The Free French Invasion of Gabon, 1940

This is the beginning of a series about Free France during World War 2. 

Free France played a key role in the Allied victory in WW2, but very few actually know about Free France's contributions to the war. It has gotten to the point where their victories have almost been forgotten. I am making this to try and show more that the French were not "Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys" but instead brave fighters.

This is page is dedicated to the Free French Invasion of Gabon from October 27-November 12 1940.

Background

In June 1940, France fell to the German Invasion. Vichy France was now in control of a large part of France, including all its former colonies. Charles de Gaulle issued a radio broadcast on June 18, telling the French people to rise up against the new Vichy government. Unfortunately, few people resisted at first. These were very dark times for the nation of France.

But on August 26, 1940, the Governor-General of French Chad pledged his support for Free France. The colony was now under Free French control. Seeing the oppurtunity, on August 27, supporters of Gaull in French Cameroon launched a coup and seized control, placing another colony under Free French control. On August 28, an official in the French Congo ousted the pro-Vichy ruler of the French Congo. Finally on August 29, 1940, the Governor of French Ubangi-Shari declared support for Free France.

At this point, all of French Equatorial Africa was under Free French control, except for Gabon. The Governor of Gabon, Georges Masson, initially pledged his support for Free France on August 28, however he faced pressure from many in Gabon, and thus took back his pledge. 

Free French supporters in Gabon were arrested. Gabon became a genuine threat to Free French holdings in Africa, and de Gaulle was upset that Governor Masson was refusing to join the Free French, considering it a, "hostile enclave, that was hard to reduce because it gave on to the ocean, which was created in the heart of our Equatorial holdings".

Preparing for the Invasion

Free France began preparing for the invasion of Gabon. The French assembled troops which amounted to a total of 1,080 men.

FREE FRENCH ORDER OF BATTLE:

1,080 men

All forces under the comment of Lieutenant-Colonel Phillipe Leclerc Groupement Dio Eléments du Bataillon de Marche n° 4 : Lieutenant Dronne  Eléments de la 1e Compagnie de Chars : Lieutenant Volvey  Une batterie d'Artillerie (75 mm) : Capitaine Laurent Champrosay  Groupement Parent Eléments du Bataillon de Marche n°1 : Capitaine de Boissoudy Eléments du Point d'Appui de Pointe-Noire : Lieutenant Duclerc Eléments du 1e Bataillon de Fusiliers-Marins : EV. Le Bourgeois Eléments d'Artillerie Coloniale de Pointe-Noire : Lieutenant Lucciani Groupement Delange Bataillon de Marche n°1 : Commandant Delange  Groupement Koenig Eléments de la 13e Demi-Brigade de la Légion Etrangère : Commandant Koenig   Ambulance chirurgicale légère : Médecin-Commandant Fruchaud  Eléments des transmissions : Adjudant Maetzu On October 8, de Gaulle arrived in Cameroon and authorized plans for the invasion 4 days later. He personally went to Chad to also begin preparing for attacks into Italian Libya, which will be talked about at a future date. Meanwhile, Governor Masson was also preparing to defend Gabon. He decided to reinforce Mayumba. The Vichy Order of Battle is unknown, but the Vichy garrison consisted of 1,500 soldiers, more than the Free French invading force. The Battle of Gabon On October 27, 1940, Free French forces crossed the border into Gabon. On the first day, they quickly occupied Mitzic, well within Vichy territory. On November 5, the offensive resumed, and the Vichy garrison at Lambarene was defeated. 150 prisoners had been taken up to this point in the campaign.  On November 10, Libreville was captured, and finally on November 12, the Vichy forces at Port Gentil surrendered without a fight. Gabon was now in Free French hands, and Governor Masson committed suicide. In the aftermath, 20-100 Free French soldiers were killed, with at least 35 being killed on the Vichy side, and a lot more captured. The Gabon campaign allowed for the seizure of all of French Equatorial Africa, and allowed for Free France to now govern a considerable amount of territory. SOURCES: Reeves, Mark (2016). "M'Fam goes home : African soldiers in the Gabon Campaign of 1940". Dissent, Protest and Dispute in Africa. Taylor & Francis. pp. 91–113. ISBN 9781315413082. Jennings, Eric T (2015). French Africa in World War II. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107048485. "The Second World War in the French Overseas Empire". Archived from the original on 11 February 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2007. http://www.francaislibres.net/pages/page.php?id=279 Yannis Kadari, " The epic of the Royal Cambouis: The FFL tank company in combat (1040-41 - first part) ", Batailles et Blindés , Caraktère, n o 1,november 2003, p. 4-15 Jackson, Julian (2018). De Gaulle. Harvard University Press. p. 155.