René-Émile Godfroy
| René-Émile Godfroy | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 10, 1885 Paris, France |
| Died |
January 16, 1981 (aged 96) Fréjus, France |
| Allegiance |
 France |
| Service/branch |
 French Navy |
| Years of service | 1901-1943 |
| Rank | Vice Admiral |
| Commands held | Force X |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
René-Émile Godfroy (January 10, 1885 – January 16, 1981) was a French admiral, who was interned with his command at Alexandria during World War II.
Biography
Godfroy was born at Paris. In June 1940, he commanded French naval forces at Alexandria, where he negotiated, with British Admiral Andrew Cunningham, the peaceful internment of his ships.
The French squadron consisted of the battleship Lorraine, four cruisers (Duquesne, Tourville, Suffren and Duguay-Trouin), three destroyers (Basque, Forbin, Fortuné) and a submarine (Argo). The French emptied their fuel bunkers and removed the firing mechanisms from their guns. Cunningham promised to repatriate the ships' crews. Later, on 17 May 1943, after Northern Africa had been cleared of Axis forces by Allied forces that included the French, the British Commander-in-Chief, Levant, received a letter from Godfroy, expressing the desire "to join the French Navy in North Africa". Docking of the French warships was at once started at Alexandria.[1]
René-Emile Godfroy died at Fréjus, southern France, in January 1981, aged 96.
References
- ↑ Roskill, Stephen. "THE AFRICAN CAMPAIGNS; 1st January - 31st May, 1943". HyperWar Foundation. pp. 441–442. Retrieved 27 Sep 2010.