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A Hateful Decision
  • Published: 4 July 2026
  • ISBN: 9780857509628
  • Imprint: Bantam
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $65.00

A Hateful Decision

Churchill's Darkest Hour and the British Attack on the French Navy

Formats & editions
Audiobook
4 June 2026
Hardback
4 July 2026
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A gripping minute-by-minute account of the Battle of Mers el Kébir and Winston Churchill’s decision to sink the French fleet to prevent it falling under Nazi command. Based on extensive new research, this pivotal moment is recounted in vivid detail, as Churchill’s resolve turns the tide of the war.

'This is history as it should be written: as page-turning and compelling as the best thriller, rich in human drama yet deeply researched and authoritative... superbly told with compassion, edge-of-seat tension and the deftness of a master story-teller.'
JAMES HOLLAND

'One the toughest decisions Churchill was forced to make. Abel Smith takes us right into the heart of the drama... Minute by minute chances slip away, and pride, fate and war collide. Utterly gripping.'
AL MURRAY
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Summer, 1940. Winston Churchill watches in horror as France falls to the Germans in just six weeks, completing the Nazi conquest of mainland Europe. He faces an urgent question: what will happen to the mighty French Navy? Under Hitler's control it presents a major threat, and could make the German advance unstoppable.

With the Nazis closing in, Churchill orders Operation Catapult. By the end of one of the most agonising but necessary military operations of the war, the British will have destroyed a large part of the French Navy and nearly 1,300 French sailors will be dead.

‘This was a hateful decision, the most unnatural and painful in which I have ever been concerned... But no act was ever more necessary for the life of Britain and for all that depended upon it.’
WINSTON CHURCHILL

Based on extensive new research and rediscovered eyewitness accounts, A Hateful Decision tells for the first time the full story of the British attack on the French fleet at Mers el Kébir, on 3 July 1940.

As we pass between the men on the ground and the ratcheting tension in the European corridors of power, this riveting book brings to life Churchill’s darkest hour, and the act that demonstrated to the world how far Britain would go to win the war.
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'Read this astonishing book on Churchill's darkest hour.'
JOHN SWEENEY

'A Hateful Decision reads like a thriller and is based on a mass of meticulous and original research. An invaluable contribution to the history of the Second World War.’
JONATHAN DIMBLEBY

'Meticulously researched and written with panache, A Hateful Decision sheds new light on one of the most compelling yet least known dramas of the Second World War. Authoritative and revelatory - a must read.’
GILES MILTON
  • Published: 4 July 2026
  • ISBN: 9780857509628
  • Imprint: Bantam
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $65.00

About the author

Edward Abel Smith

Edward Abel Smith is a writer and documentary filmmaker. He is the author of three books, including Angels of Prague and The British Oskar Schindler: The Life and Work of Nicholas Winton. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including the Telegraph, The Times, the Guardian and the Washington Times. He has also been a guest on BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service and was consultant producer for the Sky documentary Murder at the Post Office. Edward lives in the south of England with his wife, two daughters and their dog, Vesper.
EAS

Praise for A Hateful Decision

This is history as it should be written: as page-turning and compelling as the best thriller, rich in human drama yet deeply researched and authoritative. Abel Smith has a rare eye for detail and this tragic episode in the Second World War is superbly told with compassion, edge-of-seat tension and the deftness of a master story-teller.

James Holland

The summer of 1940 is not short on drama and Operation Catapult – when the Royal Navy turned its guns on the French Fleet to deny it falling into enemy hands – is one the toughest decisions Churchill was forced to make. Edward Abel Smith takes us right into the heart of the drama, as men who worked together as allies faced each other as possible enemies. Minute by minute chances slip away, and pride, fate and war collide.

Al Murray

In war, the worst is not killing the enemy but someone in the way. Read this astonishing book on Churchill's darkest hour.

John Sweeney

A Hateful Decision reads like a thriller and is based on a mass of meticulous and original research. As a result, the tension in the hours leading up to the moment when the Royal Navy's big guns were turned on French warships in the summer of 1940 is portrayed as vividly as the anguish of everyone at every level on both sides who played a part in a fateful military operation in which thousands of sailors lost their lives. By throwing a powerful spotlight on this little-known maritime drama, Abel Smith has made an invaluable contribution to the history of the Second World War.

Jonathan Dimbleby

Meticulously researched and written with panache, A Hateful Decision sheds new light on one of the most compelling yet least known dramas of the Second World War - the destruction of the French fleet by the British navy. Authoritative and revelatory - a must read.

Giles Milton

Edward Abel Smith brilliantly highlights the often excruciating decisions made by Churchill, the Government and the Royal Navy to protect Britain in 1940. A Hateful Decision is a gripping tale of Britain’s determination to fight on.

Andrew Chatterton, author of Britain’s Secret Defences

Simply fant­astic. An impec­cably well re­searched and writ­ten book, full of insight, and a reward­ing page-turner.

History of War magazine