Charles de Gaulle : The Life of Charles de Gaulle from beginning to end (One Hour History Books Book 13) History by the Hour.

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Charles de Gaulle : The Life of Charles de Gaulle

from beginning to end

(One Hour History Books Book 13)

History by the Hour.

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Few know much about Charles de Gaulle prior to his relocation to London during WWII and beginning broadcasts in name of Free France, inspiring resistance.

That seems to include the author of this book, who has gone to some pains to collect details of life and family of the man, but it lacks a filling in that'd give life to a bare skeleton.

Nevertheless, it's worth reading about this man leading an almost ghost shadow of a single Britain standing up as bulwark against the nazi onslaught that swamped Europe, until it turned against Russia in 1941, when it was Russia’s turn to be the partner in the fight.

It's unclear if it's UK or US view, but the author seems punctilious penning their differences with Charles De Gaulle, and not meticulous giving his side in return.

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"Prime Minister Pétain relocated the government to Vichy on July 2, 1940, and made the national assembly vote on the 10th to dissolve itself and give him absolute dictatorial powers. This was the start of the national revolution and the dawn of the Vichy Regime. De Gaulle’s speeches reached several regions within the Vichy Regime. This helped rally the French resistance movement and made him more popular among the French population as well as the French Army.

"According to British historian Christopher Flood, there were great differences between talks by Pétain and de Gaulle. Pétain was fond of using the personal pronoun ‘Je’ and viewed himself as a Christ-like personality being crucified for France. Moreover, he intimated that he knew things about the world that the rest of humanity didn’t. De Gaulle used a lot of ‘I’ and ‘me’ during the war, but less so over time. He also didn’t place himself on a high pedestal like Pétain. De Gaulle used to refer to Pétain by name, while Pétain called him a “false friend”.

"Pétain exonerated the French army of responsibility for their 1940 defeat and blamed it on the moral decay of the French people. De Gaulle did the opposite, blaming the military leaders for the loss. Pétain believed that France had gone to war with Germany due to British influence. More importantly, Pétain’s talks emphasized the need for France to withdraw itself from a harsh world so as to find unity."

Was Pétain forced into saying things, due to situation he was in?

After all, Vichy government was 'free' only in name, and Pétain spent later part of the war imprisoned at Sigmaringen, even if it was at the Hohenzollern castle.

It was good that someone younger was in UK to stand up to Germany in name of France, and be the pillar of strength that resistance rallied around.

But Pétain was old by this time, and the best use he was for France was in avoiding another, far eorse person being at the helm in Vichy, however decorative the post and however little use it was for France. If it weren't Pétain for france to tide over this time, it could possibly have been much worse.

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"De Gaulle brought together the Free French forces, and the Allies offered massive support and recognition to his efforts. In September of 1941, de Gaulle formed the Free French national council and became its president. The council was an all-inclusive coalition of resistance forces that cut across religion and ideologies. By the beginning of 1942, the Free French, now known as the Fighting French movement, had grown in power and influence. It won battles over Vichy in Lebanon and Syria.

"Dealing with the French communists was not easy at first because they were under Moscow’s control and the USSR was friendly with the Germans in 1940/1941 due to the Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement. They joined the Free French movement only when the Germans attacked Russia in June 1941."

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"“No policy is worth anything outside of reality.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

Author gives a photograph of a poster, presumably, of those times, of a declaration by Charles de Gaulle, in French, of course, exhorting French people to strive for a free France, and it seems almost a succinct expose on the motto of New Hampshire - Live Free Or Die.

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"The two had a strained relationship during the war. De Gaulle showed no respect for Churchill, even though Churchill had supported de Gaulle during his toughest times. In 1943, while in Casablanca, the British Prime Minister supported de Gaulle even though the French Army was defeated. He referred to de Gaulle as the spirit of that army. Churchill also supported de Gaulle as one of the first major French leaders to reject the rule of Nazis."

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"De Gaulle was successful in making Paris a priority for liberation on humanitarian grounds. He managed to get General Eisenhower to agree that the French Army would be allowed to enter Paris first. A few days later, General Leclerc’s troops entered the outskirts of Paris, and after a week of fighting, the German garrison of 5,000 men conceded defeat and surrendered on August 25th. Adolf Hitler had instructed the commander of the garrison, General Dietrich von Choltitz, to burn the city to ashes. However, he ignored the order and surrendered.

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"General de Gaulle and his entourage walked down the Champs Elysees in August of 1944. The Germans had forcefully expelled members of the Vichy administration and flown them to Germany a few days earlier. This allowed de Gaulle to enter the city as a liberator in the middle of the euphoria, even though there were concerns that the communists had done a lot to clear the way for the military. De Gaulle communicated with Leclerc and demanded that the 2nd Armored Division accompany him on the parade. This was for prestige as well as security. As the procession moved along the Place de la Concorde on August 26th, it came under machine gun fire from the Vichy militia who were unable to surrender.

"Later on, as they entered the Notre Dame Cathedral where de Gaulle was to be received as the head of the provisional government by the Committee of Liberation, loud gunshots were heard again. Leclerc and General Marie-Pierre Koenig attempted to rush de Gaulle through the door, but he resisted and stood firm. As the battle intensified outside, de Gaulle walked gently down the aisle.

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"That evening, the Wehrmacht launched a massive revenge attack on Paris. They left thousands dead and injured. The situation within the city was tense, and de Gaulle asked General Eisenhower to send some American troops as reinforcements to show strength. On August 29th, the US 28th Infantry Division stopped its journey to the front line and paraded down the Champs Elysees. That very day, the US and Britain agreed to accept the position of the Free French.

"The following day, General Eisenhower offered his de facto blessing by visiting de Gaulle in Paris."

They did prove him right by neglect of Paris, so much so Germans attacked after having been thrown out! That "Wehrmacht launched a massive revenge attack on Paris. They left thousands dead and injured" does not inspire confidence in UK and US protesting caring for France. And this, despite the help from resistance which neither UK nor US could have taken France without, even jointly - not yo mention the welcome without reservation they received across France.

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"“France cannot be France without greatness.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

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"De Gaulle married Yvonne Vendroux on April 7, 1921. They became parents to three children, Elisabeth, Philippe and Anne. Anne had Down’s syndrome and died of pneumonia at the age of twenty. De Gaulle’s wife was a staunch Catholic, and some people within French society never liked her because of her moral policing act. Yvonne was vocally against pornography and even opposed the wearing of short skirts.

"While imprisoned by the Germans, de Gaulle wrote a book called The Enemy and the True Enemy in which he explained how the German forces operated. This book was finally released in 1924. In 1934, he wrote another book, Vers l’Armée de Métier, in which he detailed how an army should be professionally organized. This distinguished man had close relations with his siblings Marie-Agnes, Xavier, Jacques and Pierre. He was most closely attached to Pierre, the youngest, who had a striking resemblance to him.

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"In 1944, de Gaulle introduced an economic policy which included state-directed control over a capitalistic economy. This was followed by three decades of growth referred to as the Trente Glorieuses.

"During the Cold War, de Gaulle began his politics of grandeur, insisting that France was a great power and shouldn’t depend on other nations such as America for its national security and success. He went on to pursue a policy of national independence which resulted in him withdrawing from NATO’s integrated military command. He set up an independent nuclear development plan that made France the fourth nuclear power.

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"He also restored good Franco-German relations to build a European counterweight between the Anglo-American and Soviet circles of influence by signing the Elysee treaty on January 22, 1963. However, de Gaulle was against a supranational Europe and instead advocated for a Europe consisting of sovereign countries. He condemned the invasion of Vietnam by the United States. During his later years, he supported the slogan Vive le Quebec libre.

"At the age of eighty, on November 9, 1970, de Gaulle’s life ended. He collapsed as he was watching TV. Post mortem reports later revealed that he ruptured one of his blood vessels, leading to his demise."

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"“All my life I have had a certain idea of France.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

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"“When we were children, we often played war. We had a fine collection of lead soldiers. My brothers would take different countries: Xavier had Italy; Pierre, Germany. Or they would swap around. Well, I, gentlemen, always had France.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

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"Education and Intellectual Influences

"By the age of ten, de Gaulle was already reading medieval history. He started writing in his early teenage years. He mostly wrote poetry, and later on his family sponsored the publication of his one-act play about a traveler. As an ardent reader, he preferred philosophical literature by writers such as Bergson, Peguy and Barres. He also read works by the Germans Nietzsche, Goethe and Kant, as well as Greeks such as Plato.

"He went to school at College Stanislas in Paris, and partly in Belgium. While in Belgium, he showed great interest in reading and learning history. He also shared the great pride that his fellow countrymen felt in France’s achievements. When he reached the age of fifteen, he wrote an essay imagining one General de Gaulle (himself) commanding the French army to victory over the Germans in 1930. Later on, he wrote that as a youth, he looked forward to the inevitable war with Germany so that he could avenge his country’s defeat in 1870.

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"During his teenage years, France was a greatly divided nation. Most of the events were uncomfortable for the de Gaulle family. The growth of socialism, the legal separation of the church and state in 1905, and the limiting of military service to two years were great challenges. Other unpleasant events were the Entente Cordiale with Britain, the First Moroccan Crisis and most of all, the Dreyfus affair. Henri de Gaulle was a supporter of Dreyfus, although he wasn’t particularly interested in his innocence. He was more concerned with the shame which the army brought onto itself. This era also saw a resurgence in evangelical Catholicism, the dedication of the Sacré-Cœur in Paris, and the rise of the cult of Joan of Arc.

"De Gaulle was not an outstanding pupil until his mid-teens. From July of 1906 he put more effort into his schoolwork, which earned him a place at the Saint-Cyr military academy to train as an army officer. He was seemingly more suited for other careers, such as writing or being a historian, and he may have opted for the army to please his father—or possibly because he knew that it was one of the few forces that could unify the whole of France."

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"“France was built with swords. The fleur-de-lis, symbol of national unity, is only the image of a spear with three pikes.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

Don't know if that's true. Could represent three or more major parts of France, for example. But cross certainly is a sword upside down; or hilt up, blade down.

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"De Gaulle was admitted to Saint-Cyr in 1909. He ranked rather low on the entrance exam, 119th out of 221 recruits, but he was still young and this was his first attempt at the exam. The law at the time was that people who wanted to enter the academy had to serve a year in the ranks as a private and NCO first. Consequently, he enlisted in October of 1909 for four years in the 33rd Infantry Regiment at Arras.

"In April of 1910 de Gaulle was promoted to corporal. His company commander initially refused to promote him to sergeant, saying that de Gaulle felt that the lowest rank was the best for him, but he got his stripes that September. By the end of his initial year at Saint-Cyr he had risen to 45th in his class. He acquired his nickname, The Great Asparagus, because of his towering height. De Gaulle excelled at the academy and was highly praised for his conduct, intelligence, military spirit and endurance. In 1912, he graduated 13th in a class of 210 cadets. The class was topped by the future Marshal Alphonse Juin.

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"Most of the cadets opted to relocate to other countries, but de Gaulle decided to stay and work in France as a second lieutenant. He rejoined the 33rd Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel Philippe Pétain, whom de Gaulle would follow for the next 15 years. France was now preparing for the First World War, and de Gaulle used this opportunity to mingle with senior military officials and offer ideas and advice on helpful new techniques."

Author should explain that opening sentence of the paragraph. Presumably the cadets were all French, or weren't they? What other countries fid they choose to relocate to, within the French empire or in Europe within neighbourhood?

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"De Gaulle seems to have agreed with Pétain about the obsolescence of cavalry and outdated tactics in the new era of machine guns and barbed wire. He often debated mighty battles and the likely result of the coming war with his commander. In October of 1913, de Gaulle was promoted to first lieutenant."

Author leaves it unclear if Pétain was that commander.

"When the war began, the 33rd was sent to Dinant, Belgium, to contain the German advance. De Gaulle was seriously wounded by a bullet, but what bothered him the most were the obsolete tactics and methods of General Charles Lanrezac, commander of the French Army. Lanrezac paid the price for his incompetence as his army suffered terrible losses of men and equipment."

Price was paid by men, and France, whether the fault was personally of General Charles Lanrezac or that of his training, or of those above him.

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"By the time de Gaulle returned to the field in October of 1914, as commander of the 7th company, most of his acquaintances in the 33rd were already dead. In December he became regimental adjutant.

"De Gaulle caught the attention of his superiors in early 1915 when he revealed his unique military tactics and strategies. This intelligent soldier was successful in entering enemy territory and extracting vital information.

"On January 18, 1915, de Gaulle received the Croix de Guerre. On February 10th he was elevated to the (probationary) rank of captain. On March 10th he was shot in his left hand and laid low for four months. (He was later forced to wear his wedding ring on his right hand.) He commanded the 10th company in August before returning to his position as regimental adjutant. On September 3rd he became a permanent captain, and in October, after going on leave, he commanded the 10th company once again.

"In 1916, while de Gaulle was involved in the battle of Verdun, he was cornered and attacked. He received incapacitating injuries. Moreover, he was made a prisoner of war at a German military base."

So, both De Gaulle and his opposite went through WWI - but with what difference!

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"Life as a Prisoner

"De Gaulle spent almost three years in Germany as a prisoner of war. He received satisfactory treatment. While in prison, he read German literature. He could understand the language because he had been taught it in school and had spent a summer holiday in Germany. He also shared his views and opinions about the war with fellow prisoners. His patriotism and confidence earned him another nickname, Le Connetable, which means The Constable, which was the title of the medieval commander in chief of the French military.

"During his time in prison, de Gaulle made friends with Mikhail Tukhachevsky, the future commander of the Red Army. Their ideologies about war and military tactics were similar. De Gaulle wrote his first book while in prison. It was titled The Enemy’s House Divided and it analyzed the issues and splits within the German army. It was published in 1924."

Wonder if his opponent read it.

"De Gaulle attempted to escape at least five times. All his efforts were unsuccessful and he was transferred to a facility with tighter security. He was also punished with solitary confinement and denied comforts such as tobacco and literature. De Gaulle tried escaping by hiding in a laundry basket, digging a tunnel, boring a hole through the prison walls, and even impersonating a nurse. He spoke about his predicaments in letters to his parents. He was annoyed that the war was going on without his involvement."

Wonderful piece of writing there, the last sentence.

"When the war ended he was still in captivity and played no part in the victory. On December 1, 1918, 21 days later, he returned to his father’s house in Dordogne where he was reunited with his brothers, who had all served in the army and survived."

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"Poland and Staff College in the 1920s

"After the armistice, de Gaulle was a part of the French military mission to Poland. He served as an instructor of Poland’s infantry during its war with Russia between 1919 and 1921. Given the rank of major in the Polish Army, he stood out in operations near the river Zbrucz and was awarded the Virtuti Militari, Poland’s highest military decoration.

"He then went back to France where he became a military history lecturer at Saint-Cyr. He was already a powerful orator at this time. De Gaulle studied at the Ecole de Guerre between November of 1922 and October of 1924. While there, he disagreed with his instructor Colonel Moyrand for advocating techniques based on circumstances rather than doctrine. He scored respectable but not outstanding grades. In his final report, Moyrand described him as intelligent, cultured and serious-minded but arrogant and having excessive self-confidence. He enrolled as the 33rd out of 129 but graduated in 52nd place. He was then posted to Mainz to supervise supplies such as food and equipment for the French Army of Occupation.

"De Gaulle’s book La Discorde was published in March of 1924, and in March of 1925 he published an essay about the use of tactics according to circumstances as a direct defiance to Moyrand."

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"Life as Pétain’s Ghostwriter in the mid-1920s

"Marshal Pétain was the one who saved de Gaulle’s career. Pétain arranged for de Gaulle’s staff college grade to be changed to ‘good’ (but not ‘excellent’ as required for a general staff posting). From July 1, 1925, he worked as Pétain’s ghostwriter. De Gaulle was against Pétain’s decision to take command in Morocco in 1925. He later said that Pétain was a great man who died in 1925 without knowing it. He saw the action as motivated by Pétain and his wife’s lust for public attention.

"In the same year, de Gaulle started grooming Joseph Paul-Boncour, his first political patron. On December 1, 1925, de Gaulle published an essay criticizing the historical role of French fortresses. He argued that the aim of fortresses should not be to economize on defense but rather to weaken the enemy.

"A disagreement ensued between Pétain and de Gaulle about Le Soldat. Le Soldat talked about a French soldier, and de Gaulle wanted more credit for the work. He had mainly written historical material, but Pétain wanted to include an additional chapter of his own thoughts. In late 1926, there was a heated meeting after which de Gaulle was seen coming from Pétain’s office in a fit of rage. In October of 1926 he returned to his duties with the Headquarters of the Army of the Rhine.

"De Gaulle had sworn never to return to the Ecole de Guerre except as commandant, but he delivered three lectures there in April of 1927 after being invited by Pétain. The lectures were “Leadership in Wartime”, “Character” and “Prestige”. These lectures later became the foundation of his book The Edge of the Sword, which was published in 1932. Most of the officers in the audience were his seniors who had taught him earlier on."

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"Trier and Beirut in the late 1920s

"After serving in the rank of captain for 12 years, de Gaulle was elevated to commandant on September 25, 1927. That November he commenced a two-year posting as commanding officer of the 19th Chasseurs a pied, a battalion of elite infantry with the occupation forces at Trier. De Gaulle trained his men to endure difficult conditions by making them cross the frozen Moselle River at night.

"He once sentenced a soldier to prison for asking a member of parliament to transfer him to a cushier unit. When the incident was investigated he initially appealed to Pétain to shield himself from a reprimand for meddling with the soldier’s political rights. De Gaulle encouraged young officers, but he also had a massive ego. In the winter of 1928/29, 30 soldiers succumbed to the German flu. Seven were from de Gaulle’s battalion.

"After being investigated, he was praised in parliament as a capable commanding officer in for wearing a mourning band for a private soldier who was an orphan. He received much praise from Prime Minister Raymond Poincare. In 1928, the disagreement between Pétain and de Gaulle about the ghostwriting deepened. Pétain hired a new ghostwriter, Colonel Audet, who was not willing to take on the job. Pétain did not publish the book, nor did he use de Gaulle’s draft text for his eulogy of the late Ferdinand Foch, whose seat he occupied at the Academie Francaise.

"The allied occupation of the Rhineland was nearing its end, and de Gaulle’s battalion faced disbandment (although the decision was cancelled after he moved to his next posting). De Gaulle wanted a teaching post at the Ecole de Guerre in 1929, but the faculty there threatened to resign en masse if he were appointed. There was talk of him being posted to Corsica or North Africa, but on Pétain’s advice he accepted a two-year posting to Lebanon and Syria. In Beirut he was chief of the Third Bureau of General Louis-Paul-Gaston de Bigault du Granrut, who recommended him for higher commands in the future."

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"Staff Officer in the 1930s

"As his posting to Beirut drew to a close in the spring of 1931, de Gaulle once again asked Pétain for a posting to the Ecole de Guerre. Pétain tried to get him a position as a professor of history there, but the faculty declined once more. Consequently, de Gaulle, relying on plans he had formed in 1928 for reform of that institution, requested Pétain to create a special position that would allow him to offer lectures on the conduct of war not only to the Ecole de Guerre but also to the Center des Hautes Etudes Militares, a senior staff college for generals, the Ecole Normal Superieure, and civil servants.

"Pétain advised him to apply for a Paris posting to the General Secretariat of the Supreme War Council (SGDN), reporting to the Under-Secretary to the Prime Minister and later moved to the Ministry of War in 1936. Pétain lobbied for the post and de Gaulle was posted in November 1931 as a drafting officer. In December of 1932, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed head of the third section. He worked for six years before he took up ministerial responsibilities in 1940.

"After studying arrangements in the US, Belgium and Italy, de Gaulle drafted a bill for the organization of the country during war. The bill passed the Chamber of Deputies but flopped in the Senate."

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"Advocating for Armored Warfare in the 1930s

"Unlike Pétain, de Gaulle believed in the use of tanks and rapid maneuvers. Pétain was for trench warfare. De Gaulle was a follower of Emile Mayer’s ideas. Mayer was a retired lieutenant colonel and military analyst. Mayer believed that while wars were still inevitable, it was not correct for civilized countries to wage war as they had in earlier years. He thought the French generals were of low quality and was an advocate of mechanized war. In 1934, de Gaulle authored Towards a Professional Army, in which he proposed mechanization of the infantry and stressed an elite force of 100,000 men and 3,000 tanks. His book portrayed a country where tanks would run around like cavalry.

"Such an army would compensate for France’s population shortage and act as an efficient tool for enforcing international law, especially the Treaty of Versailles that barred Germany from re-arming. De Gaulle also said that a master has to make his appearance known and his orders cannot be challenged. In France, only 700 copies were sold, but it has been claimed that thousands of copies were sold in Germany. De Gaulle used the book to expand his networks among journalists, especially with Andre Pironneau, the editor of L’Echo de Paris. The book attracted praise across the political divide, except for the hard left, which was committed to the republican idea of a citizen army. His views attracted maverick politician Paul Reynaud, who first invited de Gaulle to meet with him on December 5, 1934.

"De Gaulle’s family was very private, and de Gaulle was deeply immersed in his career during this period. There is no evidence that he was tempted by fascism, and his views on the domestic turbulence in 1934/35 and the several policy crises of this era are unknown. He approved of the rearmament drive which the popular government started in 1936, even though the military doctrine of France continued to hold that tanks should be used in penny packets to offer infantry support.

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"Tank regiment in the late 1930s

"From April of 1936, de Gaulle was a lecturer to generals as well as a staff member at SGDN. His superiors opposed his views on tanks, and he was overlooked for promotion to full colonel supposedly because his record in the service wasn’t good enough. He sought the help of his political patron Reynaud, who spoke to the Minister of War, Edouard Daladier, about his ideas and records. Daladier supported rearmament using modern weapons and made sure that de Gaulle’s name was on the promotion list for the following year.

"In 1937, General Bineau, who had been his teacher at Saint-Cyr, wrote that de Gaulle was highly able and suitable for high command in the coming years but that he concealed his talents under a cold attitude. On July 13, 1937, in Metz, de Gaulle was put in command of the 507th Tank Regiment. He was promoted to full colonel that Christmas Eve. De Gaulle aroused public interest when he led a parade of 80 tanks into the Place d’Armes at Metz in his command tank, Austerlitz.

"De Gaulle was becoming a well-known personality. He was often referred to as Colonel Motor. At the invitation of the publisher Plon, he released another book, La France et son Armee in 1938. To Pétain’s anger, he included much of the literature he had written for Pétain years earlier for the uncompleted book Le Soldat."

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"“Let us be firm, pure and faithful; at the end of our sorrow, there is the greatest glory of the world, that of the men who did not give in.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

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"Early Warfare

"At the beginning of the Second World War, de Gaulle commanded the French Fifth Army’s tanks in Alsace. On September 12, 1939, he attacked Bitche at the same time as the Saar offensive. At the beginning of October, Reynaud requested a staff posting under de Gaulle but remained at his post as Minister of Finance. The tanks were inspected by President Albert Lebrun, who was extremely impressed but said it was too late to use them. In February of 1940, Reynaud informed de Gaulle that he had been shortlisted for command of an armored division as soon as one was available. At about this time, de Gaulle proposed to Reynaud that he be appointed Secretary General of the War Council, which would make him the military adviser to the government. When Reynaud went on to become Prime Minister, however, he relied on Edouard Daladier’s backing, and so the job went to Paul Baudoiuin.

"De Gaulle was promised command of the 4th Armored Division that was to be formed in May. By May 7th, he was already putting together staff for his new division. On the 10th, the Germans attacked the west. De Gaulle activated his new division on the 12th. On the 15th, the Germans tore through Sedan. De Gaulle was summoned to headquarters. Three tank battalions were assembled and ordered to attack to buy time for General Robert Touchon’s Sixth Army to redeploy from the Maginot line to the Aisne. This was less than a third of his paper strength, but General Georges told him it was his chance to put his ideas into action.

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"De Gaulle commandeered some retreating cavalry and artillery units and received an extra half brigade which included some heavy tanks. The attack at Montcornet began at around 4:30 in the morning of May 17th. De Gaulle, outnumbered and without air support, lost 23 of his 90 vehicles to mines and anti-tank weapons. The following day, he was reinforced with two fresh regiments of armored cavalry, augmenting his strength to 150 vehicles. He attacked again on the 19th, but his forces were devastated by the German artillery. He ignored withdrawal orders and instead demanded two more divisions from Touchon. His request was denied. De Gaulle’s tanks did compel the German infantry to retreat to Caumont, but the action brought only temporary relief.

"De Gaulle delayed his retreat until the 20th. On the 21st, at the request of propaganda officers, he spoke on French radio about his recent attack. To reward and recognize his efforts, he was promoted to acting brigadier general on May 23, 1940. Even though he was forcefully retired as a colonel on June 22nd, he wore the brigadier general uniform for the remainder of his life.

"On the 28th/29th of May, de Gaulle attacked the Germans and took 400 prisoners. General Paul Huard, who served under de Gaulle at this time, said that he would often stand on elevated ground, keeping other officers at a distance and subjecting the juniors to harsh criticism. Furthermore, he decided everything by himself, a behavior that was similar to his conduct as a politician.

"De Gaulle’s rank of brigadier general became effective on the June 1, 1940."

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"Government Minister: The Battle of France

"On June 5th, Prime Minister Reynaud appointed de Gaulle Under-Secretary of State for National Defense and War. His main role was to coordinate with the British. His appointment ruffled many feathers and received a great deal of media attention, both in France and the UK. He asked for an English speaking aide, and Geoffrey Chodron de Courcel was offered the job. On June 9th, de Gaulle flew to London for his first meeting with the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Italy joined the war the next day. De Gaulle was present at meetings with French Commander-in-Chief Maxime Weygand, who opposed the war. On one occasion Weygand stormed into Reynaud’s office and demanded an armistice.

"De Gaulle wanted the country to fight on and said that the government’s job was to give orders, not to make suggestions."

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"Briare and Tours: The Battle of France

"On June 11th, de Gaulle went to Arcis-sur-Aube and offered General Charles Hunziger, who was the commander of the Central Army Group, Weygand’s job as Commander-in-Chief. Hunziger accepted in principle. He would sign an armistice on behalf of Pétain a few weeks later. At a meeting later that day, Churchill demanded that France take to guerilla warfare. De Gaulle missed the second day of the meeting since he was in Rennes for another meeting to discuss other plans."

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"Franco-British Union: The Battle of France

"De Gaulle arrived in Bordeaux on June 14th and was designated as an envoy to London for the discussion of a potential evacuation to North Africa. Coincidentally, he dined in the same hotel as Pétain that evening, and this was to be their last meeting ever. The following morning, he drove to Brittany to visit his wife, mother and daughters. This was also the last time he saw his aged mother, who died in July. De Gaulle then took a boat to Plymouth, arriving on June 16th. He ordered the boat loaded with ammunition to be diverted to a British port, which caused several members of the French government to call for his arrest and trial.

"That same day, he flew back to Bordeaux only to find that he was no longer a minister as Reynaud had stepped down as Prime Minister. Pétain was the new Prime Minister and had promised to seek an armistice with Nazi Germany. De Gaulle was now at risk of arrest. At about 9:00 in the morning of June 17th, he flew to London on a British aircraft together with Edward Spears. The escape was hurried, but Jean Laurent brought 100,000 gold francs that had been secretly provided by Reynaud."

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"World War Two: Leader of the Free French Exiled

"De Gaulle landed at Heston airport after midday on June 17th. He met Churchill at around 3:00 PM and was offered a broadcast on the BBC. Both men were aware of Pétain’s earlier broadcast stating that the war must end and that he had reached out to the Germans for a truce. On the 18th, de Gaulle urged the French not to despair and to resist the occupation of France. In his next broadcast, on the 19th, de Gaulle denied the legitimacy of the government at Bordeaux. He also urged the North African troops to live up to the traditions of Bertrand Clausel, Thomas Roert Bugeaud and Hubert Lyautey by going against Bordeaux’s orders. De Gaulle also tried in vain to attract the support of the French Army within the French Empire. He personally reached out to General Charles Nogues, who commanded the French forces in North Africa. De Gaulle offered to serve under Nogues and offer any cooperation needed. Nogues declined and prevented the media in French North Africa from publishing de Gaulle’s request. De Gaulle also communicated to Weygand, offering to serve under him, but received a dismissive response.

"After the armistice was signed on June 21, 1940, de Gaulle spoke at 8:00 in the evening on the 22nd to denounce it. The Bordeaux government compulsorily retired him from the French Army on the 23rd. That was also the day that the British government denounced the armistice as a breach of the Anglo-French treaty that had been signed in March. They further stated that they no longer recognized the Bordeaux government as a fully independent state. Jean Monnet promptly parted ways with de Gaulle because he thought the appeal went overboard and that the French would not support a man who was operating on British soil."

................................................................................................

"The Free French Leader

"The armistice was effective from midnight on June 25th. Alexander Cadogan of the foreign office sent Gladwyn Jebb, a junior official, to persuade de Gaulle to tone down his next broadcast on the 26th. De Gaulle backed down in protest when Jebb warned him that failure to do so would get him banned from broadcasting. He erroneously claimed that the French fleet was to be handed over to the Germans. Also on the 26th, de Gaulle wrote to Churchill demanding that his French committee be recognized.

"On the 28th, Churchill’s diplomats failed to get into contact with the French leaders of North Africa, and as a result, the British government recognized de Gaulle as the Free French leader. The Times gave de Gaulle some much-needed coverage. He also received support from Captain Tissier and Andre Dewavrin, both of whom had been fighting for Norway before joining the Free French, as well as Gaston Plewski, Maurice Schumann and Rene Cassin. Pétain’s government was recognized by the US, USSR and the Papacy. The government controlled the French fleet and the forces in almost every colony.

................................................................................................

"During this period, de Gaulle’s disciples comprised a secretary of limited skills, three colonels, several captains, Rene Cassin (a law professor), and three battalions of legionnaires who had made a decision to stay in Britain and fight for his cause. For a while, the New Hebrides was the only French colony to support de Gaulle. On June 30th, Admiral Emile Muselier joined the Free French. De Gaulle initially reacted with anger to the news of the attack on the French fleet by the Royal Navy. Pétain and other officials (incorrectly) responded that de Gaulle’s 26th June speech had provoked the attack and that he had planned it all along.

"De Gaulle thought of traveling to Canada and living a private life there, but he decided to wait. Spears contacted de Gaulle and ascertained that he realized that the attack was objectively the right thing for the British to do from their own point of view. Spears reported to Churchill that de Gaulle was behaving with dignity. In his July 8th broadcast, he spoke about the pain and anger caused by the attack. He added that one day the enemy would have used the ships against England or France, and that if England lost it would mean eternal bondage for France. He reiterated that the two nations would remain attached to one another; they would either go down together or prosper together.

................................................................................................

"On Bastille Day, the 14th of July 1940, de Gaulle led a group of about 200 sailors to lay a wreath at Ferdinand Foch’s statue at Grosvenor Gardens. A mass of flowers was also left at his mother’s grave on July 16th, showing that he still had followers in France. From July 22nd, de Gaulle made 4 Carlton Gardens in central London his headquarters. His family left Brittany and stayed for a while in Petts Wood. They then moved to Elsmere in Shropshire because his daughter was frightened by the Blitz. De Gaulle was only able to visit once a month because of the long journey. His wife and daughter at some point also lived in Hertfordshire. The French regime had already sentenced de Gaulle to four years in prison, and on August 2nd he was sentenced to death by a court martial in absentia. De Gaulle said that the sentence was void and that he would have an explanation after the victory. On August 7th, Churchill agreed to fund the Free French. Repayment was to be made after the war.

"General Georges Catroux, the governor of French Indochina, congratulated de Gaulle, whom he had known for many years, because he was against the armistice. He was sacked by the French government and went to London on August 31st. De Gaulle had gone to Senegal, but they met in Chad a month later. At this point, he was the most senior military figure to have defected to de Gaulle’s side.

"In October of 1940, de Gaulle was requested to tone down his attacks on Pétain. On average, he was on the radio three times a month."

................................................................................................

"“At the root of our civilization, there is the freedom of each person of thought, of belief, of opinion, of work, of leisure.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

................................................................................................

Was Pétain forced into saying things, due to situation he was in?

After all, Vichy government was 'free' only in name, and Pétain spent later part of the war imprisoned at Sigmaringen, even if it was at the Hohenzollern castle.

It was good that someone younger was in UK to stand up to Germany in name of France, and be the pillar of strength that resistance rallied around.

................................................................................................

"De Gaulle’s Relationship with the Anglo-Saxons

"In his dealings with the British and Americans, de Gaulle always stressed having full freedom of action on behalf of France. Consequently he was always on the verge of losing the support of the Allies. According to him, the Anglo-Saxons, as he called them, never really treated him as an ally. He complained that they never consulted them and alleged that the Anglo-Saxons used the French forces for their own purposes."

This resentment seems to have been carried over post WWII, despite the care Allies took in having de Gaulle ahead of Allied troops in Paris, indicating that UK and US were not supplanting Germany as occupying forces.

"De Gaulle was also wary of the British because he believed that they secretly wanted to take control of France’s colonial possessions in the Levant. After initially supporting de Gaulle, Churchill urged the war cabinet to remove him as the French resistance leader, but he was warned against it.

................................................................................................

"De Gaulle’s relationship with Washington was even worse. President Franklin Roosevelt refused to recognize him as France’s representative for a long time. Roosevelt preferred to negotiate with the Vichy government. The US recognized the Vichy government until late 1942. After 1942, Roosevelt wanted Henri Giraud to be the leader of the French resistance because he was more agreeable to the interests of America.

"During the Casablanca conference of 1943, the US President forced de Gaulle to cooperate with Giraud, but it was clear that de Gaulle was the undisputed leader of the resistance. Consequently, Giraud was stripped of his political and military roles.

"The British and Soviets tried to persuade Roosevelt to recognize de Gaulle’s provisional government, but he delayed for as long as he could. He even recognized the Italian provisional government before the French. The British and Soviets were angered by this because the Italians were former enemies. Both of them recognized the French government in retaliation, forcing the US President to recognize de Gaulle in late 1944."

................................................................................................

"Plane Accident

"On April 12, 1943, de Gaulle was to fly to Scotland in a Wellington bomber to inspect the Free French Navy. While taking off, the plane’s tail dropped and it almost crashed. The skills of the pilot saved the day. On inspection, it was discovered that the plane’s separator rod had been tampered with using acid. In public, the Germans were blamed, but behind closed doors, de Gaulle blamed the Allies."

That's silly, considering he was completely dependent on UK for protection, and getting rid of a person doesn't necessitate a questionable accident of a plane that's easily avoided. A German paying a lowly operative or a German spy, on the other hand, lacks the ease of bumping off the recognized and protected leader of France in UK during war against Germany.

................................................................................................

"Generals de Gaulle and Catroux in North Africa

"In May of 1943, de Gaulle changed his base to Algiers, departing Britain to be in French territory. He became first the joint head and later the sole chairman of the French Committee of National Liberation. De Gaulle was much respected by the allied commander General Dwight Eisenhower. He assured de Gaulle that a French force would set Paris free. He then arranged for the army division of French general Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque to be transferred from North Africa to the UK to carry out that mission. General Eisenhower was greatly impressed by the aggressiveness of the Free French forces and grateful for their role in squashing German resistance."

................................................................................................

"“No policy is worth anything outside of reality.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

Author gives here a photograph of a poster, presumably, of those times, of a declaration by Charles de Gaulle, in French, of course, exhorting French people to strive for a free France, and it seems almost a succinct expose on the motto of New Hampshire - Live Free Or Die.

................................................................................................

"As preparations for freeing Europe gained momentum, the United States was getting tired of how de Gaulle viewed everything from the French perspective. Roosevelt referred to de Gaulle as an apprentice dictator and asked Churchill not to share any strategic details with him before the invasion for fear that he might leak them. French codes were seen as weak, and this posed a risk because the Free French refused to use British or US codes. De Gaulle also refused to share coded information with the British. The British were forced to secretly break the codes to read French messages.

"A few days before D-Day, Churchill, whose relations with de Gaulle had gone from bad to worse, decided he had to keep him informed of the new developments. On June 2, 1944, Churchill sent two passenger aircraft with his personal representative to fly de Gaulle back to Britain. He initially declined the offer because of Roosevelt’s plan to set up a provisional military government in the former occupied regions pending elections. However, he eventually relented and went to Britain the following day.

................................................................................................

"As soon as he arrived at RAF Northolt on June 4th, he received an official welcome and a letter informing him of what was to happen. Later, Churchill asked him to make a radio address, but he became angry when he discovered that the Americans still didn’t recognize him. De Gaulle got worried that the withdrawal of Germans from France could lead to lawlessness and disorder. De Gaulle was involved in a heated argument with the labor minister about the currency that the allied forces wanted to circulate after the war. He was concerned that if the Americans took over the French administration, a communist uprising could result.

"Churchill then lost his cool and stated that the US and Britain would always be allies and that Britain would choose the US over France any day. The following day, de Gaulle refused to address the French people because the speech did not mention him as being the legitimate interim leader of France. Instead, it urged the French to obey the Allied forces until an election could he held. He referred to Churchill as a gangster and was accused of treason. Churchill demanded that de Gaulle be flown back to Algiers, in chains if need be.

................................................................................................

"De Gaulle’s Return to France

"De Gaulle gave a cold shoulder to the Anglo-Saxons and proclaimed the authority of free France over the metropolitan territory the following day. Under the command of General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, France fielded a whole army. It was a joint army of Free French and French colonial troops from North Africa. As part of Operation Dragoon, the French First Army assisted in the south of France. They freed almost a third of the country as well as invading and occupying Germany. As the invasion progressed and the Germans were pushed back, de Gaulle got ready for his return to France.

"On June 14, 1944, de Gaulle left Britain for France for a supposed one-day visit. Even though he agreed to take only two staff members, he took along a large group with a lot of luggage. Many Normans were wary of him, but he received a warm welcome from the inhabitants of the towns he traversed. When he arrived at Bayeux he proclaimed it the capital of Free France. After he appointed his aide-de-camp, Francois Coulet, as the head of civil administration, he went back to Britain that same night on a French destroyer.

................................................................................................

"De Gaulle then visited Algiers on June 16th and flew to Rome for a meeting with the Pope and the new government of Italy. At the start of July, he visited Roosevelt in the US. He was given the 17-gun salute due a senior military leader instead of the 21-gun salute accorded to a visiting head of state. During this time, the Germans were retreating. Freeing the French capital was not as important to the allies as it was to de Gaulle. It had little strategic value to them. However, de Gaulle and the commander of the French Second Armored Division, General Philippe Leclerc, were worried about a communist takeover.

................................................................................................

"The following day, General Eisenhower offered his de facto blessing by visiting de Gaulle in Paris."

................................................................................................

"The Provisional Government of Liberated France between 1944 and 1946

"Roosevelt was still insisting that an Allied military government for occupied territories be established in France, but he received opposition from the Secretary of War and Undersecretary of War. Eisenhower was also opposed to the idea. Unlike Roosevelt, Eisenhower wanted to deal with de Gaulle. He therefore secured a last-minute promise that the Allied officers would cooperate with local authorities rather than be military governors. De Gaulle would later claim that he was the one who blocked the Allied officers.

"With the pre-war parties and a majority of their leaders highly discredited, de Gaulle had little opposition in forming an interim government. To avoid scrutiny, de Gaulle opted not to use the grand official residences like the Hotel de Matignon or the presidential palace on the Elysee. Instead he stayed at his former office at the War Ministry. As soon as his wife and daughters joined him, they moved into a small, state-owned villa on the edge of Bois de Boulogne.

"Living conditions were now worse than during the German occupation. About one-quarter of the city was in shambles, and public services and fuel were luxuries. There were massive demonstrations all over France about the lack of food. The problem was not in the agricultural sector but rather in the destruction of infrastructure. Black market prices quadrupled, causing the government to mint money, but this only added to the inflation.

"On November 10, 1944, Churchill flew to Paris and he and de Gaulle were greeted by thousands of cheering citizens."

................................................................................................

"Curbing the Communist Resistance

"After the celebrations cooled off, de Gaulle started conferring with prominent resistance personalities who wanted to continue as a political and military force with the Germans gone. They asked to be given a government building that would serve as their headquarters. The resistance had its own manifesto and wanted special status to join the army using its own flags and ranks. Even though they had offered massive support to de Gaulle against Giraud, he disappointed them by saying that he recognized their efforts but they had no further role. They either had to join the regular army or return to civilian life.

"De Gaulle viewed them as a dangerous revolutionary force, and he had to break up the liberation committees as well as other militias."

................................................................................................

"Touring Major Cities

"De Gaulle wanted to postpone elections as long as more than two million Frenchmen were still prisoners of war and forced laborers in Germany. In the middle of September, he toured major cities so as to enhance his public image and lay a good foundation for his position. Even as he received a warm reception from the masses, he remembered how the very same population had cheered Pétain as he served the Vichy regime."

Pétain had been respected since long before WWII, and he was hero of France; and people had little hope to hold on to during nazi occupation of France.

................................................................................................

"He seemed to be uneasy during social functions. While in Marseille and Lyon, he was irate because he had to share a platform with former leaders of the resistance. He also echoed his dislike for the rowdy character of the French youth during the Maquisard parades which came before his speeches. When he arrived at Toulouse, he had to confront a group claiming to be the provincial government of the city.

"During the tour, de Gaulle showed his usual lack of concern for his own safety by mingling with crowds and thereby making himself a target for assassins. Even though he was naturally shy, his apt use of patriotic music made it possible for him to deliver his message that France would get back on its feet even though it was suffering. In each and every speech, de Gaulle would pause halfway and invite the crowd to join him in singing La Marseillaise before going on and winding up by raising his hands and shouting, “Vive la France!”"

................................................................................................

Author gives the iconic photograph of de Gaulle walking at Champs Elysees, with Arc de Triumph in background.

................................................................................................

"As the war neared its final stages, France was compelled to face up to how its citizens had carried themselves under the German regime. Collaborators were punished more harshly in France than in other occupied nations. Right after the liberation, several ladies accused of aiding and abetting and having German lovers were publicly humiliated by being shaved and paraded in the streets in their undergarments. Those who were only humiliated were lucky, since others were lynched by irate mobs.

"In Paris alone, over 100,000 people were detained on suspicion of being collaborators; the majority were later set free. Aware of the need to seize the moment and have the process under firm judicial control, de Gaulle appointed Justice Minister Francois de Menthon to head the legal purge that would punish the collaborators and sweep away the Vichy regime remnants.

................................................................................................

"De Gaulle also knew that he would need to pardon the majority of the economic traitors, such as the police and civil servants who had minor duties under Vichy, in order to keep the country running as normal. As the head of state, he assumed the right to commute death penalties. Of the almost two thousand people who were sentenced to death, less than eight hundred were executed.

"De Gaulle commuted slightly above 900 of the over 1,500 capital sentences that were presented to him. This included some involving women. Several were given jail time, while others had their voting rights and other legal privileges stripped. It was clear that the purges were done arbitrarily, and most of the time the sentences were either overly severe or too lenient."

It's unclear if the sentence ending the kast paragraph us justified.

"Furthermore, it was also a fact that the less well-off in society who couldn’t afford lawyers were harshly treated. Later on, another question arose: What was to be done with former Vichy leaders who returned to France? Marshall Pétain and Maxime Weygand were heroes from the First World War, but now they were old and convicted of treason. De Gaulle commuted Pétain’s death sentence to life, while Weygand was eventually acquitted. Three leaders were executed, however."

................................................................................................

"1944 Winter Period

"This period was a hard time for most Frenchmen. Inflation was at its worst and food was scarce. By the end of 1944, the coal industry and other energy companies were nationalized. This was followed by major banks and a number of major private companies. In instances, the unions felt that things were moving too slowly and they would take charge by occupying buildings and creating workers’ committees that would run the companies.

"This is also when women were allowed to vote for the first time in the history of France. A new social security system was created to cover medical bills, unions were expanded, and price controls were initiated to tame the rising inflation. At the request of de Gaulle, Le Monde newspaper was established in 1944 for the benefit of the French population. It took over the building and facilities of Le Temps, which was greatly compromised during the Vichy era.

................................................................................................

"There was minor friction between France and the Allies. De Gaulle believed that the US wanted to keep its army in France even after the war and that the Americans were secretly scheming to take over French overseas possessions. He thought that all this was aimed at preventing France from getting back on its feet both politically and economically.

"At the end of 1944, the French forces were working alongside the American army. However, during the Ardennes offensive, a disagreement erupted after Eisenhower ordered the French troops to leave Strasbourg. This city was a vital political symbol of French sovereignty, and de Gaulle opposed the retreat.

"In May of 1945, the German forces surrendered to the US and Britain at Rheims. A separate armistice was also signed with France in Germany. De Gaulle opposed any British involvement in the Paris victory parade. Another confrontation ensued when the French sent troops to occupy the border region of Val d’Aoste. The French commander threatened to shoot the Americans if they tried to stop them.

"President Harry Truman then ordered an immediate cessation of arm shipments to France and wrote an angry letter to de Gaulle."

................................................................................................

"Fresh Elections and Resignation

"Following the liberation of France, there were no elections until October of 1945, when elections were held for a new Constituent Assembly whose main job was to craft a constitution for the Fourth Republic. De Gaulle was for a strong executive even though all three major parties wanted presidential powers to be limited. The communists wanted an assembly with maximum constitutional powers and no time limit, as opposed to de Gaulle, the Socialists and the Popular Republican Movement.

"When the elections were held, the big three parties came out victorious, winning 75% of the vote. On November 13, 1945, the new assembly unanimously elected Charles de Gaulle as the head of government. But issues cropped up almost immediately. The problem arose when selecting the cabinet, because de Gaulle could not offer important posts to the communists. The communists were the largest party, though, and they were not willing to play second fiddle once again. De Gaulle tendered his letter of resignation, saying that he could not trust a party that was an agent of Russia, a foreign power.

"At last, the new cabinet was completely formed on November 21st, with the communists getting 5 out of the 22 slots available. De Gaulle outlined a new economic plan, which was passed. But another issue arose when the communists yet again demanded a 20% reduction in the military. De Gaulle once again threatened to resign.

"Barely two months after forming the new government, he did resign on January 20, 1946. He hoped that since he was a war hero, he would soon be back in power as a powerful executive, but he was wrong."

................................................................................................

"De Gaulle out of Power from 1946 to 1958

"After being in French politics for six years, de Gaulle was abruptly out of the limelight. He returned to his home and started writing his war memoirs. He once said that he planned to retire because France might still one day need a pure image. During his retirement period, he still maintained close and regular contact with past political confidants from the war days. In April of 1947, de Gaulle formed a new party, Rally of the French People, or RPF. The party managed to take 40% of the vote in 1951, but that wasn’t enough as support faltered. In May 1953, he eliminated himself from active politics once again."

................................................................................................

"Collapse of the Fourth Republic

"There was political instability. On May 13, 1958, government premises in Algiers were attacked and seized because the French had shown weakness in the face of demands for Algerian independence. On the 19th, de Gaulle held a press conference and said that he was at his country’s disposal. Several political leaders agreed to support his comeback. One of his great achievements was ending the violence in Algeria. Algeria went on to gain independence under his orders.

"De Gaulle was keen on replacing the weak constitution of the Fourth Republic. On June 1, 1958, de Gaulle became Prime Minister and was offered emergency powers for half a year by the National Assembly. On September 28, 1958, a referendum took place and over 78% of voters supported the new constitution and the creation of the Fifth Republic. The colonies were offered a choice between immediate independence and the new constitution.

"All African colonies voted for the new constitution except Guinea, which was the first French colony in Africa to become independent. As a result, Guinea lost all French aid."

................................................................................................

"Founding the Fifth Republic between 1958 and 1962

"In the November 1958 elections, de Gaulle and his supporters comfortably won a majority. In December, de Gaulle was elected President by the Electoral College with 78% of the vote. He was sworn in in January of 1959. De Gaulle oversaw economic measures including the introduction of a new currency. He also improved ties with Germany by paying the first state visit since Napoleon and signing a treaty of friendship."

................................................................................................

"Attempts on his Life

"He was targeted by the Organisation Armée Secrète (OAS), an organization that wanted him dead because of his Algerian initiatives. Several assassination attempts were made, with the most famous one taking place on August 22, 1962. He was with his wife when there was a machine gun ambush on their Citroen DS limousine. De Gaulle later commented that the assassins “shot like pigs”."

................................................................................................

"Direct Presidential Elections

"In September of 1962, de Gaulle sought an amendment that would allow direct presidential elections. He organized another referendum for this. On October 4th, he dissolved the parliament and new elections were held. His proposal to change the election method was approved in the referendum that took place on the 28th.

................................................................................................

"After serving two terms as president, de Gaulle resigned on April 28, 1969, after his proposed reform of the senate and local governments was rejected in a referendum. The French had also had enough of the now 78-year old general; there was a student uprising. Two months later, Georges Pompidou was elected as his successor. De Gaulle retired to his nine-acre country estate southeast of Paris."

................................................................................................

"“France cannot be France without greatness.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

................................................................................................

"In 1944, de Gaulle introduced an economic policy which included state-directed control over a capitalistic economy. This was followed by three decades of growth referred to as the Trente Glorieuses.

................................................................................................

Table of Contents

................................................................................................

Introduction

Chapter One: Childhood and Early Life

Chapter Two: Military Career

Chapter Three: Life between the Wars

Chapter Four: The Fall of France in the Second World War

Chapter Five: The Rival Visionaries of France: Pétain and de Gaulle

Chapter Six: Preparations for the Big Day

Chapter Seven: The Legal Purge and Victory in Europe

Later Life

Conclusion

................................................................................................

REVIEW

................................................................................................

Introduction

................................................................................................

"“All my life I have had a certain idea of France.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

................................................................................................

"Charles de Gaulle was France’s eighteenth president as well as a military leader. ... His father was Henri de Gaulle and his mother was Jeanne Maillot. His siblings were Jaques, Marie-Agnes, Pierre and Xavier. De Gaulle was married to Yvonne Vendroux and they had three children: Anne, Elisabeth and Philippe. De Gaulle was a Catholic.

"His nicknames included The Great Asparagus, Le Grand Charles and La Grande Zohra. He was born on the 22nd of November, 1890, and he passed on at the age of 79 on the 9th of November, 1970. He was born in Lille and his place of death was Colombey les Deux Eglises. His star sign was Scorpio and his full name was Charles Andre Joseph Pierre Marie de Gaulle.

................................................................................................

"De Gaulle is one of the most memorable and famous personalities in France’s political history. He showed his leadership abilities as soon as he entered the military as a young man. He despised the outdated tactics favored by the French Army during this period. As he went further, he altered France’s military strategies to ward off any enemies.

"He came up with a tactic of sneaking behind enemy lines to collect intelligence. De Gaulle rose to prominence by opposing the French government’s plan to sign a peace pact with Nazi Germany. He wrote a book analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the Wehrmacht. His other literature discussed the arrangement and organization of military units.

"Eventually, he rose through the ranks to become the President of France and served the French people for eleven years.

................................................................................................

......................................................

October 01, 2022 - October 01, 2022.

......................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter One: Childhood and Early Life

................................................................................................

"- Charles De Gaulle"

................................................................................................

"This military leader and president was one of five children born to Henri de Gaulle, who was a teacher. He was born on the 22nd of November, 1890, in the industrial region of Lille in the north of France.

"The house where de Gaulle was born is now a museum. He was raised in a traditional family of devoted Catholics. His father was a professor of history and literature at a Jesuit college who went on to set up his own school. Henri de Gaulle came from a long line of parliamentary gentry from Normandy and Burgundy. His name is believed to be Flemish in origin. De Gaulle’s mother, Jeanne Maillot, came from a family of wealthy entrepreneurs from Lille. Her ancestry included French, Irish, German, Scottish and Flemish blood.

................................................................................................

"As part of the French nobility, the de Gaulle family had lost most of its land during the French Revolution. Henri encouraged his children to debate history and philosophy during meals, and due to his encouragement, de Gaulle became conversant with the history of France at an early age. After hearing of how his mother had wept as a child when the French were humiliated by the Germans at Sedan in 1870, he developed a great interest in the military. His uncle, with whom he shared his name, was also a strong influence. Uncle Charles was a historian and an avid Celticist who authored books and magazines that advocated the union of the Scots, Welsh, Irish and British. De Gaulle’s grandfather, Julien-Philippe, was also a historian, while his grandmother, Josephine-Marie, was a poet.

................................................................................................

"Education and Intellectual Influences

................................................................................................

......................................................

October 01, 2022 - October 01, 2022.

......................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter Two: Military Career

................................................................................................

"“France was built with swords. The fleur-de-lis, symbol of national unity, is only the image of a spear with three pikes.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

Don't know if that's true. Could represent three or more major parts of France, for example. But cross certainly is a sword upside down; or hilt up, blade down.

................................................................................................

Author leaves it unclear if Pétain was that commander.

Price was paid by men, and France, whether the fault was personally of General Charles Lanrezac or that of his training, or of those above him.

................................................................................................

"By the time de Gaulle returned to the field in October of 1914, as commander of the 7th company, most of his acquaintances in the 33rd were already dead. In December he became regimental adjutant.

"In 1916, while de Gaulle was involved in the battle of Verdun, he was cornered and attacked. He received incapacitating injuries. Moreover, he was made a prisoner of war at a German military base."

So, both De Gaulle and his opposite went through WWI - but with what difference!

................................................................................................

"Life as a Prisoner

Wonder if his opponent read it.

Wonderful piece of writing there, the last sentence.

................................................................................................

......................................................

October 01, 2022 - October 01, 2022.

......................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter Three: Life between the Wars

................................................................................................

"Poland and Staff College in the 1920s

"De Gaulle’s book La Discorde was published in March of 1924, and in March of 1925 he published an essay about the use of tactics according to circumstances as a direct defiance to Moyrand."

................................................................................................

"Life as Pétain’s Ghostwriter in the mid-1920s

................................................................................................

"Trier and Beirut in the late 1920s

................................................................................................

"Staff Officer in the 1930s

"After studying arrangements in the US, Belgium and Italy, de Gaulle drafted a bill for the organization of the country during war. The bill passed the Chamber of Deputies but flopped in the Senate."

................................................................................................

"Advocating for Armored Warfare in the 1930s

................................................................................................

"Tank regiment in the late 1930s

................................................................................................

......................................................

October 01, 2022 - October 01, 2022.

......................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter Four: The Fall of France in the Second World War

................................................................................................

"“Let us be firm, pure and faithful; at the end of our sorrow, there is the greatest glory of the world, that of the men who did not give in.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

................................................................................................

"Early Warfare

................................................................................................

"De Gaulle’s rank of brigadier general became effective on the June 1, 1940."

................................................................................................

"Government Minister: The Battle of France

"De Gaulle wanted the country to fight on and said that the government’s job was to give orders, not to make suggestions."

................................................................................................

"Briare and Tours: The Battle of France

................................................................................................

"Franco-British Union: The Battle of France

................................................................................................

"World War Two: Leader of the Free French Exiled

................................................................................................

"The Free French Leader

................................................................................................

"In October of 1940, de Gaulle was requested to tone down his attacks on Pétain. On average, he was on the radio three times a month."

................................................................................................

......................................................

October 01, 2022 - October 01, 2022.

......................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter Five: The Rival Visionaries of France:

Pétain and de Gaulle

................................................................................................

...............................................................................................

"“At the root of our civilization, there is the freedom of each person of thought, of belief, of opinion, of work, of leisure.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

................................................................................................

Was Pétain forced into saying things, due to situation he was in?

After all, Vichy government was 'free' only in name, and Pétain spent later part of the war imprisoned at Sigmaringen, even if it was at the Hohenzollern castle.

It was good that someone younger was in UK to stand up to Germany in name of France, and be the pillar of strength that resistance rallied around.

................................................................................................

"De Gaulle’s Relationship with the Anglo-Saxons

................................................................................................

"Plane Accident

................................................................................................

"Generals de Gaulle and Catroux in North Africa

................................................................................................

......................................................

October 01, 2022 - October 01, 2022.

......................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter Six: Preparations for the Big Day

................................................................................................

"“No policy is worth anything outside of reality.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

................................................................................................

"De Gaulle’s Return to France

................................................................................................

"The following day, General Eisenhower offered his de facto blessing by visiting de Gaulle in Paris."

................................................................................................

"The Provisional Government of Liberated France between 1944 and 1946

"On November 10, 1944, Churchill flew to Paris and he and de Gaulle were greeted by thousands of cheering citizens."

................................................................................................

"Curbing the Communist Resistance

"De Gaulle viewed them as a dangerous revolutionary force, and he had to break up the liberation committees as well as other militias."

................................................................................................

"Touring Major Cities

Pétain had been respected since long before WWII, and he was hero of France; and people had little hope to hold on to during nazi occupation of France.

................................................................................................

......................................................

October 01, 2022 - October 01, 2022.

......................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter Seven: The Legal Purge and Victory in Europe

................................................................................................

Author gives the iconic photograph of de Gaulle walking at Champs Elysees, with Arc de Triumph in background.

................................................................................................

It's unclear if the sentence ending the kast paragraph us justified.

................................................................................................

"1944 Winter Period

................................................................................................

"President Harry Truman then ordered an immediate cessation of arm shipments to France and wrote an angry letter to de Gaulle."

................................................................................................

"Fresh Elections and Resignation

................................................................................................

"De Gaulle out of Power from 1946 to 1958

................................................................................................

"Collapse of the Fourth Republic

"All African colonies voted for the new constitution except Guinea, which was the first French colony in Africa to become independent. As a result, Guinea lost all French aid."

................................................................................................

"Founding the Fifth Republic between 1958 and 1962

................................................................................................

"Attempts on his Life

................................................................................................

"Direct Presidential Elections

................................................................................................

......................................................

October 01, 2022 - October 01, 2022.

......................................................

................................................................................................

Later Life

................................................................................................

......................................................

October 01, 2022 - October 01, 2022.

......................................................

................................................................................................

Conclusion

................................................................................................

"“France cannot be France without greatness.”

"- Charles De Gaulle"

................................................................................................

"In 1944, de Gaulle introduced an economic policy which included state-directed control over a capitalistic economy. This was followed by three decades of growth referred to as the Trente Glorieuses.

................................................................................................

......................................................

October 01, 2022 - October 01, 2022.

......................................................

................................................................................................

Charles de Gaulle : The Life of Charles de Gaulle

from beginning to end

(One Hour History Books Book 13)

History by the Hour

......................................................

October 01, 2022 - October 01, 2022.

Purchased October 01, 2022.

ASIN:- B07YMM8WLJ

......................................................

................................................................................................

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5018184516

................................................................................................

Reviews - Books I Read - DRJG

Saturday, October 1, 2022

Charles de Gaulle : The Life of Charles de Gaulle from beginning to end (One Hour History Books Book 13) History by the Hour.

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