Dakar and the dispersed French Navy

After the armistice, the Royal Navy had to consider French naval forces spread across several overseas bases. Martinique was troublesome but relatively isolated, while Dakar lay in a stronger position for covering the North and central Atlantic. The port put shipping routes within easier reach and offered facilities that a remote anchorage could not replace. Losing dependable French cooperation at Dakar was therefore more consequential than losing a distant outpost.