Britain and America’s ‘Vichy Gamble’

Abstract

With the breakdown of the economic discussions in Madrid and the failure of attempts to draw North Africa back into the war, most of the momentum had gone out of British policy towards Vichy in the early months of 1941, and a pessimistic appreciation of likely developments in Franco-German relations which Eden submitted to the Cabinet in early February had little to offer in terms of an effective British response.¹ Even when the danger of Laval’s return to power had passed, the ascendancy of Darlan removed any hope of a favourable evolution on the part of the Vichy government. Darlan, indeed, was thought to be even more dangerous than Laval, partly because he was the more ‘respectable’ politician and partly because of his feelings of bitter animosity towards the British.²