二次世界大戰資料庫 (WW2DB)

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseMarseillaise was commissioned into French Navy service in Oct 1937. In the following year, she was made the flagship of the French Mediterranean Squadron under Contre-Amiral Jean Decoux. In 1939, she was assigned to the French 3rd Cruiser Division based in Casablanca, Morocco; later in the same year, she became the flagship of the 4th Squadron based in Toulon in southern France. In Apr 1940, she transported French gold to Canada for safekeeping, and then patrolled the Mediterranean coast of French colonies in North Africa. On 4 Jul 1940, after the French surrender, she arrived in Toulon and joined the French High Seas Fleet. On 27 Nov 1942, as German forces marched toward Toulon, the commanding officer of Marseillaise ordered the valves to be opened on one side, aiming to capsize the ship to prevent German capture. To ensure that she would be useless to the Germans, scuttling charges were also detonated; the fires caused by the charges burned for seven days. The hull of Marseillaise remained in place through the war, not scrapped until 1946.

Light Cruiser Marseillaise 互動地圖

Photographs

Marseillaise Operational Timeline