JWE
Posts: 6580
Joined: 7/19/2005 Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: afspret Wasn't New Caledonia Vichy? I seem to remember reading somewhere that they wouldn't co-operate with or let Ghormely set up his HQ on land in Noumea, but when Halsey took over, he really didn't give them a choice in the matter! At the start of Scens 15 & 16 in WitP (the only ones I've played other than the tutorial), Noumea and the surrounding bases all belong to the US and there is already a USN Base Force established @ Noumea. So, if New Caledonia is Vichy, wouldn't it seem logical to have some French troops present? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. There was a certain sensitivity that the French exhibited. It wasn't directed at anybody, it was just there. As to New Cal: It was utter confusion. The governor, Georges Pelicier, was reluctantly pro-Vichy; the garrison commander was very pro-Vichy; the population was FFL; the governor left in disgust in September ’41 and the garrison commander took over, arresting FFL supporters, but was ignored; a FFL official, Henri Camille Sautot, appointed resident in the New Hebrides, Vichyites deported to Indochine; the Navy didn’t really support De Gaulle that much, and some skippers (Capt of the Dumont D'urville ) were very pro-Vichy. Everybody and anybody claimed control over French Oceania – chaos reigned! This was the tragedy of France after 1940. Officers and administrators honored their duty, loyalty and oaths, to France, but which France was the right one? Duty to the Nation? (the Vichy Govt), or duty to the idea of France? (the FFL), and which faction? (De Gaulle or Muselier/Koenig/Giraud, ad infinitem). It was “nous sommes trahis! sauve qui peut!” time where every skipper, every administrator, every citoyen(enne), had to reach deep into their souls and decide where their honor took them. For that reason, it’s very difficult to develop an OOB for FNFL ships, early war. The ships that technically “existed” may, or may not, willingly cooperate under certain circumstances. All we have to go on is apocryphal and anecdotal references to individual vessels.
_____________________________
|