The Enigma of Admiral Darlan

By Alec De Montmorency

The enigma of Admiral Darlan is a part of the great French tragedy. His vertiginous rise to power in the very midst of the French catastrophe, his enigmatic wranglings with the Germans, his defiance of the natural friends of France, his insistence on questions of national pride when it seemed to the world that France could not afford any further pride, his feat in imposing his conditions on the Allies in North Africa, and his cruel death on that Christmas Eve, are all part of a great riddle in the tragedy of France. […]

This book was written in incomplete form before the Allied invasion of North Africa; but since then, and since the Admiral’s death, it has been possible to add many important details connected with his differences with the British and with his negotiations with the Axis Powers—details which at that time it would have been both undesirable and impossible to include.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcole Publishing
• Release date: Jul 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781787207172

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Text originally published in 1943 under the same title.

© Eschenburg Press 2017, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

THE ENIGMA OF ADMIRAL DARLAN

BY

ALEC DE MONTMORENCY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

PUBLISHERS’ NOTE 4

INTRODUCTION 5

I—What Sort of Man Was Darlan? 8

II—Verdun and the China Seas. The Naval Conference of 1929 10

III—Darlan, Pétain and Weygand Plot a Military Dictatorship for France 14

IV—Darlan and Daladier—and Pernod 19

V—Darlan Introduces Efficiency and Royalism into the French Navy 24

VI—The War. Weygand in Syria. Daladier’s Downfall over the Finnish Question. Reynaud Violates Norway’s Neutrality 29

VII—The Norwegian Fiasco and Its Effects 36

VIII—The Armistice. Darlan Uses His Control of the Navy to Consolidate His Own Power 41

IX—Mers-el-Kébir (Oran) and Dakar. Causes and Effects 47

X—De Gaulle in Britain. Darlan Approved by Germany as Pétain’s Heir 52

XI—The Duumvirate (Darlan and Pétain). Weygand’s Dismissal. Huntziger’s Death Arranged 58

XII—The Riom Trials Cause Rift Between Darlan and the Nazis. Darlan Resigns but Remains Military Chief 65

XIII—The Anglo-American Invasion of North Africa. Darlan’s Successful Strategy Places Him in Control 69

XIV—The Spanish and Royalist Angles of the North African Affair 73

XV—The Last Days 79

XVI—The Assassination 83

APPENDIX I—ADMIRAL DARLAN’S IDEA OF THE BRITISH OFFERS 87

APPENDIX II—THE MERS-EL-KÉBIR INCIDENT 88

APPENDIX III—THE BATTLE OF CASABLANCA 89

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 93

PUBLISHERS’ NOTE

The Publishers feel justified by the circumstances of the case in putting this surprising document before the public, for it seems to explain Darlan and his career as well, probably, as they can ever be explained now that an assassins bullet has cut short both the career and the man.

It will be apparent to the reader that in the eyes of the author Darlan was a very great man who, literally could do nothing wrong. In this spirit of uncritical, almost fanatical, admiration Mr. de Montmorency shows us a Darlan who is on the one hand a staunch patriot, completely misunderstanding and misunderstood by the British war leaders and the de Gaullists, and on the other a supremely "practical politician, capable not only of the grossest treachery to his own chiefs, but of arranging for the assassination of the principal officers of the French Navy who remained loyal to the Republic, and of the most callous and disastrous cynicism in regard to British offers to France.

In fact, so formidable an indictment of Darlan do some features of Mr. de Montmorency’s account suggest, that, if the work had been offered to them by an opponent or a critic of the late Admiral, the Publishers would have hesitated to undertake it.

In view, however, of the authors political and social affiliations and of his whole-hearted partisanship, they believe that this book offers a sincere and informed estimate of Darlan’s strange, powerful, and in some respects, sinister, personality. As such it is offered to the public.

It may also have another, and very real, value at this present juncture in helping all of us here in the United States to realize what we have to face in trying to build up any stable arrangement with or concerning France or the French.

George Moreby Acklom Editor-in-Chief,

E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc.

INTRODUCTION

THE enigma of Admiral Darlan is a part of the great French tragedy. His vertiginous rise to power in the very midst of the French catastrophe, his enigmatic wranglings with the Germans, his defiance of the natural friends of France, his insistence on questions of national pride when it seemed to the world that France could not afford any further pride, his feat in imposing his conditions on the Allies in North Africa, and his cruel death on that Christmas Eve, are all part of a great riddle in the tragedy of France.

Admiral Darlan, in virtue of his power instinct and of his extraordinary grip on the French Navy, and of the affection of Marshal Pétain for him—the Marshal has never actually disavowed him by word of mouth, but only scolded him in his radio address before the Admirals death—found himself in the forefront of the French struggle against both the enemies and the friends of France.

His decision to abide by Marshal Pétain and withdraw the French Navy from the war brought about the Franco-British estrangement and caused infinite bitterness between the two former allies.

The fifteen months of his Vice-Premiership at Vichy, when he defied the British blockade, bringing to France North African phosphate and trading it to the Germans in return for the release of 800,000 French prisoners, is a device without precedent in the diplomatic and political history of Europe.

His feat in North Africa, where, with the sole help of the local French naval units, he forced the Anglo-American Allies to recognize his power and Marshal Pétain’s authority over the territories, is also unique in the military and diplomatic tradition.

His tragic end—after all obstacles seemed to have been overcome—is symbolic of the bitter feuds which divide the French.

The problems raised by the actions of Admiral Darlan and by his sudden assassination are thus of paramount significance to France. Much has been written about him since his accession to a position of power in the middle of world upheavals and national disasters. Yet it is much only in the matter of volume, for no comprehensive or well-informed study of his life or career has yet been written in any language.

There are, doubtless, many people who knew Admiral Darlan better than I did, and many who could write about him better than I am able to, but for the time being most of them, if not all, are in no position to do so.

Meanwhile, since falsehood and misrepresentation have been spread through the world by unscrupulous propagandists and harm done not only to his own reputation but also to those whom he led, it is imperative that as much as possible of the truth about Admiral Darlan should be revealed at once.

This book was written in incomplete form before the Allied invasion of North Africa; but since then, and since the Admiral’s death, it has been possible to add many important details connected with his differences with the British and with his negotiations with the Axis Powers—details which at that time it would have been both undesirable and impossible to include.

I saw Admiral Darlan—then a young naval commander—for the first time in the early nineteen-twenties at the College Stanislas in Cannes, where, with Mme. Darlan, he came to visit their son, who was a student, a couple of classes behind myself, at the college. Wearing medals won at Verdun and Salonica, in his naval uniform he radiated an impression of daring and authority which impressed me profoundly, though of course I did not then know that I was looking at a future Admiral and Chancellor of France.

Later, in December 1936, I frequently met Admiral Darlan in the Ministry of Marine in Paris. I had returned from Spain where I had been a correspondent for a Paris newspaper at the headquarters of General Mola, and was able to give the Admiral reports on Spanish naval matters.

Once, when I told him that there had been a rumour in Spain that Marshal Pétain and General Weygand had started a revolution and that he himself had joined it and was bringing the French Foreign Legion from Morocco to Bordeaux, he laughed and said: Those Spaniards give me dangerous ideas!

I met him in the Rue Royale, at the beginning of the present war, in September or October 1939. I had with me a house edition of the Paris Soir. On the first page was a news item about Neville Chamberlain announcing that the British Prime Minister had told his compatriots, among other things, that the stock of tea in Great Britain would suffice for two years.

"Monsieur l’Amiral," said an officer who was reading the Paris Soir, "La victoire est assurée; les Anglais ont assez de thé pour deux ans!" (Victory is assured: the English have enough tea to last them for two years)

A happy smile lit the face of Admiral Darlan. He probably visualized, as I myself did, old Mr. Chamberlain inspecting with satisfaction the British pantry. Then, with an air of mischievous candor, he said: "Tout va bien alors, pourvu qu’ils aient aussi assez de marmelade" (All is well, then, if they also have enough marmalade!)

I saw Admiral Darlan for the last time on the 20th of June 1940, at Bordeaux—I still have his telephone number there listed in my pocketbook—through a door in his office at what was the temporary Ministry of Marine.

I was in the next office. He glanced up at me and

I saw a brief smile on his face at that moment. He looked tired and ill. I had come to the Ministry to ask them to take me to England with them. An aide-de-camp of Admiral Darlan who was my friend went into his office and returned almost at once, saying: We don’t know yet if we shall go to England. Try the English Navy first; here is a card, show it to any British naval officer, preferably to one of high rank, there is a chance that they will know me and help you. That same night, meeting the same aide-de-camp for a late supper I learned at first hand much of what had gone on between Admiral Darlan and the British Ministers during the preceding days.

The British Navy helped me as I had been told it might and I left France on the morrow of the final Armistice with Germany and Italy.

ALEC DE MONTMORENCY

New York, February, 1943

I—What Sort of Man Was Darlan?

IF it is true, as Frenchmen of the eighteenth century believed, that lust for power is the mark of wellborn souls, then Admiral Darlan could have claimed the distinction. For it was power he sought and found in the very defeat of France. This power he kept through weary years of humiliations, threats and disappointments, to the very hour of his assassination.

Talleyrand was the political model of the Admiral. There is, however, a fundamental moral difference between the master and the pupil.

Talleyrand was a Voltairian, and it cost him but little to abandon his bishop’s robes and become the archpriest of the Goddess of Reason, in order to please the French revolutionaries and keep a position of influence. Viewing life as a gigantic farce, Talleyrand light-heartedly abandoned Louis XVI for the Revolution, the Revolution for Napoleon, and Napoleon for Louis XVIII and Charles X.

Unlike this perfect politician, Darlan was a devout Christian, a man of great personal integrity, and, in spite of a veritable passion for power, a man of strong personal loyalties.

And his devotion to Pétain was not the only manifestation of this loyalty of character; his very hostility to the British betrayed the bitterness of a broken friendship.

Yet, for all this hostility, he retained