The two ships had relatively short careers; completed just before the outbreak of World War II, they served briefly with the Atlantic Squadron in the late 1930s, and "Dunkerque" made several visits abroad, including to French West Africa in 1938 and visits to Britain in 1937 and 1939. With war looming in August 1939, the French created the "Force de Raid" (Raiding Force), centred on the two "Dunkerque"s, which was tasked with hunting down the "Deutschland"s that were expected to operate in the Atlantic as commerce raiders. The French never caught the German cruisers, and instead the vessels were sent to Mers-el-Kébir to deter Italy from entering the war against France. After Germany defeated France in the Battle of France in June 1940, the French were forced to neutralise their fleet, and the two "Dunkerque"s were to remain inactive at Mers-el-Kébir. Unaware that Germany had no intention of seizing the ships, the British sent Force H to sink the ships; "Dunkerque" was damaged in the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir in July, but "Strasbourg" escaped to Toulon, where she became the flagship of the "Forces de haute mer" (High Seas Forces).