{"product_id":"operation-catapult-duygu-yesilcimen-9798176182965","title":"Operation Catapult: Churchill's Naval Offensive Against the French Fleet: Mers-el-Kébir, the Royal Navy, and Britain's Fight for Survival in World War","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFeaturing historical mini photographs that bring the ships, harbors, and events of 1940 closer to the reader, \u003ci\u003eOperation Catapult\u003c\/i\u003e tells this remarkable story in a smooth, engaging narrative designed to make complex history easy to follow.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the summer of 1940, Britain faced one of the most dangerous moments in its modern history. France had fallen, Germany dominated much of Western Europe, and one unsettling question remained: \u003cb\u003eWhat would happen to the powerful French fleet?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnly weeks earlier, British and French sailors had been allies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen everything changed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt Mers-el-Kébir on the coast of French Algeria, the Royal Navy confronted a French squadron that included some of France's most important warships. Britain demanded guarantees that the vessels could never become available to the Axis. French commanders insisted that their fleet would not be surrendered. Between them stood an ultimatum, difficult negotiations, conflicting ideas of duty-and very little time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn July 3, 1940, the Royal Navy opened fire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eOperation Catapult\u003c\/i\u003e takes readers inside the extraordinary sequence of events that followed France's collapse, from Churchill's strategic fears and the creation of Force H to Admiral James Somerville's difficult mission, the negotiations with Admiral Marcel-Bruno Gensoul, the destruction of \u003ci\u003eBretagne\u003c\/i\u003e, the dramatic escape of \u003ci\u003eStrasbourg\u003c\/i\u003e, and the second British attack on \u003ci\u003eDunkerque\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut this is more than the story of a naval battle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is the story of what happens when former allies suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of a strategic crisis. It explores the French perspective alongside Britain's fears, the political shock that followed Mers-el-Kébir, the contrasting negotiated settlement at Alexandria, and the later scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon-without reducing one of World War II's most controversial naval decisions to an easy verdict.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten for both dedicated history readers and those discovering the subject for the first time, this book combines \u003cb\u003eclear historical explanation, human stories, naval drama, and carefully balanced analysis\u003c\/b\u003e without becoming dry or overly technical.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you enjoy overlooked episodes of World War II, Royal Navy history, Churchill's wartime decisions, French naval history, or stories in which there are no simple answers, \u003ci\u003eOperation Catapult\u003c\/i\u003e offers a compelling journey into one of the most difficult days in Anglo-French history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Duygu Yesilcimen\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798176182965\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/21\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 148\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.46lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.32d","brand":"Duygu Yesilcimen","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50780108488959,"sku":"9798176182965","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_9b4957ba-0f03-4514-9ffb-91b25c157965.jpg?v=1792949328","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/operation-catapult-duygu-yesilcimen-9798176182965","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}