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Civil and Naval Ensign of France

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale ("National Navy") is the maritime arm of the French Military. Although the history of the French Navy goes back to the Middle Ages, its history can be said to effectively begin with Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu under Louis XIII. Its motto is Honneur, Patrie, Valeur, Discipline ("Honour, Fatherland, Valour, Discipline") and these words are found on the deck of every ship in the fleet.

French Navy in Southern Victory[]

The French Navy along with the Royal Navy helped bring about an end to the War of Secession by threatening to help break the US blockade of the Confederacy.

During the Second Mexican War, the French Navy bombarded Los Angeles after sailing up from Mexico.

During the Great War, the French Navy mainly fought the German High Seas Fleet, but still had occasional clashes with US commerce raiders in the Atlantic.

After the war, the French Navy was reduced in strength. Many sailors in the Navy regretted their war with the US, wishing only to focus on the Germans. With the rise to power of monarchist party Action Francaise, the French Navy underwent rearmament and when the Second Great War erupted, joined the Royal Navy in the fight against Germany.

Although the Navy primarily fought the Germans, they sent ships to help the British fight the US, and participated in the Battle of the North Atlantic.

Literary comment[]

The fate and condition of the French Navy at war's end is unknown.

French Navy in The War That Came Early[]

After the Second World War broke out in 1938, many soldiers in the Spanish Republican army were frustrated with the French Navy's inability to prevent the flow of arms and supplies from the Germans through Italy and into Spain to the Nationalists.

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