Indeed, but fighting men will fight. Just curious about this little known naval aspect of WW2.

The French navy apparrently put up much more of a fight than did the army.

http://www.daileyint.com/seawar/seawar5.htm

About this time we received word that the French Army did not wish to fight. The Navy however was a different story and at 11:00, the Brooklyn, Augusta, two other cans (if it has not come up before, destroyers were also "tin cans" usually shortened to "cans") and the Edison, lit into a French cruiser and two destroyers.

This evening about 8:00, three ships were torpedoed: Hewes, a transport, sunk; and the Winooski, a tanker, and the Hambleton, a 4-stack destroyer, damaged. They certainly caught us with our pants down and in a very cocky mood.

two of the transports were torpedoed not more than 300 or 400 yards from us. General Quarters sounded and we got underway immediately. (More on this later; we left Edison men aboard that tanker in our hurried departure.) Before we could get very far another transport was hit, right under my eyes. It quivered, shook, and nearly capsized. Within 10 or 15 seconds men were climbing down the sides into the water. One ship burned all night and sank about 3:00 this morning. (Would be the 13th.)


It would appear that the torpedo did the only significant damage from the French side.