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The British later explained that it be came clear that Dakar could not be taken without "a major military operation," which Britain did not wish to undertake against the former ally. But this rationalization was not enough for the rest of the world to swallow. No explanation would make Dakar anything but defeat. Furthermore, it was a serious defeat. Dakar, being the westernmost point on Africa's bulge, potentially commands the Atlantic. It is the terminus of airlines from Europe and interior Africa. It is only 1,700 miles from the tip of Brazil. In German hands it would play merry Neptune with Britain's lanes around Africa—Britain's only sea passage to the Orient with the Mediterranean closed. This winter Britain may sorely need a back door to the Southern Theatre.
Quipped a gleeful Roman: "All De Gaulle is divided into three parts."