Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-12-01
Declaration Of War
On Allies Rejected by
Laval Cabinet, 8 10 6
Two French Submarines
Reported Safe in AIgiers
With Another on Way
Il the Associated Press.

b. the Associated Press.
Pierre Laval's Vichy cabinet came
within two votes of declaring war
on the Allies after American troops
landed in North Africa, it became
known today as the melancholy
story of Vichy's trials in the Ger
man occupation of all France
trickled out of Europe. The vote
was 8 to 6.
The story came from a French
diplomat who remained in the &C
tive service of the Vichy regime
until last Friday when the Ger
mans attacked Toulon and the
French home fleet-save for four
submarines so far accounted for
went to the bottom of the harbor in
deliberate mass suicide rather than
serve the Germans.
Two submarines-the Casabianca
and the Marsouin-have arrived at
Algiers; another, LIE Glorieux, was
reported en- route there and fourth,
the Iris, was held at Barcelona
where her crew is interned.
The French diplomat, now some
where in Europe, said Laval went
to Munich after the Allied occupa-
ton of North Africa and found
Joachim Won Ribbentrop, German
foreign minister, greatly perturbed
by the turn of events and undecided
about the proper course to follow.
Quisling Movement Seen.
rrbo J+ol;ope p,ora o,,v;o,,e IN ~, QUO
Into France and occupy Nice and
the island of Corsica Immediately,
the diplomat said but Ribbentrop
was worried about the temper of
the French people.
In the midst of these delibera-
tons Hitler, apparently undisturbed
about the reaction of the French
people, bluntly ordered the occupa-
ton of all of France except Toulon
and sent his personal letter to Mar
shall Petain, telling him why.
Marshal Petain protested imme-
diately and the Vichy cabinet went
into a 48-hour session on German
request that Vichy declare war
against the Allies and join her old
enemies, Germany and Italy. The
proposal finally was rejected, to 6.
The diplomat said the present
trend among the arch collabora-
tionists in Paris seemed to incline
toward the formation of Quisling
government to force France into
war against the Allies with or with
out the collaboration of Marshal
Petain.
From French naval sources at
Barcelona it was learned that Ad-
miral Jean de La Borde, commander
of the home feet, gave the order to
scuttle after making preparations
for the act months before He per-
sonally inspected the setting of ex-
rlosives on the 60-odd ships in the
harbor.
"Everything" Reported Scuttled.
These sources said that none OF
the captains went down with their
ships. as earlier reported, but that
Everything was scuttled-even the
harbor tugboats."
They reported Admiral de La
Borde was interned as civilian at
AK en- Provence.
French crewmen at Toulon were
out on the alert Immediately when
the Allies landed in North Africa, it
was said, and when the Germans
sent to occupy South France reached
she Toulon defenses November IL
and sent delegates demanding sur
lender of the base, the answer was:
Withdraw or we fire"
The Germans withdrew and while
uitler was sending larger forces to
overcome the French marines, Ber-
in issued a statement "congratu-
;sting" the French commander on
his decisions to defend Toulon
against aggression
Waited for "Orders to Fight"
When the Germans returned In
<orce, it was declared, the seacocks
of the mighty feet were opened and
t.1e charges exploded. Most OF the
ships heeled over on reaching bot
lon. although the superstructures OF
;ome of the larger ships are still
moving.
The captain of the Casabianca,
safe in Algiers, said the first warn
ing he and his crew had of the Ger
man attack was the firing of shore
battery on German ground troops
Later planes appeared, he said.
The captain said he waited all day
---------- -