Gabriel Paul Auphan (Alès, 4 November 1894 - 16 April 1982) was a French admiral, chief of cabinet of Admiral Darlan under Vichy France and later Secrétaire d'État à la marine of Vichy. Alès is a town and commune in southern France, in the Languedoc-Roussillon région. ... François Darlan, French admiral and politician of Vichy France Admiral of the Fleet François Darlan (August 7, 1881 – December 24, 1942) was a French naval officer and senior figure of the Vichy France regime. ... For other uses of Vichy, see Vichy (disambiguation). ...

Early carrer

Auphan was a student at the École navale ; promoted to capitaine de vaisseau in 1936, he had a career in the cabinets of the ministries Georges Leygues and François Pietri. In 1940, he was in charge of the civilian shipping. The rank insignia of the French Navy are worn on epaulettes of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels. ... French politician Georges Leygues Georges Leygues (1857-1933) was a French politician of the Third Republic. ...

Vichy regime

After the Fall of France and the rise of the Vichy regime, Auphan was made chief of Staff and the naval forces, in 1941, and chief of cabinet of the Secrétaire d'État à la marine François Darlan. In World War II, Battle of France or Case Yellow (Fall Gelb in German) was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, executed 10 May 1940 which ended the Phony War. ... For other uses of Vichy, see Vichy (disambiguation). ... François Darlan, French admiral and politician of Vichy France Admiral of the Fleet François Darlan (August 7, 1881 – December 24, 1942) was a French naval officer and senior figure of the Vichy France regime. ...

Auphan was part of the anti-German trend of Vichy France. After the defection of Darlan, Auphan was himself made Secrétaire d'État à la marine. After Operation Torch, when Admiral Laborde petitioned him with a project to retaliate against the Allies by sailing and attacking them, Auphan discouraged him. Combatants United States United Kingdom Free French Forces Germany Vichy France Commanders Dwight Eisenhower Andrew Cunningham Erwin Rommel François Darlan Strength 73,500 - Casualties 479+ dead 720 wounded 1346+ dead 1997 wounded Operation Torch (initially called Operation Gymnast) was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World...

Auphan gave the general standing orders which led to the Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon, to avoid capture by the Nazis. On the 15 November 1942, he tried to persuade Admiral de Laborde to set sail and bring the fleet to the Allies; on Laborde's refusal, Auphan was facing the alternative of setting a coup d'État, seize power and issue a formal order to Laborde, or of resigning. Auphan resigned on the 18 November 1942. [1] The fleet was scuttled on the 27 November. Combatants Vichy France Nazi Germany Commanders Jean de Laborde, André Marquis Casualties whole fleet scuttled ; 12 killed ; 26 wounded. ... A coup détat (pronounced ), or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government through unconstitutional means by a part of the state establishment, that mostly replaces just the top power figures. ...

In August 1944, [[Philippe Pétain|Marshal Pétain sent Auphan to offer Charles de Gaulle that Auphan should succeed Pétain at the head of the Vichy regime, which would thus be recognized as France's legitimate government. The proposal was turned down. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ) (22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970), in France commonly referred to as Général de Gaulle, was a French military leader and statesman. ...

Post-war

After the Liberation, during the "Épuration légale" in 1946, he was trialed and sentenced in absentia to life-time of forced labour, dégradation nationale and confiscation of his property. In Absentia is the eighth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in September 24, 2002. ... Unfree labour is a generic or collective term for forms of work, especially in modern or early modern history, in which adults and/or children are employed without wages, or for a minimal wage. ...

He surrendered himself in 1955, and was sentenced to 5 years of prison with probation, 5 years of dégradation nationale. Probation is the suspension of a prison or jail sentence - the criminal who is on probation has been convicted of a crime, but instead of serving prison time, has been found by the Court to be amenable to probation and will be returned to the community for a period in...