French Admiral Jean François Darlan was assassinated eighty years ago.
When the French Republic joined the conflict between Germany and Poland on September 3, 1939, Adm. Darlan was in charge of the French Fleet. Many of the French politicians started considering their futures as the Third French Republic started to fall apart. The French navy was regarded like his own by Adm. Darlan. It undoubtedly served as his negotiating stance and power foundation. When Robert Murphy, a 20-year-old Frenchman, entered the admiral’s office to meet with President Roosevelt’s emissary, he fired two rounds into his stomach. At Maillot Hospital, the admiral passed away two hours later. I knew the British would finally catch me, he muttered just before he passed away.
