Naval gunfire was powerful, but not precise enough to guarantee that every shell would land on military targets in a town and harbor. Barham's armor-piercing shells were less destructive to urban fabric than high explosive would have been, yet some rounds still struck the town. A defensive shell, described as either 9.2-inch or 9.4-inch in the sources, seriously damaged Cumberland. A direct assault against prepared positions threatened heavy casualties on both sides and risked pushing semi-neutral Vichy France back into the war as a German ally. De Gaulle concluded that bombardment would not decide the issue and rejected a landing inside the fortified harbor. He proposed maintaining a blockade while preparing a landward approach from a more lightly defended coast.
Notable Point · 31:10-34:36
Why the first bombardment could not settle Dakar
Cumberland's damage and the likely cost of a direct assault led de Gaulle to reject an all-out landing when bombardment failed to settle the issue.