I'm not suggesting Vichy becomes anything more than what they were...what I am suggesting is that the Germans might suggest to Vichy that they hit something CW in Spanish Morocco once the march to Gibraltar is on...not saying they would do it, but they did hit Gibraltar a couple of times
There is a difference between a retaliatory airstrike on Gibraltar post Operation Catapult, and what you have suggested.
Until June 1940 Spain is neutral. She announces non-belligerency but, in your scenario, that is not enough for Adolf who declares war on Spain in order to get to Gibraltar. Spain is now effectively on the Allies side. To invade, Vichy France has to let German troops through the country and invade Spain from her sovereign soil. Whilst this is happening you are suggesting that Vichy either attacks ‘into Spanish Morocco’ or attacks CW units that are based in Spanish Morocco
for the purposes of defending her ally. Any such move would of course only aid Germany in her move through Spain.
I don’t see how world opinion (and of course the US who had been doing its own behind the scenes 'stuff' to keep Vichy and Spain onside) sees this any other way than Vichy is now firmly in the Axis camp.
but I meant that North Africa and Syria are the most important and valuable parts of Vichy.
No misunderstanding. In your other scenario the Vichy regime simply ‘gives’ French Morocco to the Spanish because Hitler orders it. Okay…. What do the French in Morocco think about that? What do the French in Algeria and Tunisia think about that? Hell, what does Mussolini – who is already mighty pissed that he wasn’t given Corsica, Nice and Tunisia as part of the peace deal with France – think about this? He is denied while Franco clicks his fingers and gets given Morocco.....
All this is without what Petain thinks. The whole point of Vichy – the very heart of what Vichy was created for is now being destroyed. Vichy was created as the ‘best way’ to save France and her empire. If her empire is going to be carved up, what was the point? Even Petain couldn’t stand by and see this happen because if it does – his whole game plan is for nothing and he is proven not to have been France’s saviour – but the man who presided over the carve up of the French Empire.
As for Madagascar, that is another discussion perhaps, but I never understood why the Japs didn't go into the Indian Ocean with more vigor
How many reasons do you want? [;)] The Japanese only had so many troops, so many naval assets. They could not do everything. Remember too that from a political point of view the army were not going to provide troops to make a navy operation look good. The distance between Madagascar and the nearest Japanese base would make re-supply challenging to say the least. With the assets available to the IJN they could not be everywhere at once – and destruction of the American carriers was still top priority – but then came Midway and all bets were off…..
Imagine if they could have taken over Madagascar like they did FIC in Summer of '40.
I suspect that the French would have at least put up a fight – and would also have thought that the British would turn a blind eye and allow the French to garrison and supply the island from West African ports and even Vichy itself. Hitler would not have been happy with his Japanese friends. Would the British allow the fleet to sortie from Toulon? What an interesting scenario that would paint!
