DK - World War II Map by Map

56 GERMANY TRIUMPHANT 1939–1941

Me

dit

err

anea

n Sea

Sahara

INDIAN

OCEAN

A

T

L

A

N

T

I

C

O

C

E

A

N

Fr

om

T

ou

lo

n

ANGLO-

EGYPTIAN

SUDAN

EGYPT

FRENCH WEST AFRICA

UNION OF

SOUTH AFRICA

SOUTH-WEST

AFRICA

ANGOLA

TANGANYIKA

TERRITORY

BELGIAN

CONGO

CHAD

OUBANGI-

CHARI

ALGERIA

FRENCH NORTH

AFRICA

LIBYA

NIGERIA

CA

M

ER

O

O

N

S

MO

YE

N

C

O

N

G

O

FR

E

N

C

H

E

Q

U

A

T

O

R

IA

L

A

F

R

I

C

A

RIO DE ORO

SPANISH MOROCCO

MOROCCO

NYASALAND

MADAGASCAR

SOUTHERN

RHODESIA

NORTHERN

RHODESIA

ITALIAN

SOMALILAND

UGANDA

KENYA

TURKEY

PORTUGAL

SPAIN

GREECE

GOLD

COAST

GABON

M

O

Z

A

M

B

I

Q

U

E

BE

C

HU

AN

ALAN

D

TUNISIA

PORTUGUESE

GUINEA FRENCH GUINEA

SIERRA

LEONE

LIBERIA

MAURITANIA

UPPER VOLTA

IVORY

COAST DAHOMEY

FRENCH SUDAN FRENCH NIGER

SENEGAL

THE GAMBIA

RIO MUNI

BASUTOLAND

SWAZILAND

BRITISH

SOMALILAND

ETHIOPIA

FRENCH

SOMALILAND

ERITREA

TRANSJORDAN

SYRIA

R

e

d

(^)
S
e
a
Fr
o
m
L
iv
er
po
ol
Cape Verde
Islands
Canary
Islands
Casablanca
Agadir
Ifni
St. Louis
Dakar
Freetown
Lagos
Tananarive
(Antananarivo)
Tangier
Gibraltar
Oran
Mers-el-Kébir
Algiers
Toulon
Djibouti
July 3, 1940 French battleship
Strasbourg and a squadron of
cruisers escape from Oran to
the base at Toulon in France.
Nov 12, 1940 Gabon surrenders
after the Free French invade; it joins
the rest of French Equatorial Africa
in supporting the Free French.
Nov 8–16, 1942 The
Anglo-American invasion of
French North Africa prompts the
German invasion of Vichy France.
Vichy French
territory from
Jun 22, 1940
Under Free French
control, Dec 1942
Free French
territory from
Nov 12, 1940
Under Axis control,
Nov 1942–May 1943
DE GAULLE ESTABLISHES A BASE IN AFRICA
SEPTEMBER 25, 1940–MAY 1943
After the Dakar raid, French West Africa declared
its loyalty to Vichy France. De Gaulle instead
established a base in the Cameroons from which
he began rallying support for the Free French. By
November 1940, all of French Equatorial Africa
was under the control of the Free French, and
they gained all but one of France’s African colonies
within two years.
5
◁ N’oubliez pas Oran! (Don’t forget Oran!)
A French soldier struggles to stay afloat ahead of burning
warships. This German poster printed during the French
occupation depicts the destruction of the French fleet by
the British navy at Oran, which aimed to prevent the fleet
from falling into German hands.
Sep 17–21, 1940
Anglo–Free-French Force
arrives at Freetown.
THE RAID ON DAKAR
SEPTEMBER 21–25, 1940
De Gaulle conceived a plan to establish a base for
the French resistance in West Africa by occupying
Dakar in Senegal; this plan gained British support.
The British and Free French sailed to British-
controlled Sierra Leone on September 17, and
on September 23 attempted to land at Dakar. By
then, however, a French naval force had arrived
from Toulon; it opened fire on the Allies, forcing
them to abandon the raid on September 25.
Route of Anglo–Free-French Force
Route of French Navy
Raid on Dakar, Sep 23–25, 1940
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