Somerville off Oran — 4:54 p.m.

Vice-Admiral James Somerville, 58, commands Force H from Gibraltar, tasked with carrying out Operation Catapult against the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir. He deeply disapproves of the mission, which he has described to his own as 'the most useless, the most political and the most immoral' of acts; he tried unsuccessfully to dissuade the Admiralty. London, fearing the fleet may one day fall into Axis hands, has imposed on him a strict timetable and an ultimatum with a fixed deadline.

The ultimatum presented to Gensoul expires at 5:00 p.m. As the deadline nears, Gensoul has made known his refusal and the French fleet is weighing anchor, turrets training on Force H. Somerville watches the movement through binoculars. He knows that in the roadstead the French ships lie at anchor, poorly placed to fight, and that the carnage will be great if he opens fire. The talks conducted aboard since morning by the British emissary have yielded nothing, and the carrier Ark Royal holds its aircraft ready.

With the ultimatum expired, Somerville must open fire. The very manner of engaging — which ship to target, at what range, with what intensity — will determine the scale of the losses among sailors who were allies the day before.