Did Britain ever consider annexing Normandy after D-Day?

Question

I’m posing this question half in jest, but also half seriously. The Norman Conquest in 1066 is something that I’ve heard is still a touchy subject today among more conservative Britons, and Britain has been an ancient enemy of France for centuries, even up until the beginning of the 20th century. So with all of the British attempts to control France, from the Hundred Years War up until George III finally removed his claim of being “King of France” from his title in 1800, it seems unlikely, but not necessarily absurd that there were some people in Britain after D-Day who would have seriously thought of keeping Normandy for Britain after the end of WWII. So was there actually any serious thought given to it by members of the British government, or the public at large?

Remember, although I'm posing this question half in jest, I am also asking half in earnest. I honestly want to know if there was serious thought given to the idea.

Some people probably think I'm a moron for asking this question, but what can I say? I'm bored and I have an overactive imagination.

Answer 1

Yes, annexing was considered. Then France took 15 sailors as hostages and kept them in France for weeks. They even had the sailors write confessions which were sent back to England. One of the sailors was a female. It was very tense for several weeks, then ...

Answer 2

No they did not. Britain was very near economic collapse at the end of the 2nd war and had just spent 15 of the last 40 years in armed conflict. However, at the beginning of the war Churchill did consider annexing the Free Irish Ports of Dublin Cork and Cobh. At the beginning of the war the Irish Free state had eliminated the oath of loyalty to Britain from its constitution. These ports would have been very useful for the war effort. This plan was deemed a bad idea because of the potential backlash from the USA which has a significant minority of Irish descent.

Answer 3

The Normandy Landings have been the 1st operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, additionally huge-unfold as Operation Neptune and Operation Overlord, for the period of international conflict II. The landings began on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), commencing up at 6:30 British Double summer season time (H-Hour). In making plans, D-Day became the term used for the day of actually landing, which became based on very final approval. The attack became carried out in 2 stages: an air attack landing of yankee, British and Canadian airborne troops presently after nighttime, and an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armoured divisions on the coast of France taking off at 6:30. The invasion required the transport of squaddies and materiel from the united kingdom with the help of troop wearing airplane and ships, the attack landings, air help, naval interdiction of the English Channel and naval fireplace-help. there have been additionally subsidiary 'assaults' fastened below the codenames Operation Glimmer and Operation Taxable to distract the Kriegsmarine and the German military from the actual landing areas.[3] The operation became the main important single-day amphibious invasion of all time, with a hundred and sixty,000[4] troops landing on June 6, 1944. 195,seven-hundred[5] Allied naval and repair provider military workers in over 5,000[4] ships have been in touch. The landings occurred alongside a 50-mile (eighty km) stretch of the Normandy coast divided into 5 sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword

Answer 4

What you have got to remember about 1066 is that the people who conquered the English never went home.
They became our lords and masters up to the present day.
Most of the major aristocracy with their large land holdings can be traced back to the original invaders.
None of the sovereigns of England since 1066 have been of English origin. For several centuries they were French and the King of England was a frenchman who was a vassal of the King of France . They there was a period of the Tudors who were Welsh followed by the Stuarts who were Scottish before the second invasion by the Dutchman , William of Orange in 1688 aided by treasonable acts against James II. followed by the installation of Germans upon the throne of England which brings us up to date.
So the fights between the Kings Of England and the Kings of France in the 12th to the 15th century were merely squabbles between Frenchmen with English soldiers being forced to fight for their masters.

Answer 5

Any pretence that Britain held to any possesions in France ended with Queen Mary 1 when Britain lost Calais. While the English have always regretted the loss, they have always been smart enough to realise that holding on to any continental possesions would be impossible.

I think that the English monarchs held any pretence to their heritage in Normandy only out of Pride - but they were realistic enough to realise how impossible it would have been to hold on to.

Secondly, Britain is a naval / sea Empire. Britain has never possesed an army large enough to conquer adequately. Britain has always relied on her Empire for troops. Britain could never hold any possession in Europe without calling on her already crumbling Empire for help.

The British realised this when they lost the American colonies. They knew that any attempt to send an army back to retrieve them would have been impossible. This also proved to be true with regards to Egypt and the Suez Canal incident in 1956 - Britain did not have the military strength or economy to lodge any pretence to Empire.

The Fall of Singapore and Suez revealed just how thinly stretched the British Empire was - and how it could not be defended. How could Britain defend France when she could not defend Singapore?

Also, Normandy was recognised by the allies as French territory - it was not like Germany to be separated and divided up because France had fought along side the allies.

For Britain to stake any claim to French territory after the war had ended would have been hypocritical and criticised. How could Britain, claiming to fight for freedom and defeat Fascism, then turn around and take over French territory herself.

Another reason - the United States would not have entertained the idea of Britain continuing to go to war after any colonial possessions, let alone some age old claim to Normandy. In the age of Decolonisation, the United States did not support the British in Suez in 1956 - it sure would not be prepared to support any possible war with France over Normandy.

The United States were also anxious to consolidate their position in Europe - which meant that the U.S demanded that they be recognised as number 1. The United States could not - would not tolerate another power, including Britain, from holding the hegemony in Europe. As the saviour of the world in World War 2, the U.S would not tolerate any other power from claiming equal status to the U.S as superpower in Western Europe.

Answer 6

I don't think so, because at the end of WWII England was an ally of France.

Answer 7

they should have, french cant even defend their own territory