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Vichy France

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(46)

1940

July

01
- Key eventThe French government moves to VichyOn 1 July 1940 Pétain's government settled in Vichy. On 10 July parliament gave the marshal full powers by 569 votes to 80, ending the Third Republic.
18
- Vichy aircraft bomb GibraltarOn 18 July 1940 a night raid attributed to Vichy aircraft killed civilians in Gibraltar. On 25 July women and children were ordered to leave the fortress.
22
- The Havana ConferenceOn 21–30 July 1940 American foreign ministers met in Havana and resolved that the colonies of defeated European states must not pass into German hands.

August

September

October

24
- Key eventThe meeting at MontoireOn 24 October 1940 Pétain met Hitler at Montoire station. The handshake and his words on the “path of collaboration” opened Vichy’s co-operation with the Reich.

November

12
- The Free French take GabonThe surrender of Port-Gentil on 12 November 1940 ended the Gabon campaign. The Free French had taken Vichy's last colony in French Equatorial Africa.

1941

January

17
- The Battle of Ko ChangOn 17 January 1941 a French squadron from Indochina surprised Thai warships off Ko Chang island and routed them without loss. It did not decide the war.

February

10
- Darlan named Pétain’s successorOn 10 February 1941 Admiral Darlan became Vichy's deputy premier and Pétain's successor. Laval, ousted in December, did not return despite German pressure.

May

June

July

October

20
- The assassination of Karl HotzOn 20 October 1941 communists shot Lieutenant Colonel Karl Hotz in Nantes. Two days later the Germans executed 48 hostages, 27 of them at Châteaubriant.

November

24
- Lend-Lease for the Free FrenchOn 24 November 1941 it was announced that Roosevelt deemed the defence of Free French territory vital to the USA. Lend-Lease aid was to go via London.

December

1942

February

10
- The Normandie fireOn 9 February 1942 the liner Normandie, being converted into a troopship, caught fire in New York. Early on 10 February she capsized onto her side.

April

May

July

16
- Key eventThe Vel d'Hiv round-upOn 16–17 July 1942 French police arrested 13,152 Jews in Paris, over 4,000 of them children. Families were held for five days at the Vel d'Hiv velodrome.

August

05
- Planning Operation TorchIn August 1942 the Allies began planning a landing in North Africa. Patton moved from Washington to Eisenhower's headquarters in London.

September

04
- The forced labour law in FranceOn 4 September 1942 the Vichy government passed a law allowing men and women to be directed to work chosen by the state. It was used to send workers to Germany.

October

November

December

1943

February

16
- The creation of the STO in FranceOn 16 February 1943 Laval's government set up the Service du travail obligatoire. Young Frenchmen born in 1920–1922 were to work in the Reich for two years.

1944

April

21
- The raid on La ChapelleOn the night of 20–21 April 1944 the RAF bombed the La Chapelle rail yards in northern Paris. Some 640–670 civilians died – the deadliest raid on Paris.

August

31
- The Provisional Government in ParisAt the end of August 1944 the Provisional Government of the French Republic moved from Algiers to Paris and took over the administration of liberated France.