(2 of 5)
1) from Libya and possibly the Middle East and Turkey toward Egypt and Suez; 2) from Libya down through French Equatorial Africa, the Belgian Congo and Portuguese Angola (by transport plane) toward British South Africa; 3) from Spain and Spanish Morocco across Weygand's Morocco and West Africa (by persuasion or force) toward Dakar. The road to Dakar has already been improved and Dakar is the strongest fortress on the Atlantic coast of Africa.
When this battle begins the U.S. cannot stand by. The U.S. must seize as many of the jumping-off places to South America as it can hold. Meanwhile the U.S. could do worse in preparing for the battle than to strengthen De Gaulle.
Fatal Fortnight. In the year since he began trying to build a Free French Empire out of what Germany left at Compiegne, General de Gaulle has won nearly two-fifths of the Empire—by mileage—to his cause. He succeeded where economics and geography and the accident of local leadership favored him. Where he failed, it was the fatal two weeks after the fall of France that caused his failure.
In France a handful of defeatist politicians surrendered to Germany in the belief that Britain was doomed. They assured Frenchmen everywhere that this was the case, and most Frenchmen believed them. General de Gaulle went to England to rally the French Empire to the cause of fighting on. A good many oldsters in charge of colonial administration, convinced that all was lost, refused to respond. Many younger leaders wanted to fight, but doubted Britain's and De Gaulle's will or ability to fight on. By the time they decided on resistance many had been replaced by Vichy men.
In French Equatorial Africa De Gaulle got results. He sent René Pleven there. René Pleven was a zealot for continuing the fight. After he had pointed out that Equatorial Africa depends for its livelihood on the British-controlled coastline, after he had told the inhabitants what would happen to their economy if they refused, one by one the five colonies (Cameroun, Chad, Gabon, Middle Congo, Ubangi-Shari) voted to put themselves under De Gaulle without reservations. Even so the old pro-Vichy governor at Brazzaville had to be wrapped in a blanket and deposited across the border in Belgian
Congo. That was last August. Soon other colonies followed: the five dots of French territory in India; in the Pacific, New Caledonia, Tahiti, the Gambier Islands, Tuamotu, the Marquesas and Austral Islands.
De Gaulle was not to blame for the failure at Dakar; news of his mission leaked out from a dinner in London, tipped the Germans off. But Dakar cost him prestige and French West Africa. In French Indo-China Governor General Georges Catroux took too long to make up his mind. By the time Catroux had decided to join De Gaulle, Vichy had replaced him with Admiral Jean Decoux, who last week handed the colony over to Japan (see p. 27). General Catroux hurried to London, tore three of the five stars from his sleeve and reported to De Gaulle (who wears only two stars). It was General Catroux who received De Gaulle's congratulations as the conqueror of Syria last week.