Chapter 86. France and the Indochina War
- Location
- Romania
Chapter 86. France and the Indochina War
The group of chapters about the Colonial Powers ends with France.
France
The activation of the Berlin Dome split France in two parts: a smaller one inside the Dome (Inner France) and a much larger one outside the Dome (Outer France).
Outer France was under the control of the Free French and their leader Charles de Gaulle while Inner France developed into an anarchy following the Surrender of the Inner Western Front. In a convoluted process, the Vichy France leaders, Chief of State Maréchal Pétain and Prime Minister Pierre Laval managed to gain control of Inner France. Shortly after the Bern Armistice Treaty, the French State (Inner France) invaded Wallonia and annexed it into an Assymetric Federation formed of Inner France Proper, Wallonia and the French speaking Swiss Canton of Jura which, expelled from German Switzerland, opted to join France. At the same time, Outer France annexed the small Outer Flanders (Poperinge Area).
Inner France (the French State) did not control any French Overseas Territories but claimed all of them as the rightful Government of France. In fact, Inner France was landlocked (bordering the Netherlands, Germany, Romandy and Outer France) and, consequently, lacked a navy or any other means to access the claimed Colonies.
Outer France (the French Republic) controlled most of the French Overseas Territories (with the exception of French Indochina and the French Concessions in China, see below). During the first months of 1945, Outer France annexed Belgian Congo and recognized the independence of its former LoN Mandates Syria and Lebanon. The French Concessions in China were officially relinquished to China.
Overseas Territories in June 1945
Outer France was adamantly opposed to decolonization. Uptime information about the failure of Colonialism (which they learned of despite not being invited to the Berlin History Symposium) did not deter the French at all. They were certain they will do it right that time. In that particular field, the opinions of the Inner French Government coincided perfectly with those of their Outer French foes.
The only territory which they were ready to cede, albeit reluctantly, was French India, after the expected Independence of British India.
Changes in the Overseas Territories During the Summer of 1945
1. Belgian Congo was renamed South Congo (with French Congo becoming North Congo) and merged into French Equatorial Africa. Later, North Congo and South Congo were merged into Congo.
2. After the Peace Treaty with Italy, Fezzan was annexed by France as a Protectorate. Later, it was merged into French West Africa, thus losing its Protectorate status.
3. After the LoN Mandate System was declared defunct, French Cameroons was merged into French Equatorial Africa and French Togoland into French West Africa (to Dahomey). The southern, mostly deserted part of Algeria was detached from Algeria and joined to French West Africa as Sahara.
4. The Treaty of Tangier added all Spanish Colonies (except Fernando Pó and Annobón) to the French Colonial Empire, with France relinquishing its interests in Tangier and Andorra. Rio de Oro was joined to French West Africa (to Mauretania), Cape Juby, Saguia el Hamra and Ifni were joined to French Morocco and Rio Muni was joined to French Equatorial Africa (to Gabon). After Spain made the Spanish Morocco an integral part of its territory, French Morocco was renamed Morocco.
5. France ceded a small area at the mouth of the Congo to Portugal in exchange with mainland Portuguese Guinea (Bissau, without the Bissagos Islands), the São João Baptista de Ajudá fort in Dahomey and some very needed hard currency. They were joined to French West Africa (Portuguese Guinea to Guinea and the small fort to Dahomey).
6. The small, southern majority Christian part of Chad was transferred to Ubangi-Chari and the rest of Chad was transferred to French West Africa. Thus, French Equatorial Africa was overwhelmingly Catholic, while French West Africa was overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim. That was intentional.
Overseas Territories in December 1945
The Indochina War
The only de jure part of the French Colonial Empire over which Paris did not exert any authority whatsoever was French Indochina which was under the firm control of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand (the areas annexed in 1941), with referenda scheduled for 1946 to settle its fate (specified in the Japanese Instrument of Surrender which France had refused to sign).
The French Government was determined to put an end to what it percieved as a great indignity and regain the economically valuable Indochina no matter what. After regaining its footing following the devastating World War Two, the French Army and Navy were ready to mount an invasion of Indochina in early autumn.
The historians had identified a multitude of factors that contributed to the major and humiliating defeat inflicted on France by its former Colonies. Fact is that France had lost the First Indochina War even in the other history, when they had much better odds:
It is then painfully obvious that France did not stand a chance when we consider the current situation: A significantly weaker France, with no internal and external help, which invaded a much stronger, more cohesive and better armed opponent which also enjoyed the military backing of Thailand and the good-will of the Western Powers. In those extremely unfavourable circumstances, it is almost unbelievable that France even considered such a suicidal mission, much less that it actually embarked on it.
The Opposing Forces
France:
South-East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO, name borrowed from the Uptime):
The Naval War
While certainly not on the level of the U.S. Navy or the Royal British Navy, the French Navy was nonetheless a formidable force and the small Vietnamese and Thai navies could not compare with it.
After a couple of battles in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, the Vietnamese Navy was all but obliterated and the remnants of the Thai Navy retreated to its harbours to act like a fleet in being for the duration of the war. The resulting naval supremacy allowed the French to capture the Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodian islands in the South China Sea and mount amphibious landings on the Vietnamese and Cambodian Littorals.
The Invasion of Indochina
In a massive display of force, the French Expeditionary Corps launched 14 almost simultaneous amphibious invasions of Indochina, 2 in Cambodia, 5 in Cochinchina, 5 in Annam and 2 in Tonkin.
The Cambodian beachheads were contained by the Thai Army who was expecting them.
The Cochinchina invasions were the most successful with the invading forces managing to quicky overrun most of the Mekong Delta and threaten Saigon. In the following months, they attempted to capture Saigon four times, all assaults being repulsed by the Vietnamese defenders who inflicted a large number of casualties on the attacking French.
From Cochinchina, the French crossed the lightly defended Cambodian border and, in a swift campaign against a poorly organized defence, managed to capture the central and most densely populated part of Cambodia, including the Cambodian Capital, Phnom Penh.
King Norodom Sihanouk and the Cambodian Government retreated to the safety of the Thai lines in the west of the country. The French invasion of Cambodia was only stopped on the shores of the Tonlé Sap Lake where they reached the end of their logistical chain.
In Annam, two of the beachheads were neutralized by the Vietnamese defenders, one failed to expand and was unable to capture the old Imperial Capital, Hué, while the northernmost two merged and managed to overrun the hilly countryside, reaching the Laotian border and thus cutting Vietnam in two.
Unable to press either northwards or southwards, the French crossed into Laos and conquered the central part of the country, including the Laotian Capital, Ventiane, before the Thai could muster sufficient forces in that rather isolated area. Moreover, realizing the weakness of the local Thai forces, the French crossed the Mekong and captured a large but sparsely inhabited area of Thailand.
King Sisavang Vatthana and most of the Laotian Government managed to flee over the Mekong with only hours to spare before the fall of Ventiane. Subsequently, the flegding Laotian State collapsed, with State Authority in the still free areas being close to non-existent. In those conditions, the Thai Army occupied the remainder of Laos, placing it under military administration.
The Tonkin beachheads, on the north and south of Haiphong witnessed the bloodiest and most ferocious battles. The French eventually prevailed, thanks to supporting naval and air power and due to the fact that the greatest number of French troops had been deployed there. Haiphong was encircled and placed under siege while the continuously enforced French forces pressed towards the great prize, the Vietnamese Capital Hanoi.
Despite their inferior equipment, the more numerous and better motivated Vietnamese defenders decisively defeated the advancing French Armies near the southern outskirts of Hanoi. At the same time, the fall of Haiphong witnessed the first major French war crimes, with the use of nerve gas and napalm against the Vietnamese defenders and undiscriminate killings of the civilian population. The Western reporters present in Haiphong duly reported the attrocities to an already appalled international public opinion.
Turning the Tide
During the following months, the Vietnamese and Thai armies increased almost twofold, accentuating the discrepancy between the warring forces. In France, the war was already unpopular due to the great number of casualties (almost 100,000 French soldiers were either dead, wounded, missing or prisoners of war). There were already demonstrations against the war and many young men were dodging the draft.
By the start of 1946, the French controlled territory in Indochina was reduced to three continously shrinking areas: the Mekong Delta and central Cambodia around Phnom Penh, an isolated enclave around Ventiane in Laos and the perimeter of Haiphong in Tonkin.
The negotiations in Geneva went nowhere as, by that time, the peoples of Indochina would accept nothing less than immediate and complete independence plus the appropriate reparations. While the French High Command was already clearly aware that the war was lost, they were still trying to maintain their dignity, whatever that meant.
In the following weeks, the desperate French Generals tried to cow their foes into submission using their still formidable Air Force. Hanoi, Saigon and Bangkok were bombed daily, resulting in widespread destruction and thousands of civilian deaths. The Thai Royal Palace had been totally destroyed but the Royal Family had already relocated to a safe place outside the beleaguered capital.
The End
On the 19th of March, when the end of the French folly was already in sight, the Governments of the United States, Australia and New Zealand, responding to increasing public opinion pressure, announced a naval exclusion zone around Indochina.
French President Charles de Gaulle, although appalled by that yet another Anglo-Saxon cowardly betrayal, realized that, at that point, he had no other options besides the surrender of the entire French Expeditionary Corps. But alas, he was actually relieved.
The honour of France is intact. We didn't lose the war at the hands of some rebel gangs from our Colonies. No, we only lost because of the intervention of those perfidious Anglo-Saxons! Now, with the Western Powers clearly against us, the French People will double up their support for the Republic and our Administration. Yes, they inadvertently gave us a way out. With dignity.
Instead of the eight years long First Indochina War from the other history, the Indochina War was over in less than seven months. And, hopefully, a Second Indochina War could be averted altogether.
De Gaulle contacted General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, the Commander of the French Expeditionary Corps, and informed him of the French Government's decision to end the war. De Gaulle instructed de Hauteclocque to obey the American blockade and prepare to surrender.
About ten minutes later, de Gaulle called the American President Harry Truman to negotiate acceptable conditions for the surrender of the French Expeditionary Corps. Before de Gaulle could even began talking, Truman bluntly informed him that a state of war existed between the United States of America and the French Republic.
Apparently, a skirmish between a French warship heading to Haiphong and an American one enforcing the blockade had somehow escalated into a full-fledged naval battle between the French and the American South China Sea Fleets. The details were still scarce but it appeared that at least two American ships had been sunk with hundreds of American sailors scattered in shark infested waters.
After a short pause needed to digest the shocking news, de Gaulle asked for terms.
Minutes later, he poured himself a glass of wine, sat down at his desk, took a pen and a sheet of paper and began to write his resignation.
The group of chapters about the Colonial Powers ends with France.
France
The activation of the Berlin Dome split France in two parts: a smaller one inside the Dome (Inner France) and a much larger one outside the Dome (Outer France).
Outer France was under the control of the Free French and their leader Charles de Gaulle while Inner France developed into an anarchy following the Surrender of the Inner Western Front. In a convoluted process, the Vichy France leaders, Chief of State Maréchal Pétain and Prime Minister Pierre Laval managed to gain control of Inner France. Shortly after the Bern Armistice Treaty, the French State (Inner France) invaded Wallonia and annexed it into an Assymetric Federation formed of Inner France Proper, Wallonia and the French speaking Swiss Canton of Jura which, expelled from German Switzerland, opted to join France. At the same time, Outer France annexed the small Outer Flanders (Poperinge Area).
Inner France (the French State) did not control any French Overseas Territories but claimed all of them as the rightful Government of France. In fact, Inner France was landlocked (bordering the Netherlands, Germany, Romandy and Outer France) and, consequently, lacked a navy or any other means to access the claimed Colonies.
Outer France (the French Republic) controlled most of the French Overseas Territories (with the exception of French Indochina and the French Concessions in China, see below). During the first months of 1945, Outer France annexed Belgian Congo and recognized the independence of its former LoN Mandates Syria and Lebanon. The French Concessions in China were officially relinquished to China.
Overseas Territories in June 1945
- Algeria (Integral Part)
- Occupied Fezzan (Italy)
- French Cameroons (LoN Mandate)
- French Togoland (LoN Mandate)
- New Hebrides (Condominium with the UK)
- French Morocco (Protectorate)
- Tunisia (Protectorate)
- French Indochina (Federation of protectorates, under local control: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand)
- French West Africa (Colony)
- French Equatorial Africa (Colony)
- Belgian Congo / South Congo (Colony)
- French Somaliland (Colony)
- Madagascar (Colony)
- Réunion (Colony)
- French India (Colony)
- New Caledonia (Colony)
- French Oceania (Colony)
- French Guiana (Colony)
- Guadeloupe (Colony)
- Martinique (Colony)
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Colony)
- Uninhabited Islands
- Antarctic Sector
Outer France was adamantly opposed to decolonization. Uptime information about the failure of Colonialism (which they learned of despite not being invited to the Berlin History Symposium) did not deter the French at all. They were certain they will do it right that time. In that particular field, the opinions of the Inner French Government coincided perfectly with those of their Outer French foes.
The only territory which they were ready to cede, albeit reluctantly, was French India, after the expected Independence of British India.
Changes in the Overseas Territories During the Summer of 1945
1. Belgian Congo was renamed South Congo (with French Congo becoming North Congo) and merged into French Equatorial Africa. Later, North Congo and South Congo were merged into Congo.
2. After the Peace Treaty with Italy, Fezzan was annexed by France as a Protectorate. Later, it was merged into French West Africa, thus losing its Protectorate status.
3. After the LoN Mandate System was declared defunct, French Cameroons was merged into French Equatorial Africa and French Togoland into French West Africa (to Dahomey). The southern, mostly deserted part of Algeria was detached from Algeria and joined to French West Africa as Sahara.
4. The Treaty of Tangier added all Spanish Colonies (except Fernando Pó and Annobón) to the French Colonial Empire, with France relinquishing its interests in Tangier and Andorra. Rio de Oro was joined to French West Africa (to Mauretania), Cape Juby, Saguia el Hamra and Ifni were joined to French Morocco and Rio Muni was joined to French Equatorial Africa (to Gabon). After Spain made the Spanish Morocco an integral part of its territory, French Morocco was renamed Morocco.
5. France ceded a small area at the mouth of the Congo to Portugal in exchange with mainland Portuguese Guinea (Bissau, without the Bissagos Islands), the São João Baptista de Ajudá fort in Dahomey and some very needed hard currency. They were joined to French West Africa (Portuguese Guinea to Guinea and the small fort to Dahomey).
6. The small, southern majority Christian part of Chad was transferred to Ubangi-Chari and the rest of Chad was transferred to French West Africa. Thus, French Equatorial Africa was overwhelmingly Catholic, while French West Africa was overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim. That was intentional.
Overseas Territories in December 1945
- Algeria (Integral Part)
- New Hebrides (Condominium with Australia)
- Morocco (Protectorate), including Cape Juby, Ifni, Saguia el Hamra
- Tunisia (Protectorate)
- French Indochina (Federation of protectorates, under local control: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand)
- French West Africa (Colony): Sahara (OTL Southern Algeria), Fezzan, Mauretania (including Rio de Oro), Senegal, Sudan (OTL Mali), Niger, Chad, Guinea (including Bissau), Ivory Coast, Ober Volta (OTL Burkina Faso), Dahomey (OTL Benin, including Togo)
- French Equatorial Africa (Colony): Cameroon, Gabon (including Rio Muni), Ubangi-Chari (OTL Central Africa), Congo (OTL French Congo and Belgian Congo)
- French Somaliland (Colony)
- Madagascar (Colony), including the Comoros and other small islands
- Réunion (Colony), including other small islands
- French India (Colony)
- New Caledonia (Colony)
- French Oceania (Colony), including Wallis and Futuna
- French Guiana (Colony)
- Guadeloupe (Colony), including Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy
- Martinique (Colony)
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Colony)
- Uninhabited Islands
- Antarctic Sector
The Indochina War
The only de jure part of the French Colonial Empire over which Paris did not exert any authority whatsoever was French Indochina which was under the firm control of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand (the areas annexed in 1941), with referenda scheduled for 1946 to settle its fate (specified in the Japanese Instrument of Surrender which France had refused to sign).
The French Government was determined to put an end to what it percieved as a great indignity and regain the economically valuable Indochina no matter what. After regaining its footing following the devastating World War Two, the French Army and Navy were ready to mount an invasion of Indochina in early autumn.
The historians had identified a multitude of factors that contributed to the major and humiliating defeat inflicted on France by its former Colonies. Fact is that France had lost the First Indochina War even in the other history, when they had much better odds:
- France was larger and more populous as it included Inner France and Alsace-Lorraine.
- There was no need to keep a large military force in Northern France to defend against a possible Inner French invasion accross the Dome limit.
- French financial situation was significantly better.
- French morale was higher after the victorious conclusion of World War Two.
- France enjoyed the support of the United Kingdom and United States.
- The French could claim in an almost believable way that they were fighting to curb the spread of Communism.
- Vietnam was not a cohesive state and France could count on the support of a portion of the Vietnamese population (the State of Vietnam with Emperor Bảo Đại, a French puppet).
- Thailand, with its powerful army, was not a belligerent.
- The Vietnamese Navy was inexistent with no Japanese warships being gifted to Vietnam.
- The Vietnamese Army was much worse equipped with significantly less Japanese materiel available.
- The number of Japanese volunteers fighting against the French was much lower.
It is then painfully obvious that France did not stand a chance when we consider the current situation: A significantly weaker France, with no internal and external help, which invaded a much stronger, more cohesive and better armed opponent which also enjoyed the military backing of Thailand and the good-will of the Western Powers. In those extremely unfavourable circumstances, it is almost unbelievable that France even considered such a suicidal mission, much less that it actually embarked on it.
The Opposing Forces
France:
- Expeditionary Corps: 160,000 - 280,000 (President Charles de Gaulle, General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque)
- Local Collaborators: 30,000 - 40,000
South-East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO, name borrowed from the Uptime):
- Vietnam: 300,000 - 500,000 (Emperor Bảo Đại, Prime Minister Hồ Chí Minh)
- Laos: 20,000 - 30,000 (King Sisavang Vatthana, Prince Souphanouvong)
- Cambodia: 20,000 - 30,000 (King Norodom Sihanouk)
- Thailand: 80,000 - 140,000 (King Ananda Mahidol / Rama VIII, Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram)
- Japanese volunteers: cca, 30,000 (General Yuitsu Tsuchihashi)
- Indonesian volunteers: cca. 20,000
- Western volunteers: less than 10,000
The Naval War
While certainly not on the level of the U.S. Navy or the Royal British Navy, the French Navy was nonetheless a formidable force and the small Vietnamese and Thai navies could not compare with it.
After a couple of battles in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, the Vietnamese Navy was all but obliterated and the remnants of the Thai Navy retreated to its harbours to act like a fleet in being for the duration of the war. The resulting naval supremacy allowed the French to capture the Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodian islands in the South China Sea and mount amphibious landings on the Vietnamese and Cambodian Littorals.
The Invasion of Indochina
In a massive display of force, the French Expeditionary Corps launched 14 almost simultaneous amphibious invasions of Indochina, 2 in Cambodia, 5 in Cochinchina, 5 in Annam and 2 in Tonkin.
The Cambodian beachheads were contained by the Thai Army who was expecting them.
The Cochinchina invasions were the most successful with the invading forces managing to quicky overrun most of the Mekong Delta and threaten Saigon. In the following months, they attempted to capture Saigon four times, all assaults being repulsed by the Vietnamese defenders who inflicted a large number of casualties on the attacking French.
From Cochinchina, the French crossed the lightly defended Cambodian border and, in a swift campaign against a poorly organized defence, managed to capture the central and most densely populated part of Cambodia, including the Cambodian Capital, Phnom Penh.
King Norodom Sihanouk and the Cambodian Government retreated to the safety of the Thai lines in the west of the country. The French invasion of Cambodia was only stopped on the shores of the Tonlé Sap Lake where they reached the end of their logistical chain.
In Annam, two of the beachheads were neutralized by the Vietnamese defenders, one failed to expand and was unable to capture the old Imperial Capital, Hué, while the northernmost two merged and managed to overrun the hilly countryside, reaching the Laotian border and thus cutting Vietnam in two.
Unable to press either northwards or southwards, the French crossed into Laos and conquered the central part of the country, including the Laotian Capital, Ventiane, before the Thai could muster sufficient forces in that rather isolated area. Moreover, realizing the weakness of the local Thai forces, the French crossed the Mekong and captured a large but sparsely inhabited area of Thailand.
King Sisavang Vatthana and most of the Laotian Government managed to flee over the Mekong with only hours to spare before the fall of Ventiane. Subsequently, the flegding Laotian State collapsed, with State Authority in the still free areas being close to non-existent. In those conditions, the Thai Army occupied the remainder of Laos, placing it under military administration.
The Tonkin beachheads, on the north and south of Haiphong witnessed the bloodiest and most ferocious battles. The French eventually prevailed, thanks to supporting naval and air power and due to the fact that the greatest number of French troops had been deployed there. Haiphong was encircled and placed under siege while the continuously enforced French forces pressed towards the great prize, the Vietnamese Capital Hanoi.
Despite their inferior equipment, the more numerous and better motivated Vietnamese defenders decisively defeated the advancing French Armies near the southern outskirts of Hanoi. At the same time, the fall of Haiphong witnessed the first major French war crimes, with the use of nerve gas and napalm against the Vietnamese defenders and undiscriminate killings of the civilian population. The Western reporters present in Haiphong duly reported the attrocities to an already appalled international public opinion.
Turning the Tide
During the following months, the Vietnamese and Thai armies increased almost twofold, accentuating the discrepancy between the warring forces. In France, the war was already unpopular due to the great number of casualties (almost 100,000 French soldiers were either dead, wounded, missing or prisoners of war). There were already demonstrations against the war and many young men were dodging the draft.
By the start of 1946, the French controlled territory in Indochina was reduced to three continously shrinking areas: the Mekong Delta and central Cambodia around Phnom Penh, an isolated enclave around Ventiane in Laos and the perimeter of Haiphong in Tonkin.
The negotiations in Geneva went nowhere as, by that time, the peoples of Indochina would accept nothing less than immediate and complete independence plus the appropriate reparations. While the French High Command was already clearly aware that the war was lost, they were still trying to maintain their dignity, whatever that meant.
In the following weeks, the desperate French Generals tried to cow their foes into submission using their still formidable Air Force. Hanoi, Saigon and Bangkok were bombed daily, resulting in widespread destruction and thousands of civilian deaths. The Thai Royal Palace had been totally destroyed but the Royal Family had already relocated to a safe place outside the beleaguered capital.
The End
On the 19th of March, when the end of the French folly was already in sight, the Governments of the United States, Australia and New Zealand, responding to increasing public opinion pressure, announced a naval exclusion zone around Indochina.
French President Charles de Gaulle, although appalled by that yet another Anglo-Saxon cowardly betrayal, realized that, at that point, he had no other options besides the surrender of the entire French Expeditionary Corps. But alas, he was actually relieved.
The honour of France is intact. We didn't lose the war at the hands of some rebel gangs from our Colonies. No, we only lost because of the intervention of those perfidious Anglo-Saxons! Now, with the Western Powers clearly against us, the French People will double up their support for the Republic and our Administration. Yes, they inadvertently gave us a way out. With dignity.
Instead of the eight years long First Indochina War from the other history, the Indochina War was over in less than seven months. And, hopefully, a Second Indochina War could be averted altogether.
De Gaulle contacted General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, the Commander of the French Expeditionary Corps, and informed him of the French Government's decision to end the war. De Gaulle instructed de Hauteclocque to obey the American blockade and prepare to surrender.
About ten minutes later, de Gaulle called the American President Harry Truman to negotiate acceptable conditions for the surrender of the French Expeditionary Corps. Before de Gaulle could even began talking, Truman bluntly informed him that a state of war existed between the United States of America and the French Republic.
Apparently, a skirmish between a French warship heading to Haiphong and an American one enforcing the blockade had somehow escalated into a full-fledged naval battle between the French and the American South China Sea Fleets. The details were still scarce but it appeared that at least two American ships had been sunk with hundreds of American sailors scattered in shark infested waters.
After a short pause needed to digest the shocking news, de Gaulle asked for terms.
Minutes later, he poured himself a glass of wine, sat down at his desk, took a pen and a sheet of paper and began to write his resignation.
