
as having been harmonious with ‘everyone purring with pleasure. Wondered if we should all be in the state if we had a little adversity to touch us up.’ In the event, Norway and Sweden, fearful of compromising their neutrality, did not consent to the Narvik plan. The Scandinavian view was interpreted differently by Britain and France – the former taking the view that the operation should be cancelled, but the French maintaining that it had been agreed that the operation should proceed regardless of opposition. However, events overtook the impasse when, on 13 March, the Finns agreed an armistice with the Soviet Union.
The sixth meeting of the SWC was held in London on 28 March 1940 with Britain represented by the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain
, Lord Halifax, Winston Churchill
, Oliver Stanley
and Sir Kingsley Wood
. This was the first to be attended by Paul Reynaud
, the new French Prime Minister, who was accompanied by César Campinchi
, the Naval Minister, Victor Laurent-Eynac, the Aviation Minister, M. Charles Corbin
(the French Ambassador), M. Alexis Léger, General Maurice Gamelin
, Admiral Darlan, General Joseph Vuillemin
and General Koeltz. The British were firmly opposed to French plans to bomb Russian oil fields in the Caucasus
in order to deprive Germany of Soviet oil supplies. The French agreed to what later became known as Operation Royal Marine, the floating of mines up the Rhine to damage bridges and disrupt barge traffic. However, Reynaud was unable to obtain the approval of his cabinet for such a mining of the Rhine; accordingly the British refused to go along with the plan to mine the waters off the Norwegian coast at Narvik. Politically, the main thrust of this meeting was joint communiqué declaring that: 'Both Governments mutually undertake that during the present war they will neither negotiate nor conclude an armistice or treaty of peace except by mutual agreement. They undertake to maintain after conclusion of peace a community of action for so long as may be necessary'.
In Paris on 5 April, at a meeting which was not of the SWC, Churchill pressed for Operation Royal Marine but, fearing German reprisals, the French refused to countenance any mining of the Rhine. Churchill therefore decided that Britain alone would undertake the mining off Narvik; this action (Operation Wilfred
) was planned for 8 April. However, in the meantime, the Germans had launched Operation Weserübung
, the invasion of Norway and Denmark. Paul Reynaud, Édouard Daladier and Admiral Darlan flew to London for an emergency meeting of the SWC on 9 April. Here it was resolved that an Anglo-French task force would be sent to Norway; but the operation (Plan R 4
) was a failure - not only did it prove impossible to stop the export of iron ore from Scandinavia to Germany, but the troops had to be evacuated in what was known as Operation Alphabet
.
A further meeting of the Council took place in Paris on 22 and 23 April when it was agreed that the Allies would stand fast in Norway; Trondheim
and Narvik
would continue to be the main objectives. It was also decided that the RAF would, without further discussion, bomb the Ruhr
if the Germans were to invade Holland or Belgium.
When the Supreme War Council met on 27 April, the French hoped that Britain would postpone the evacuation of Norway, but this was not to be. Reynaud was furious, deploring 'the old men [in London] who do not know how to take a risk', and returning to Paris with influenza. There was acrimony on both sides - the French convinced that Albion
was indeed perfidious and the British stereotyping their ally as 'temperamental'.
On 16 May, Churchill flew to Paris, with Sir John Dill
, Vice-Chief of the Imperial General Staff, General Hastings Ismay
, his deputy as Defence Minister, and Air Marshal Joubert de la Ferté, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff. The delegation arrived in Paris during the afternoon and found the French in a state verging on paralysis. General Maurice Gamelin
explained that the Germans had broken through on a 50-kilometre front and had already advanced 60 kilometres inward from Sedan
. Churchill asked about the strategic reserve - Gamelin replied that there was none. The British Prime Minister then inquired when and where Gamelin proposed to attack the flanks of the bulge. The French general replied with a hopeless shrug and the words: "Inferiority of numbers, inferiority of equipment, inferiority of method." Six more squadrons were requested for France, over and above the four additional RAF squadrons which had already that morning been authorised. If the French request were heeded, it would leave just 25 squadrons for home defence - the final limit. Churchill explained that a minimum of 39 fighter squadrons was needed to defend British war industries. Bomber aircraft, he argued, would be better employed attacking the Ruhr
; they were unsuitable against tanks. However, the same evening, Churchill warned his War Cabinet
that more aircraft should be committed for fear that French resistance would crumble as swiftly as that of the Poles. French morale was accordingly raised, but matters were not as they seemed. The six extra squadrons were to be based in Kent
and would operate from French airfields only during daylight hours. Moreover, three would fly in the mornings and three in the afternoons; and three had already been committed to France as part of Lord Gort's air power. Over the coming three to four days, the strength of the British Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF) would be further reduced.
There was a meeting of the SWC in Paris on 22 May 1940.
A private meeting between Churchill and Reynaud took place over lunch in London on 26 May. Both men deal with the meeting in their memoirs but the precise details are confused. Churchill says that the French prime minister 'dwelt not obscurely with the possible French withdrawal from the war'. Reynaud pressed for more British air support and warned that if the Battle of France were lost, Pétain would urge strongly for an armistice. Yet it seems that Reynaud did not directly ask Britain to release France from its promise made on 28 March not to enter into a separate armistice with Germany. Another meeting was held later the same day, now with Churchill, Chamberlain, Attlee, and Anthony Eden
. At this meeting, a suggestion was discussed which had previously been voiced by Lord Halifax - namely the involvement of Italy in a peace conference. If Benito Mussolini
would help to safeguard the independence of Britain and France, it would be possible to discuss Italian claims in the Mediterreanean. The latter involved the coast of French Somaliland
- Djibouti
and the Addis Ababa
railway; another concession would be the internationalisation of Malta
, Gibraltar
and Suez
. However, the British opposed such concessions and Churchill confirmed as much in a telegram to Paris the same evening. Despite a great deal of internal opposition, the French did made an approach to Mussolini at the end of the month, but it was scornfully ignored by Rome.
On 31 May 1940, Churchill flew again to Paris for a meeting of the SWC, this time with Clement Attlee
and Generals John Dill
and Hastings Ismay
. Discussions were held at the French Ministry of War on the deteriorating military situation with a French delegation consisting of Reynaud, Philippe Pétain
and Maxime Weygand
. Also present was Churchill's personal representative to the French Prime Minister, General Sir Edward Spears. Three main points were considered: Narvik
, the Dunkirk evacuation and the prospect of an Italian invasion of France. Reynaud complained that at the evacuation, Operation Dynamo, more British troops had been taken off than French. Churchill promised to do everything to redress the balance. During discussions after the meeting, a group formed around Churchill, Pétain and Spears. One of the French officials mentioned the possibility of a separate surrender. Speaking to Pétain, Spears pointed out that such an event would provoke a blockade of France by Britain and the bombardment of all French ports in German hands. Churchill declared that Britain would fight on whatever happened.
where the French army headquarters had withdrawn. Winston Churchill
, Anthony Eden
, General Sir John Dill
(Chief of the Imperial General Staff), General Ismay and other staff officers, including General Sir Edward Spears, met the French leader. Reynaud and his cabinet had been forced to leave Paris and the meeting took place at the chateau which was HQ of General Maxime Weygand
. Also present was General Charles de Gaulle
; Spears had not met him before and was impressed with his bearing. As wrangling continued over the level of support from Britain, Spears suddenly became aware that 'the battle of France was over and that no one believed in miracles'. The next day Weygand's catastrophic account of the military situation reinforced his pessimism. Despite assurances from Admiral Darlan, the British were worried that the powerful French fleet might fall into German hands.
What would prove to be the final meeting of the Anglo French Supreme War Council took place at the Préfecture
in Tours on 13 June. The British delegation was composed of Churchill, Lord Halifax, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Alexander Cadogan, General ‘Pug’ Ismay and General Spears. The French Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud, was accompanied by Paul Baudoin
, a member of the War Committee. Spears found the atmosphere quite different from that at Briare, where Churchill had expressed good will, sympathy and sorrow; now it was like a business meeting, with the British keenly appraising the situation from its own point of view. Reynaud declared that unless immediate help was assured by the USA, the French government would have to give up the struggle. He acknowledged that the two countries had agreed never to conclude a separate peace – but France was physically incapable of carrying on. The news was received by the British with shock and horror. Churchill said with determination, "We must fight, we will fight, and that is why we must ask our friends to fight on." Prime Minister Reynaud acknowledged that Britain would continue the war, affirming that France would also continue the struggle from North Africa, if necessary - but only if there were a chance of success. That success could come only if America were prepared to join the fray. The French leader called for British understanding, asking again for France to be released from her obligation not to conclude a separate peace now that she could do no more.
The day ended in confusion - Churchill flew back to London without speaking to the French cabinet, as had been promised by Reynaud. The ministers were dismayed and angry; Spears was depressed, realising that 'an opportunity that might not recur had been missed'. He was at a loss to understand why a meeting had not taken place - had Reynaud simply forgotten? Did Reynaud wish to explain the situation to the ministers himself? In any event, his ministers were disillusioned and felt abandoned. Spears believed that this event played its part in swaying the majority of the cabinet towards surrender. He was sure that 'by the night of 13 June, the possibility of France remaining in the war had almost disappeared'. The only hope rested on the decision of President Roosevelt - would America now join the war?
(BEF), Lord Gort was not a member; yet his French counterpart, General Maurice Gamelin
was. In the view of General Edward Louis Spears
the failure to include the British C-in-C was a mistake: 'No government should ever lose effective touch with the commander of its army.'
; it was responsible for joint economic planning and oversaw ten executive committees which were created in January of the following year. In December 1939, an Anglo-French financial agreement was signed to ensure that contributions to the war effort would be made according to the respective national wealth of each country - France would contribute 40% with Britain responsible for 60%. In addition to the latter, trading agreements and industrial agreements were signed on 16 February 1940 and 7 March 1940 respectively. Paul Reynaud spoke of 'a unity of purpose' which had created a solidarity between the two countries which was more than an alliance. It was agreed that there would be no alteration to the rate of exchange between the two currencies during the war and that each country would be able to cover its requirements in the other's currency without the need to find gold.
, asked the Minister of Information
(MOI) to provide the French press with details of the arrival of British forces in order to prove that Britain was resolved to contribute fully to the war effort. However, this created tensions with the War Office
, which imposed censorship. As a result nothing could be revealed about the British Army and the Royal Air Force in France. This led to absurd situations, as when an American correspondent asked for the text of a leaflet which had been dropped by the Royal Air Force
over Germany. The request was refused by the censors on the grounds that 'they were not allowed to disclose information which might be of value to the enemy'! In October 1939, the disparity in troop numbers became a cause for concern in France, which had mobilised 3.5 million men; yet a mere 158,000 British troops had been sent across the English Channel
. The Ambassador reported to London hoping that Britain would declare emphatically that these were just an advance guard, and that reinforcements were being swiftly despatched.
The Ambassador further asked the MOI to ensure that there were more articles about France in British newspapers. The few that were published were likely to offend: 'the Englishman in France must be severe with begging children and be prepared to find the French mean and grasping'. There was a suggestion that the Marseillaise be played in cinemas after God Save the King, another that the two languages be made compulsory for pupils in each country. It was even put forward that unemployed French chefs in London should tour British schools to introduce children to French cuisine.
A more ambitious idea came from a Foreign Office official - this was to allow the two countries to operate internationally as a 'single unit' after the war. A committee was established under Lord Maurice Hankey to examine the possibilities of such a union, thus presaging the proposal made by Britain on 16 June 1940 - an attempt to prevent the French from seeking a separate armistice with Germany.
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
of May and June 1940.
During the Phoney War
Its first meeting was at AbbevilleAbbeville
Abbeville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Location:Abbeville is located on the Somme River, from its modern mouth in the English Channel, and northwest of Amiens...
on 12 September 1939 with Britain represented by the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
, and Lord Chatfield
Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield
Admiral of the Fleet The Rt Hon. Sir Alfred Ernle Montacute Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield, GCB, OM, KCMG, CVO, PC was a Royal Navy officer and held the position of First Sea Lord from 1933 to 1939...
, the French delegation being headed by their Prime Minister, Édouard Daladier
Édouard Daladier
Édouard Daladier was a French Radical politician and the Prime Minister of France at the start of the Second World War.-Career:Daladier was born in Carpentras, Vaucluse. Later, he would become known to many as "the bull of Vaucluse" because of his thick neck and large shoulders and determined...
, and General Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gustave Gamelin was a French general. Gamelin is best remembered for his unsuccessful command of the French military in 1940 during the Battle of France and his steadfast defense of republican values....
. The next meeting took place at Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
on 22 September 1939. At both meetings, discussion centred on Italy and whether it would be possible to deploy military force at Salonika or Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
without provoking Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
. With its huge army mobilised but idle, the French feared an ebbing of military morale and were accordingly bellicose and impatient for action; Britain, on the other hand, shrank from such measures. At the Hove meeting there was also discussion about munitions production and reinforcements to the air and anti-aircraft defences in France. The British party at Hove consisted of Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
(Prime Minister), Lord Halifax (Foreign Secretary), Sir Alexander Cadogan (Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office) and Edward Bridges (Cabinet Secretary). France was represented by Édouard Daladier
Édouard Daladier
Édouard Daladier was a French Radical politician and the Prime Minister of France at the start of the Second World War.-Career:Daladier was born in Carpentras, Vaucluse. Later, he would become known to many as "the bull of Vaucluse" because of his thick neck and large shoulders and determined...
(Prime Minister), General Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gustave Gamelin was a French general. Gamelin is best remembered for his unsuccessful command of the French military in 1940 during the Battle of France and his steadfast defense of republican values....
, Admiral François Darlan
François Darlan
Jean Louis Xavier François Darlan was a French naval officer. His great-grandfather was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar...
(C-in-C French Navy), Raoul Dautry
Raoul Dautry
Raoul Dautry was a French engineer, business leader and politician. He was born on 16 September 1880 at Montluçon in the department of Allier; he died on 21 August 1951 at Lourmarin in the department of Vaucluse.- Education and career :...
(Minister of Munitions), and Jean Monnet
Jean Monnet
Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet was a French political economist and diplomat. He is regarded by many as a chief architect of European Unity and is regarded as one of its founding fathers...
(Chairman of the Franco-British Economic Co-ordination Committee. Chamberlain stated that the Allies could not prevent a German intervention into Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. At this and the two further meetings in 1939, on 17 November (in Paris) and 19 December, the French turned down a British scheme to bomb industrial targets in the Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
if the Germans were to invade Belgium. The French view was that such action would not stop the invasion of Belgium, but it would risk retaliation by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
against Britain and France.
The meeting of the SWC held in Paris on 5 February 1940 was the first to be attended by Winston Churchill, who, as First Lord of the Admiralty, had been invited to participate by Neville Chamberlain. Here the British rejected France’s proposal for an expedition to Petsamo
Pechengsky District
Pechengsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the five in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is located to the northwest of the Kola Peninsula on the coast of the Barents Sea and borders with Finland in the south and southwest and with Norway in the west, northwest, and north...
in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
to help the Finns in the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
for fear that this would provoke Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Sir Alexander Cadogan, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, described it as a ‘silly scheme’. However, a French plan to send forces to Narvik
Narvik
is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...
was approved – this being dependent on agreement from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The meeting was described by General Ironside
Ironside
-Entertainment and literature:*Ironside , an American television series starring Raymond Burr*Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale, an urban fantasy novel by Holly Black-People:...
as having been harmonious with ‘everyone purring with pleasure. Wondered if we should all be in the state if we had a little adversity to touch us up.’ In the event, Norway and Sweden, fearful of compromising their neutrality, did not consent to the Narvik plan. The Scandinavian view was interpreted differently by Britain and France – the former taking the view that the operation should be cancelled, but the French maintaining that it had been agreed that the operation should proceed regardless of opposition. However, events overtook the impasse when, on 13 March, the Finns agreed an armistice with the Soviet Union.
The sixth meeting of the SWC was held in London on 28 March 1940 with Britain represented by the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
, Lord Halifax, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, Oliver Stanley
Oliver Stanley
Oliver Frederick George Stanley MC, PC was a prominent British Conservative politician who held many ministerial posts before his early death when it was expected he would soon assume higher office....
and Sir Kingsley Wood
Kingsley Wood
Sir Howard Kingsley Wood was an English Conservative politician. The son of a Wesleyan Methodist minister, he qualified as a solicitor, and successfully specialised in industrial insurance...
. This was the first to be attended by Paul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. He was the penultimate Prime Minister of the Third Republic and vice-president of the Democratic Republican Alliance center-right...
, the new French Prime Minister, who was accompanied by César Campinchi
César Campinchi
César Campinchi was a lawyer and French statesman in the beginning of the 20th century....
, the Naval Minister, Victor Laurent-Eynac, the Aviation Minister, M. Charles Corbin
Charles Corbin
Charles Corbin was a French diplomat who served as ambassador to Britain before and during the early part of the Second World War, from 1933 to 27 June 1940.- Life and career :...
(the French Ambassador), M. Alexis Léger, General Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gustave Gamelin was a French general. Gamelin is best remembered for his unsuccessful command of the French military in 1940 during the Battle of France and his steadfast defense of republican values....
, Admiral Darlan, General Joseph Vuillemin
Joseph Vuillemin
General Joseph Vuillemin was a French military aviator who took part in both world wars.-First World War:In June 1915, he was promoted to captain and became a squadron commander in February 1918...
and General Koeltz. The British were firmly opposed to French plans to bomb Russian oil fields in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
in order to deprive Germany of Soviet oil supplies. The French agreed to what later became known as Operation Royal Marine, the floating of mines up the Rhine to damage bridges and disrupt barge traffic. However, Reynaud was unable to obtain the approval of his cabinet for such a mining of the Rhine; accordingly the British refused to go along with the plan to mine the waters off the Norwegian coast at Narvik. Politically, the main thrust of this meeting was joint communiqué declaring that: 'Both Governments mutually undertake that during the present war they will neither negotiate nor conclude an armistice or treaty of peace except by mutual agreement. They undertake to maintain after conclusion of peace a community of action for so long as may be necessary'.
In Paris on 5 April, at a meeting which was not of the SWC, Churchill pressed for Operation Royal Marine but, fearing German reprisals, the French refused to countenance any mining of the Rhine. Churchill therefore decided that Britain alone would undertake the mining off Narvik; this action (Operation Wilfred
Operation Wilfred
Operation Wilfred was a British naval operation during World War II that involved the mining of the channel between Norway and her offshore islands in order to prevent the transport of swedish iron ore through neutral Norwegian waters to be used to sustain the German war effort...
) was planned for 8 April. However, in the meantime, the Germans had launched Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
, the invasion of Norway and Denmark. Paul Reynaud, Édouard Daladier and Admiral Darlan flew to London for an emergency meeting of the SWC on 9 April. Here it was resolved that an Anglo-French task force would be sent to Norway; but the operation (Plan R 4
Plan R 4
Plan R 4 was the World War II British plan for an invasion of the neutral state of Norway in April 1940. Earlier the British had planned a similar intervention with France during the Winter War.-Background:...
) was a failure - not only did it prove impossible to stop the export of iron ore from Scandinavia to Germany, but the troops had to be evacuated in what was known as Operation Alphabet
Operation Alphabet
Operation Alphabet was an evacuation, authorized on May 24, 1940, of Allied troops from the harbour of Narvik in northern Norway marking the success of Nazi Germany's Operation Weserübung of April 9 and the end of the Allied campaign in Norway during World War II...
.
A further meeting of the Council took place in Paris on 22 and 23 April when it was agreed that the Allies would stand fast in Norway; Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
and Narvik
Narvik
is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...
would continue to be the main objectives. It was also decided that the RAF would, without further discussion, bomb the Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
if the Germans were to invade Holland or Belgium.
When the Supreme War Council met on 27 April, the French hoped that Britain would postpone the evacuation of Norway, but this was not to be. Reynaud was furious, deploring 'the old men [in London] who do not know how to take a risk', and returning to Paris with influenza. There was acrimony on both sides - the French convinced that Albion
Albion
Albion is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. Today, it is still sometimes used poetically to refer to the island or England in particular. It is also the basis of the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba...
was indeed perfidious and the British stereotyping their ally as 'temperamental'.
Crisis meetings in Paris
At 7.30 on the morning of 15 May, Winston Churchill, who had been Prime Minister for just five days, received a desperate telephone call from Paul Reynaud announcing that “the French were beaten […] that they had lost the battle.” Reynaud begged for all the aircraft and troops that could be spared. The British Prime Minister agreed to fly to Paris the following day to attend what would be the first crisis meeting of the SWC.On 16 May, Churchill flew to Paris, with Sir John Dill
John Dill
Field Marshal Sir John Greer Dill, GCB, CMG, DSO was a British commander in World War I and World War II. From May 1940 to December 1941 he was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, and subsequently in Washington, as Chief of the British Joint Staff...
, Vice-Chief of the Imperial General Staff, General Hastings Ismay
Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
General Hastings Lionel "Pug" Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay, KG, GCB, CH, DSO, PC was a British Indian Army officer and diplomat, remembered primarily for his role as Winston Churchill's chief military assistant during the Second World War and his service as the first Secretary General of NATO from 1952...
, his deputy as Defence Minister, and Air Marshal Joubert de la Ferté, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff. The delegation arrived in Paris during the afternoon and found the French in a state verging on paralysis. General Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gustave Gamelin was a French general. Gamelin is best remembered for his unsuccessful command of the French military in 1940 during the Battle of France and his steadfast defense of republican values....
explained that the Germans had broken through on a 50-kilometre front and had already advanced 60 kilometres inward from Sedan
Sedan, France
Sedan is a commune in France, a sub-prefecture of the Ardennes department in northern France.-Geography:The historic centre is built on a peninsula formed by an arc of the Meuse River. It is around from the Belgian border.-History:...
. Churchill asked about the strategic reserve - Gamelin replied that there was none. The British Prime Minister then inquired when and where Gamelin proposed to attack the flanks of the bulge. The French general replied with a hopeless shrug and the words: "Inferiority of numbers, inferiority of equipment, inferiority of method." Six more squadrons were requested for France, over and above the four additional RAF squadrons which had already that morning been authorised. If the French request were heeded, it would leave just 25 squadrons for home defence - the final limit. Churchill explained that a minimum of 39 fighter squadrons was needed to defend British war industries. Bomber aircraft, he argued, would be better employed attacking the Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
; they were unsuitable against tanks. However, the same evening, Churchill warned his War Cabinet
War Cabinet
A War Cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war. It is usually a subset of the full executive cabinet of ministers. It is also quite common for a War Cabinet to have senior military officers and opposition politicians as members....
that more aircraft should be committed for fear that French resistance would crumble as swiftly as that of the Poles. French morale was accordingly raised, but matters were not as they seemed. The six extra squadrons were to be based in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and would operate from French airfields only during daylight hours. Moreover, three would fly in the mornings and three in the afternoons; and three had already been committed to France as part of Lord Gort's air power. Over the coming three to four days, the strength of the British Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF) would be further reduced.
There was a meeting of the SWC in Paris on 22 May 1940.
A private meeting between Churchill and Reynaud took place over lunch in London on 26 May. Both men deal with the meeting in their memoirs but the precise details are confused. Churchill says that the French prime minister 'dwelt not obscurely with the possible French withdrawal from the war'. Reynaud pressed for more British air support and warned that if the Battle of France were lost, Pétain would urge strongly for an armistice. Yet it seems that Reynaud did not directly ask Britain to release France from its promise made on 28 March not to enter into a separate armistice with Germany. Another meeting was held later the same day, now with Churchill, Chamberlain, Attlee, and Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
. At this meeting, a suggestion was discussed which had previously been voiced by Lord Halifax - namely the involvement of Italy in a peace conference. If Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
would help to safeguard the independence of Britain and France, it would be possible to discuss Italian claims in the Mediterreanean. The latter involved the coast of French Somaliland
French Somaliland
French Somaliland was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. Established after the French signed various treaties between 1883 and 1887 with the then ruling Somali Sultans, the colony lasted from 1896 until 1946, when it became an overseas territory of France....
- Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
and the Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
railway; another concession would be the internationalisation of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and Suez
Suez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
. However, the British opposed such concessions and Churchill confirmed as much in a telegram to Paris the same evening. Despite a great deal of internal opposition, the French did made an approach to Mussolini at the end of the month, but it was scornfully ignored by Rome.
On 31 May 1940, Churchill flew again to Paris for a meeting of the SWC, this time with Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
and Generals John Dill
John Dill
Field Marshal Sir John Greer Dill, GCB, CMG, DSO was a British commander in World War I and World War II. From May 1940 to December 1941 he was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, and subsequently in Washington, as Chief of the British Joint Staff...
and Hastings Ismay
Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
General Hastings Lionel "Pug" Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay, KG, GCB, CH, DSO, PC was a British Indian Army officer and diplomat, remembered primarily for his role as Winston Churchill's chief military assistant during the Second World War and his service as the first Secretary General of NATO from 1952...
. Discussions were held at the French Ministry of War on the deteriorating military situation with a French delegation consisting of Reynaud, Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
and Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.Weygand initially fought against the Germans during the invasion of France in 1940, but then surrendered to and collaborated with the Germans as part of the Vichy France regime.-Early years:Weygand was born in Brussels...
. Also present was Churchill's personal representative to the French Prime Minister, General Sir Edward Spears. Three main points were considered: Narvik
Narvik
is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...
, the Dunkirk evacuation and the prospect of an Italian invasion of France. Reynaud complained that at the evacuation, Operation Dynamo, more British troops had been taken off than French. Churchill promised to do everything to redress the balance. During discussions after the meeting, a group formed around Churchill, Pétain and Spears. One of the French officials mentioned the possibility of a separate surrender. Speaking to Pétain, Spears pointed out that such an event would provoke a blockade of France by Britain and the bombardment of all French ports in German hands. Churchill declared that Britain would fight on whatever happened.
Meeting at Briare
The penultimate session was in France - on 11/12 June at the Chateau du Muguet near BriareBriare
Briare is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.Briare, the Brivodorum of the Romans, is situated at the extremity of the Briare Canal, which unites the Loire and its lateral canal with the Loing and so with the Seine. The lateral canal of the Loire crosses the Loire near...
where the French army headquarters had withdrawn. Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
, General Sir John Dill
John Dill
Field Marshal Sir John Greer Dill, GCB, CMG, DSO was a British commander in World War I and World War II. From May 1940 to December 1941 he was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, and subsequently in Washington, as Chief of the British Joint Staff...
(Chief of the Imperial General Staff), General Ismay and other staff officers, including General Sir Edward Spears, met the French leader. Reynaud and his cabinet had been forced to leave Paris and the meeting took place at the chateau which was HQ of General Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.Weygand initially fought against the Germans during the invasion of France in 1940, but then surrendered to and collaborated with the Germans as part of the Vichy France regime.-Early years:Weygand was born in Brussels...
. Also present was General Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
; Spears had not met him before and was impressed with his bearing. As wrangling continued over the level of support from Britain, Spears suddenly became aware that 'the battle of France was over and that no one believed in miracles'. The next day Weygand's catastrophic account of the military situation reinforced his pessimism. Despite assurances from Admiral Darlan, the British were worried that the powerful French fleet might fall into German hands.
Last ditch talks at Tours
Préfecture
A prefecture in France can refer to :*the Chef-lieu de département, the town in which the administration of a department is located;*the Chef-lieu de région, the town in which the administration of a region is located;...
in Tours on 13 June. The British delegation was composed of Churchill, Lord Halifax, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Alexander Cadogan, General ‘Pug’ Ismay and General Spears. The French Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud, was accompanied by Paul Baudoin
Paul Baudoin
Paul Baudouin was a French banker who became a politician.-Early years:Paul Baudouin was born into a wealthy family in Paris, and served as an artillery officer during The Great War in the French Army. In 1930 he became the Deputy Director and General Manager of the Bank of Indo-China...
, a member of the War Committee. Spears found the atmosphere quite different from that at Briare, where Churchill had expressed good will, sympathy and sorrow; now it was like a business meeting, with the British keenly appraising the situation from its own point of view. Reynaud declared that unless immediate help was assured by the USA, the French government would have to give up the struggle. He acknowledged that the two countries had agreed never to conclude a separate peace – but France was physically incapable of carrying on. The news was received by the British with shock and horror. Churchill said with determination, "We must fight, we will fight, and that is why we must ask our friends to fight on." Prime Minister Reynaud acknowledged that Britain would continue the war, affirming that France would also continue the struggle from North Africa, if necessary - but only if there were a chance of success. That success could come only if America were prepared to join the fray. The French leader called for British understanding, asking again for France to be released from her obligation not to conclude a separate peace now that she could do no more.
Churchill fails to address French cabinet
The day ended in confusion - Churchill flew back to London without speaking to the French cabinet, as had been promised by Reynaud. The ministers were dismayed and angry; Spears was depressed, realising that 'an opportunity that might not recur had been missed'. He was at a loss to understand why a meeting had not taken place - had Reynaud simply forgotten? Did Reynaud wish to explain the situation to the ministers himself? In any event, his ministers were disillusioned and felt abandoned. Spears believed that this event played its part in swaying the majority of the cabinet towards surrender. He was sure that 'by the night of 13 June, the possibility of France remaining in the war had almost disappeared'. The only hope rested on the decision of President Roosevelt - would America now join the war?
Military participation
When the composition of the SWC was decided, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary ForceBritish Expeditionary Force (World War II)
The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force....
(BEF), Lord Gort was not a member; yet his French counterpart, General Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gustave Gamelin was a French general. Gamelin is best remembered for his unsuccessful command of the French military in 1940 during the Battle of France and his steadfast defense of republican values....
was. In the view of General Edward Louis Spears
Louis Spears
Major-General Sir Edward Louis Spears, 1st Baronet, KBE, CB, MC was a British Army officer and Member of Parliament noted for his role as a liaison officer between British and French forces in two world wars....
the failure to include the British C-in-C was a mistake: 'No government should ever lose effective touch with the commander of its army.'
Organisations associated with the SWC
Associated bodies were the Anglo-French Purchasing Committee and the Anglo-French Coordinating Committee. The latter, announced in the Times on 28 November and set up in December 1939 was chaired by Jean MonnetJean Monnet
Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet was a French political economist and diplomat. He is regarded by many as a chief architect of European Unity and is regarded as one of its founding fathers...
; it was responsible for joint economic planning and oversaw ten executive committees which were created in January of the following year. In December 1939, an Anglo-French financial agreement was signed to ensure that contributions to the war effort would be made according to the respective national wealth of each country - France would contribute 40% with Britain responsible for 60%. In addition to the latter, trading agreements and industrial agreements were signed on 16 February 1940 and 7 March 1940 respectively. Paul Reynaud spoke of 'a unity of purpose' which had created a solidarity between the two countries which was more than an alliance. It was agreed that there would be no alteration to the rate of exchange between the two currencies during the war and that each country would be able to cover its requirements in the other's currency without the need to find gold.
Diplomatic activity in parallel with the SWC
Officials from both sides endeavoured to find ways to make the English and the French view each other more favourably. The British Ambassador, Sir Eric PhippsEric Phipps
Sir Eric Clare Edmund Phipps, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, PC was a British diplomat.-Family and early life:Phipps was the son of Sir Constantine Phipps, later British Ambassador to Belgium, and his wife Maria Jane...
, asked the Minister of Information
Minister of Information
The Ministry of Information , headed by the Minister of Information, was a United Kingdom government department created briefly at the end of World War I and again during World War II...
(MOI) to provide the French press with details of the arrival of British forces in order to prove that Britain was resolved to contribute fully to the war effort. However, this created tensions with the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
, which imposed censorship. As a result nothing could be revealed about the British Army and the Royal Air Force in France. This led to absurd situations, as when an American correspondent asked for the text of a leaflet which had been dropped by the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
over Germany. The request was refused by the censors on the grounds that 'they were not allowed to disclose information which might be of value to the enemy'! In October 1939, the disparity in troop numbers became a cause for concern in France, which had mobilised 3.5 million men; yet a mere 158,000 British troops had been sent across the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. The Ambassador reported to London hoping that Britain would declare emphatically that these were just an advance guard, and that reinforcements were being swiftly despatched.
The Ambassador further asked the MOI to ensure that there were more articles about France in British newspapers. The few that were published were likely to offend: 'the Englishman in France must be severe with begging children and be prepared to find the French mean and grasping'. There was a suggestion that the Marseillaise be played in cinemas after God Save the King, another that the two languages be made compulsory for pupils in each country. It was even put forward that unemployed French chefs in London should tour British schools to introduce children to French cuisine.
A more ambitious idea came from a Foreign Office official - this was to allow the two countries to operate internationally as a 'single unit' after the war. A committee was established under Lord Maurice Hankey to examine the possibilities of such a union, thus presaging the proposal made by Britain on 16 June 1940 - an attempt to prevent the French from seeking a separate armistice with Germany.