Saint-Pierre and Miquelon

After Nazi Germany invaded most of Europe during World War II, the islands were controlled by Vichy France. On Christmas Eve 1941, Free French forces led by Rear-Admiral Émile Muselier captured the islands on behalf of Charles de Gaulle. Saint-Pierre and Miquelon became the focus of a serious rift between Free French forces and the United States Department of State, which was courting Vichy France and threatened to send ships to take the islands back.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Pierre_and_Miquelon

President Roosevelt is conferring with Winston Churchill at the White House when Secretary of State, Cordell Hull interrupts to announce the seizure. The grand strategists of the Allied war effort chuckle and brush the matter off but Hull is livid. The Secretary protests the action as a threat to his carefully crafted policy designed to prop up Vichy in hopes it will stand firm against German demands for the remains of the French fleet and bases in North Africa. Hull further denounces the actions of those he terms, "the so-called Free French" as a violation of the Monroe Doctrine and the Havana Convention’s proclamation that the American republics will tolerate no transfer of European possessions in the western hemisphere as a consequence of the war. Hull threatens to resign unless Roosevelt backs his demands for a restoration of the status quo in St. Pierre and Miquelon. Roosevelt agrees to persue the matter.

and more here:

http://worldatwar.net/article/miquelon/index.html

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