Case Anton

Case Anton (German: Unternehmen Anton) was the military occupation of Vichy France carried out by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in November 1942. It marked the end of the Vichy regime as a nominally independent state and the disbanding of its army (the severely-limited Armistice Army), but it continued its existence as a puppet government within occupied France. One of the last actions of the Vichy armed forces before their dissolution was the scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon to prevent it from falling into Axis hands.

Background

A German plan to occupy Vichy France had been drawn up in December 1940 under the codename of Operation Attila and soon came to be considered with Operation Camellia, the plan to occupy Corsica.¹ Operation Anton updated the original Operation Attila, including different Wehrmacht units and adding Italian involvement.

For Adolf Hitler, the main rationale for permitting a nominally independent France to exist was that it was, in the absence of German naval superiority, the only practical means to deny the use of the French colonies to the Allies. However, the Allied landings in French North Africa on 8 November 1942 caused that rationale to disappear, especially since it quickly became apparent that the Vichy government possessed neither the political will nor the practical means to prevent French colonial authorities from submitting to Allied occupation. Moreover, Hitler knew he could not risk an exposed flank on the French Mediterranean. After a final conversation with French Prime Minister Pierre Laval, Hitler gave orders for Corsica to be occupied on 11 November and Vichy France the following day.