Anti-British sentiment in Africa had run high after the French battleship
Richelieu had been hit in the port of
Dakar,
Senegal, in
French West Africa on 10 July 1940. In August,
Free French General
Charles de Gaulle suggested an overland campaign, landing at
Conakry,
French Guinea. He anticipated that popular support for the
Free French movement would be built in a drive on Dakar. But de Gaulle's suggestion was overruled by British desires to move swiftly. On 18 September, three French light cruisers, the
Georges Leygues, the
Gloire, and the
Montcalm were intercepted by Allied ships en route to Libreville. The intercepting Allied ships included the heavy cruiser
HMAS Australia. The three French light cruisers were forced to retreat. Vichy resistance stiffened as a result of the attacks on the French ships. The
Battle of Dakar (23 September to 25 September 1940) took place after Allied forces failed to persuade the
Vichy French defenders of Dakar to allow them to peacefully enter the city. The Allied forces first tried to persuade the Vichy forces by means of
propaganda. They then attempted to take Dakar by force of arms. Both attempts ended in defeat. Allied hopes of taking over
French West Africa were dashed for the time being, leading to the less developed and economically important
French Equatorial Africa to be the main Free French territory in the immediate aftermath of the Armistice. ==Operation Torch==