La Galissonnière was born in the early 1930s as part of a new class of French light cruisers intended to counter evolving foreign designs, such as the Leipzig or Montecuccoli classes. She was laid down at the Brest Arsenal in December 1931 and launched in November 1933. Her first assignment was with the Mediterranean Squadron until October 1937, when she was reassigned as flagship of the 3rd Cruiser Division at Toulon. At the outbreak of the Second World War, she conducted exercises and patrols near Bizerte, underwent a major overhaul in Brest from November 1939 to March 1940, resumed patrol duties off North Africa until mid-1940, and repelled attacks by Italian submarines in June 1940. After the 1940 armistice, she served under Vichy control in the Force de Haute Mer at Toulon, where she conducted limited training sorties and remained mostly inactive due to severe fuel shortages until being disarmed in mid-April 1942. On 27 November 1942, to prevent her capture by Axis forces, she was scuttled at Toulon. In March 1943, she was refloated by the Italian navy, but further assessment deemed her to require extensive rebuilding, which was hampered by fuel and material shortages. She was targeted by American bombing raids, finally sinking in August 1944, with her wreck being dismantled in 1952.
La Galissonnière was introduced in Update "Storm Warning". Despite being a light cruiser, she has heavier armour than the Suffren-class heavy cruisers, trading that armour for a low speed more typical of foreign heavy cruisers. Her primary armament is identical to Emile Bertin's: excellent, fast-firing guns, able to effectively counter cruisers and destroyers alike. Her secondary armament is nearly identical to that of the Suffren class. For each salvo of the main guns, she can fire two salvos of the secondaries, creating an easy-to-manage rhythm that can overwhelm the enemy with fire. Finally, her anti-air defences are limited and will struggle against faster, manoeuvring targets. Typically for French cruisers, she is equipped with torpedoes and a hydroplane, making her a very versatile combatant. Overall, she is a dangerous vessel that can be very tricky to counter for ships lacking dedicated AP shells, but, as is typical for cruisers in this BR range, she will struggle against battleships.
