Mers-el-Kebir

Mers-el-Kebir , town, NW Algeria, on the Gulf of Oran. Originally a Roman port, it has a long history of maritime importance. During the 15th cent. it was a center of activity for corsairs and was twice occupied by the Portuguese. The Spanish held the town from 1505 to 1792; the French arrived in the 19th cent. After France's defeat by Germany in June, 1940, the French fleet sought refuge at Mers-el-Kebir, but the British navy sank or damaged most of the ships. The great French naval base at Mers-el-Kebir came to include subterranean installations where atomic tests were held. In 1962 the Evian Agreement, by which Algerian independence was acknowledged, allowed France to maintain the Mers-el-Kebir base for 15 years; however, the French evacuated the base in 1967.

Mers el-Kebir (World War II) (3 July 1940) Mers el-Kebir was a French naval base in the Gulf of Oran (Algeria), finally evacuated by the French in 1968. Shortly after the French surrender to the Germans in 1940 a British fleet arrived with orders to prevent the French fleet falling into German or Italian hands. When the French refused to scuttle their own ships or transfer them to British bases in the West Indies, the British bombarded the base, damaging three large battleships and killing over 1,000 French seamen. In retaliation the French bombed Gibraltar. The event caused deep resentment in France which increased and legitimized for many initial support for the Vichy government, while hindering de Gaulle's efforts at rallying French resistance at the side of the English.

Mers el‐Kebir, Algeria A corruption of the Arabic al‐marsā al‐kabīr ‘The Great Port’ from al‐, marsā ‘harbour’ and kabīr ‘great’ or ‘big’.