military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (07/08/90)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Sunday, 7 July, 1940 The French naval squadron at Alexandria, including the battleship Lorraine and four cruisers, is demobilizaed and interned by Britain. Italy grants France a waiver of her treaty obligations to demobilize her fleet and naval bases. After negotiations fail, British forces attack the new French battleship Richelieu at Dakar. A motor launch from HMS Hermes drops six depth charges near the ship, which fail to explode in the shallow water. A followup attack by Swordfish torpedo bombers from the Hermes scores no direct hits, but one torpedo detonates close to the ship and apparently sets off one or more of the depth charges, causing severe damage. A number of incidents mark Mexico's presidential election, including gunfire aimed at a parade; at least 47 are killed, and 300 are wounded in Mexico City alone. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@att.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "We shall, on the contrary, prosecute the war with the utmost vigor, by all the means that are open to us, until the righteous purposes for which we entered upon it have been in all respects fulfilled." - Winston Churchill, in reply to rumors that Britain is considering peace with Germany