In 1940 the evacuation French citizens and allied troops continues in Operation Ariel as France prepares to surrender.
With the German troops occupying 70% of France and the newly appointed French Prime Minister, Marshal Henri Petain, preparing to sign an armistice with the Nazi’s, British soldiers evacuate many French civilians and Allied soldier. The French General, Charles de Gaulle, had already fled to England from where he made an announcement to his countrymen, requesting they continue to resist German occupation. Meanwhile British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, reassures the citizens of the United Kingdom that whatever happened in France, they would continue to resist invasion and defeat the enemy.
After the mass evacuation at Dunkirk on the 4th of June 1940, where 335,000 allied troops (198,000 British and 137,000 French) were evacuated to Britain, Winston Churchill was not ready to give up on France. Soon after the 52nd Division and 1st Canadian Division were sent back to France to continue the fight and help the remaining, outnumbered, French forces.
By the 14th of June it had become apparent that the Allied effort against the Nazi invasion of France was ineffective and the head of British troops in France, General Alan Brooke, contacted Churchill and requested permission to start evacuating Allied troops once more. Churchill agreed and Operation Aerial began on the 15th of June 1940. By the end of the operation 191,870 Allied soldiers (British, Canadian, French, Polish, Belgian and Czech soldiers) were rescued as well as civilians, and military equipment. Added to those saved at Dunkirk brought the total amount of evacuated Allied soldiers from the invading Nazi forces in France to 526,870.
Unfortunately a German bombing raid sank the Ocean Liner Lancastria killing 3,000 of the 5,800 allied soldiers and French civilians aboard on this day in 1940.
In 1885 the Statue of Liberty Arrives in New York as a gift to the United States of America from France to commemorate their Independence from the United Kingdom.
The 151 foot (46 meter) structure arrived by boat in 350 pieces from France ready to be constructed on the pre-built pedestal on Liberty Island in Manhattan. The statue represents the Roman Goddess of freedom, Libertas, holding a torch in one hand and a book of law in the other. On the cover of the book is the inscription of date that the United States declared independence, the 4th of July 1776.
After the French defeat to Britain in the French-Indian War (1754-1763) and the Seven Years War (1756 – 1763) France lost most of its territories in the American continent. The French-Indian War cost Britain dearly and they sought to raise taxes in the colonies to help pay for the cost of their protection from the French. But many of their ways to raise taxes had not been agreed by the colonist’s representatives and this caused anger in the colonies and within Britain. When the American War of Independence broke out (1775 – 1783) France began to build up its Navy and European alliances. In 1778 France signed a treaty with America and declared war with Britain. Their alliances with Spain and the Netherlands also caused Britain conflict at home with the fourth Anglo-Dutch War (1780 – 1784). The French Naval and land troops greatly aided the American Victory, particularly in the final land battle of the War, the Battle of Yorktown, where French soldiers outnumbered the American soldiers.
The Victory of the United States of America came to great financial cost to France and the resulting poverty led to the French revolution (1787 – 1799).
