Posters Artwork Documents

Our Marshal shows his phlegm.

Philip Zec (author)

Philip Zec cartoon mocking the attitude of Pétain and the Vichy Administration during the Dakar Affair of September, 1940. This was supposed to be a demonstration by British and Free French naval forces off the coast of Senegal (then a French West African colony), aimed at "persuading" the French land and naval forces at Dakar and in Senegal generally to deserty Vichy and join the Free French. The Dakar forces were unwilling to comply; no doubt the attractiveness of the offer was considerably soured by the British attack on the French heavy fleet at Mers-el-Kebir back in July. As a result, the incident developed into a scrappy battle which, while not particularly costly to either side, achieved nothing for the Allies. The main casualty (if temporarily) was the credibility of General de Gaulle, who had persuaded the British to go along with this adventure. The Zec cartoon must, in part, have been aimed at masking the failure of the Dakar demonstration in ridicule. Best regards, JR.