Churchill's toughest decision

About this episode

The episode discusses Winston Churchill's decision to attack a French fleet in 1940 and its implications for British-French relations during World War II.

In the summer of 1940, the Royal Navy attacked a French fleet moored off the coast of north Africa, killing almost 1,300 sailors. Winston Churchill described his decision to greenlight the operation as the toughest he ever had to take. But was it the right decision? Edward Abel Smith talks to Spencer Mizen about an incident that would shake Britain's wartime relations with France. ––––– GO BEYOND THE PODCAST To hear more from Edward Abel Smith, don't miss our podcast episode on the remarkable life of Nicholas Winton, the British Schindler, who helped hundreds of Jewish children escape Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War: https://bit.ly/4e80MrF Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Edward Abel Smith

Guest: Spencer Mizen

Topics covered

• World War II
• Winston Churchill
• military decisions
• British history
• France relations
• naval warfare

Keywords

• Churchill
• French fleet
• Royal Navy
• World War II
• military decision
• Edward Abel Smith
• Spencer Mizen
• naval attack
• historical analysis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Royal Navy

Places: north Africa, France

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