| rdfs:comment | - Since the Battle of France, the island of La Réunion had had little strategic importance, and little defences as a consequence. The Armistice had reduced the military on the island to three officers, one physician, eleven non-commissioned officers, and about 270 men, of which only 23 were professionals. The coastal artillery were out of order. On 8 November, Operation Torch triggered Case Anton, the German invasion of the so-called "Free Zone", resulting in the Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon. François Darlan emerged as a rival to De Gaulle, negotiating with General Clark.
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| abstract | - Since the Battle of France, the island of La Réunion had had little strategic importance, and little defences as a consequence. The Armistice had reduced the military on the island to three officers, one physician, eleven non-commissioned officers, and about 270 men, of which only 23 were professionals. The coastal artillery were out of order. On 23 June 1940, Raoul Nativel, president of the conseil général, denounced the Armistice on Radio Saint-Denis. The next day, British consul Maurice Gaud met with the Governor of the island, Pierre Aubert, proposing to pay the French administration on British treasure if La Réunion would fight on. The proposal became public when the radio of Mauritius broadcast it. Aubert consulted with local notabilities, but faced with the choice of illegally surrendering the island to a foreign government, he decided to stay loyal to Pétain. Supporters of De Gaulle, General secretary Angelini and captain Plat were transferred, and the president of the colonial commission Adrien Lagourgue was discharged, as well as Nativel. Governor Aubert, although loyal to the Vichy Regime, was relatively moderate in his support of Pétain's policies. He had however the supreme authority on the island. On the other hand, his cabinet director, Jean-Jacques Pillet, was enthusiastic in his support of the Révolution nationale, organising censorship, propaganda, a special criminal court, and a pro-Vichy militia. A local resistance movement soon emerged. On 11 November 1941, for Remembrance Day, about 20 women put flowers on the memorial of 1918 at Saint-Denis; they were consequently fined. Communist cells operated under Léon de Lepervanche, though keeping a low profile. La Réunion also harboured prince Duy Tân, who was a keen radio amateur and managed to communicate with Mauritius; he was shortly detained and had his equipment confiscated. After the Battle of Singapore, in February 1942, the British Eastern Fleet retreated to Addu Atoll in Maldives. Then, following Chuichi Nagumo's Indian Ocean raid in early 1942, the Fleet moved its operational base to Kilindini near Mombasa in Kenya, increasing the British presence on the Eastern African coasts. Soon afterwards, the British struck the French possessions of Madagascar, under Vichy Regime control, with Operation Ironclad, on 5 May 1942. La Réunion lost her shipping communications with mainland Africa, and the attack further encouraged anti-British sentiments among the Vichy loyalists. On the other hand, De Gaulle, who had not been involved in Ironclad, felt hard-pressed to re-claim La Réunion from Vichy before the British or Americans would. On 8 May, Vichy elements in Madagascar signaled that a British cruiser have left South Africa with 600 men aboard to seize the island. Aubert then decided to obstruct the harbour of Le Port by scuttling a ship in the entrance. He also ordered evacuation of the capital of Saint-Denis, as to avoid a bloody bombing like at Diego Soares; in the evening, about 9,000 people had moved to La Montagne, Le Brûlé, Saint-François, and Sainte Marie. No bombing materialised, however, and the population gradually returned to its homes. The incident had highlighted the fact that the island was helpless against any invasion; on 18 September, it was decided that resistance to a landing would be limited to a mere token fight. Some elements of the military were however determined to fiercely resist a British invasion. On 27 September, Saint-Denis was declared open city, while authorities moved to Hell-Bourg, mocked by De Gaulle's supporters. On 8 November, Operation Torch triggered Case Anton, the German invasion of the so-called "Free Zone", resulting in the Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon. François Darlan emerged as a rival to De Gaulle, negotiating with General Clark.
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