The end of one global conflict, the rise of American and Soviet dominance and the concurrent decline of the old imperial systems profoundly altered British and French global influence. However, the five years of European conflict that preceded these changes were fundamental in shaping not only post-war global and imperial relationships. This war also forced British and French policy-makers to reconsider their respective nation’s position on the global stage. This book shows how Britain, the Vichy government and the Free French used strategic language to construct themselves in turn as saviours of the modern world, beleaguered victims to British perfidy and the authentic French nation.

Franco-British wartime policy was a product of more than troop numbers and the sophistication of weaponry. It was predicated on the ability to justify displays of violence against a former ally. It was conceptualised and justified through historical imagery depicting Franco-British cooperation and rivalry. It was judged and debated using conceptions of morality that led to public approval of the bombardments at Mers el-Kébir and public condemnation of the alliance with Darlan. France and Britain’s wartime relationship was defined by a war of words, not just one of guns and steel.