French cruiser Georges Leygues
Encyclopedia
The Georges Leygues was a French light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
of the La Galissonnière class
La Galissonnière class cruiser
The La Galissonnière cruiser class was a group of six warships admitted in active service in the French Navy in the 1930s. They were the last French cruisers completed after 1935, until the completion of De Grasse in 1956. They are considered as fast, reliable and successful ships...
. During World War II, she served with both the Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
and Allies. She was named for the prominent 19th and 20th century French politician Georges Leygues
Georges Leygues
Georges Leygues was a French politician of the Third Republic. During his time as Minister of Marine he worked with the navy's chief of staff Henri Salaun in unsuccessful attempts to gain naval re-armament priority for government funding over army rearmament such as the Maginot Line.He was born...
.
At the start of World War II, she was assigned to the Force de Raid, patrolling the Atlantic in response to German commerce raids. The only incident, however, was when the French submarine Casabianca
Casabianca (Q183)
Casabianca was a Redoutable-class submarine of the French Navy, named in honour of Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca. She was notable for her escape from Toulon in November 1942 as Germans forces tried to seize the French fleet as part of Case Anton, the occupation of Vichy France...
was shelled in error. To pre-empt the potential Italian threat, Georges Leygues and other French warships were moved to Mers-el-Kebir
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
(now Oran) on 24 April 1940.
The 3rd and 4th Cruiser Divisions, including Georges Leygues avoided the destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir
Destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir
The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir, part of Operation Catapult and also known as the Battle of Mers-el-Kébir, was a naval engagement fought at Mers-el-Kébir on the coast of what was then French Algeria on 3 July 1940...
and eventually put into Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
. On 9 September 1940, she left Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
with her sister ships Gloire
French cruiser Gloire
The Gloire was a French light cruiser of the La Galissonnière class.After completing trials, Gloire arrived in Brest on 18 November 1937, then left for French Indochina on 1 December, returning to Brest on 16 April 1938. Gloire joined the 4th Cruiser Division in January 1939, with which she visited...
and Montcalm
French cruiser Montcalm
The Montcalm was a French light cruiser of the La Galissonnière class, named in honour of Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. During World War II, she served with both Vichy France and the Allies.-Pre-war:...
, and passed Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
without being challenged (for which the local British commander, Admiral North
Dudley Burton Napier North
Sir Dudley Burton Napier North, GCVO, CB, CSI, CMG, RN was an Admiral of the Royal Navy who served during World War I and World War II. He was relieved of his command on the grounds of his failure, while naval commander at Gibraltar, to challenge a Vichy French naval squadron; this after he had...
, was relieved of his command). The flotilla refuelled at Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
and continued to Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
, arriving on 14 September.
The three cruisers left Dakar on 18 September, intending to go south to Libreville
Libreville
Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon, in west central Africa. The city is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea, and a trade center for a timber region. As of 2005, it has a population of 578,156.- History :...
, but they were intercepted by British forces, including HMAS Australia
HMAS Australia (1927)
HMAS Australia was a County-class heavy cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy . One of two Kent-subclass ships ordered for the RAN in 1924, Australia was laid down in Scotland in 1925, and entered service in 1928...
. The Montcalm and Georges Leygues outran the British ships and returned to Dakar, where they helped to defend the port against the unsuccessful British and Free French attack (Operation Menace
Battle of Dakar
The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa , which was under Vichy French control, and to install the Free French under General Charles de Gaulle there.-Background:At...
) on 23 September – 25 September 1940. Georges Leygues hit HMAS Australia twice and avoided Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
torpedo attacks. The Gloire, slowed by mechanical troubles and, unable to escape, had been ordered back to Casablanca.
Apart from a transport of bullion to Casablanca in August 1941, the next two years were uneventful until the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
) and the German occupation of Vichy France
Case Anton
Operation Anton was the codename for the military occupation of Vichy France carried out by Germany and Italy in November 1942.- Background :...
, when she joined the Allies, as did other French warships. Early in 1943, she began Atlantic patrols from Dakar, and on 13 April, she intercepted the German blockade runner Portland, which was scuttled by her crew.
The Georges Leygues was refitted at Philadelphia, from July until October 1943, removing the aircraft installations and adding light anti-aircraft weapons.
Georges Leygues returned to Dakar based anti-blockade-runner patrols. She then supported Allied landings in Normandy
Operation Neptune
The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 , beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time...
in June 1944 and southern France
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
in August. A French naval tradition says that beyond five months of campaigning, the war flag of a ship gets longer by one metre for each month spent off France; the war flag of the Georges Leygues is said to have been 60 metres when she entered Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
on 13 September 1944.
She then bombarded the Italian Riviera coastline around Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
until March 1945. This was her last action of the war.
She had a major refit at Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
from May to the end of January 1946. In 1954, along with the Montcalm
French cruiser Montcalm
The Montcalm was a French light cruiser of the La Galissonnière class, named in honour of Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. During World War II, she served with both Vichy France and the Allies.-Pre-war:...
, she was used for fire support in Indochina
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
. In 1956, she took part in the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
, during which she led a group of French warships providing fire support for Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i ground forces in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
.