Gabon campaign

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | 700+ words | Copyright

Gabon campaign, fought between Vichy French forces and those of de Gaulle's Free French when the latter invaded the French Equatorial African colony of Gabon on 12 October 1940 from the French Cameroons and the Middle Congo. The governor had initially opted to join de Gaulle but then reversed his decision and when Free French troops, led by Major Leclerc, threatened invasion Vichy troops were rushed by sea from Dakar and a naval squadron sailed from Toulon (see North, Admiral). The invading columns met determined resistance from the garrison of four battalions of Tirailleurs Sénégalais but on 7 November the two columns linked up around Libreville. The next day a ground, air, and sea attack was launched on the city but the defending forces fought well and it took another four days to capture. The UK viewed the campaign unenthusiastically and no British troops were involved on the ground, though a Royal Navy sloop did force the surrender of the single Vichy submarine in the area.

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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Gabon campaign." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Gabon campaign." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-Gaboncampaign.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Gabon campaign." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-Gaboncampaign.html

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