While monitoring Richelieu at Dakar, Dorsetshire had to evade attacks by French submarines using speed and manoeuvre. Vichy naval forces responded differently after France's defeat, and some were prepared to fight Britain. Some sailors regarded Britain as the enemy after Mers-el-Kébir, while others followed the changed policy of their government. The failed ultimatum and attempt to disable Richelieu's screws show how quickly former allies could enter a dangerous and politically constrained naval confrontation.
Notable Point · 20:21-22:32
Vichy French resistance and the danger around Dakar
Dorsetshire's confrontation with French submarines and Richelieu complicates any assumption that Vichy naval forces would avoid fighting Britain.