Evening star., 1943-03-03
British Cut OFF PAY
OF French Serving on
Alexandra Fleet
Step Is First of Several
Intended TO Force
Godfrey to Yield Ships
BY PERTTNAX.

Officers and men in the French
squadron anchored off Alexandria
now go without their pay The
British authorities have cut off the
funds.
This is only the first of several
steps calculated to bring Admiral
Rene Godfrey to his senses. The
coerc.ve action was initiated fort
night ago. 1t would have worked
out much more speedily but for a
mishap which befell Harold Nc
MILAN, representative of the British
cabinet in Aleiers. He had notified
Admiral Godfrey of his arrival for
a. final conference, but the aircraft
which was to take him to Alexandria
crashed, Mr.. Mcmillan escaped with
a burned face. but he had to post
pone the journey.
Thus, Admiral Godfroy benefited
by an unexpected respite. Now the
only uncertain part in the problem
is whether the obstinate admiral
will try to scuttle his ships. That
attempt on his part ought to be
forestalled, but this is by no means
an easy task
Explains the Riddle.
Recently in talk with an eXcep-
tionally competent authority. I had
the opportunity to investigate what
has been riddle to many of us.
That riddle is the attitude of so
many French admirals. The ex-
planation volunteered by my inter-
locutor was. in substance, as follows:
All through the Fench navy ,and
the same applies to the land forces
In North Africa too many officers
are still unable to unravel the web
of events which brought France to
her doom. All clear notion of the
national interest is lost to them
They cannot conceive that the
French hierarchy. the military hier-
archy in particular, should have put
themselves so much in the wrong
at the time of the armistice.
BewildeTed and puzzled. they are
desperately clinging to the rules of
military discipline, to the oath they
have taken to Marshal Henri Pc
tain. Amidst the moral wreckage
around them. those oaths are the
only solid piece of timber out OF
which they can make a raft to save
their pride.
Loyal to Petain.
Thus, the destruction of the main
French fleet is accounted for in
Toulon harbor on November q. To
take that fleet to sea In compliance
with Admiral Jean Francois Dar-
lans exhortatory messages from
Algiers would have been to break the
allegiance they all felt they owed to
Marshal Petain.
Admiral Jean de la Borde, very
much Fascist minded I am afraid.
did not dare pull down what he re-
garded as the last pillar of the
French morale. The authority of
Petain, and secret order he had
received from Admiral Darlan much
earlier made 1t possible for him to
remain true to the marshal without
having formally oisobeyed the ad-
miral of the fleet, who was his i'm
mediate superior.
Admiral Darlan always feared that
the French feet would fall some day
into German hands. which would
have meant the end of his usefulness
to the Axis. In his anxiety to pre-
clude that development. he pre-
scribed that any instruction which
might be issued by him in a time of
crisis, to cancel the scuttling order,
was to be ignored and treated as in
spired by the enemy. The French
fleet was the victim of a misplaced
sense of discipline.
New Element at Work.
But new element is now at work.
an element which very quickly un-
dermines the mysticism of passive
obedience The docilitv of the rank
and file was only made possible be-
cause of the daily impact of Vichy
propaganda on the average man.
For more than three months now all
have come in touch with the Anglo
Saxon world, and the De Gaullist
influence. so powerful in France on
the restricting masses, begins to
tell.
Today the sailors clearly perceive
where the vital interest of the
French nation stands. And when
military discipline seems to clash
with it, their tendency is to resume
their freedom and break away. So
cial prejudice may be potent with
officers. but it does not hold back
men Of the people. Less than a
week ago 36 sailors from the battle
ship Rlchelieu passed TO Fighting
France despite the close watch kept
by petty officers.
Also, this significant fact must
be noted. The other day the crew
Of the cargo boat Guadeloupe which
for months has carried supplies to
Martinique, cabled to Admiral
Georges Robert, the fantastic high
commissioner there. that they re-
fused to sail as long as he had not
decided 10 join the United Nations
in the war Admiral Robert re-
torted by arranging for substitute
crew to leave for New York. but it
is assumed the new crew did not
get the requisite permit.
l am afraid that Admiral God
troy and Admiral Robert are at the
ends of their rope.
released by the North American
Nevspa per Alliance, Inc