Podcast:History Dispatches Published On: Fri Oct 17 2025 Description: On July 3, 1940, British forces attacked French ships at the naval base at Mers-el-Kébir on the coast of Algeria. The attack was part of a British plan to neutralize French ships to prevent them from falling into German hands after the Allied defeat in the Battle of France. The British attack killed nearly 1,300 French servicemen, and sank and damaged numerous vessels. It also seriously jeopardized French and English relations throughout the world. This is the story of the Battle of Mers-el-Kébir. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Mers-el-Kébir https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2022/august/force-h-mers-el-kebir Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Croiseur_de_bataille_Strasbourg_03-07-1940.jpg History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices