A British historian, using new-found source material, tells for the first time the full story of a pivotal episode in World War II. On Christmas Ever, 1942, 21-year-old Fernand Bonnier fired two shots... This description may be from another edition of this product.
Admiral Jean-Francois Darlan, heir-apparent to Marshal Petain, is revealed in this book to have been a key player in a pivotal episode in World War II. Behind the mystery of Admiral Darlan's presence in Algiers in November 1942 was a conflict between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill on which hung the fate of France.Darlan in fact was involved in a plan to keep Petain's Vichy government in power as a counter to the growing streangth of Communism. When the terms of the plan was revealed, they shocked all those in Britain, France, and the United States who were backing Charles de Gaulle. On December 24, 1942, the Gaullists, supported by the British Secret Service and the American OSS, and probably with the knowledge of Churchill himself, stood back while a certain "patriot" entered Darlan's office and shot him dead. Drawing on interviews and new-found sources, the author tells the full ugly story of the unknown turning point in the secret battle over who would lead France.
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