The State Department won the first engagement in its bloodless battle with Vichyfrance for control of Martinique. Admiral Georges Robert, goateed commissioner of French possessions in the West Indies, agreed last week to disarm all his warships.
Immobilized: the powerful old 22,146-ton aircraft carrier Beam; the 5,886-ton cruiser Emile Bertin; the 6,496-ton cruiser Jeanne D'Arc, at Guadeloupe; some small auxiliary craft. Most important, U.S. patrol vessels which have had to stand vigil will be freed for tasks elsewhere.
Negotiations continued on the hot little island of Martinique. There Rear Admiral John H....
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