Prof. Greg Jackson

Cedric sends word to the French Navy's highest-ranking officer here, Vice-Admiral Marcel Boulogne-Jeansoul, asking for an audience.

The French Vice-Admiral knows Cedric fairly well from his days as British naval attaché in Paris, but as a man of propriety, he won't receive an officer at such a significantly lower rank than himself.

That said, the vice-admiral won't leave the request unanswered either.

Aboard his flagship, the Dunkerque, he sends his flag aide, Lieutenant Bernard Dufay, to speak with the British captain instead.

Yet another old friend of Cedric's, yes, also from those same bygone days in Paris, Lieutenant Dufay is quickly drawn into the discussion.

But this visit is a far cry from reminiscing on old memories.

As they talk, Cedric fulfills this mission that he hates so very much, delivering an austere ultimatum.

Here's the deal.

The British government is deeply concerned about the French Navy in the wake of the new French government, the Vichy regime, signing an armistice with Nazi Germany last month.

Although the Vichy regime is led by the great war hero, Marshal Philippe Pétain, it only exists at the pleasure and in the shadow of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.

And given Adolf's track record of broken diplomatic promises, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and other British government leaders don't trust the Nazis won't use the French fleet to attack the United Kingdom.

Thus, Cedric is now presenting his old friend with a message for Vice Admiral Marcel Bruno Jansoul from Royal Navy Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville.

It's written as kindly as possible, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a brutally hard message.

The French fleet must join the Allies, sit out the war, or be destroyed.

It reads, in part, to Admiral Jeansoul, It is impossible for us, your comrades up to now, to allow your fine ships to fall into the power of the German or Italian enemy.

We are determined to fight on until the end.

And if we win, as we think we shall, we shall never forget that France was our ally, that our interests are the same as hers, and that our common enemy is Germany.

Should we conquer, we solemnly declare that we shall restore the greatness and territory of France.

For this purpose, we must make sure that the best ships of the French Navy are not used against us by the common foe.

In these circumstances, His Majesty's government have instructed me to demand that the French fleet now at Mers-el-Kibir and Oran shall act in accordance with one of the following alternatives."