Charles André Joseph Pierre Marie de Gaulle was born on the 22nd of November, 1890, in the French city of Lille. Despite being an avid reader and having been born into a nationalist, upper-mid class family of historians and writers, de Gaulle took a passionate interest in military affairs. During his youth, de Gaulle attended the Military Academy of Saint-Cyr, later joining an infantry regiment in 1913 under Colonel Philippe Pétain, who eventually became a Marshal of France due to his military achievements during WWI such as successfully commanding the French forces in the Battle of Verdun. De Gaulle’s experience of the Battle of Verdun, however, was perhaps just a little bit less spectacular. After inhaling poisonous gas and passing out, de Gaulle was captured by German troops and taken to a German camp, where he spent a total of thirty-two months as a prisoner of war. During this time, de Gaulle wisely spent his time analyzing the flaws in the German forces, writing his first book, and marvelously failing five not-so-cunning escape attempts.
Nearly a decade after being imprisoned, de Gaulle, in 1925, was appointed to the staff of the Supreme War Council, where he continued to work with Pétain. However, de Gaulle and Pétain’s relationship quickly deteriorated when the two men’s views in military tactics continuously diverged. De Gaulle believed that having a small, professional army that was both mechanized and mobile was optimal, and wrote several books expressing his ideas. Among his military superiors, de Gaulle’s books were unpopular, such as “France and Her Army”, which, published in 1938, led to a falling out between de Gaulle and Pétain.
Fast forward to WWII, and things start getting pretty dicey for France. In 1940, Germany invaded France in what is now known as the Fall of France, which ended with Pétain, now president of the Ministerial Council, signing an armistice with Germany that allowed for German occupation of France and created Vichy France. While Pétain essentially became a puppet of Nazi Germany, de Gaulle fought for French liberation. He chose for honorable exile to London, where he formed and led the Free French Forces.
For support, de Gaulle reached out to Chuchill and Roosevelt, both of whom seemed to think of him as arrogant, stubborn, stern, and just a real pain in the ass. Eisenhower, on the other hand, saw de Gaulle as essential to the Normandy Invasion. After this invasion was successful, the Allies, along with de Gaulle, marched on to Paris, where, in August of 1944, de Gaulle liberated France.
Although perhaps not one of the most normal of leaders, de Gaulle certainly made an impact. In Anglo-American books, de Gaulle is portrayed as a vain egotist, but, based on his accomplishments, he can definitely be considered a hero… perhaps he was just a bit of both. He later founded the France’s Fifth Republic and served as President of France from 1959 to 1969, and his name is still widely known today. After all, the busiest airport in France, The de Gaulle Airport, is named after him.
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ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that you chose to talk about Charles de Gaulle as he is a very notable figure in French history. During his presidency, he had a particular, intergovernmental vision of European integration which he advocated very strongly for. He wanted proposed a three-power directorate, which would consist of France, Britain and the United States in the Fouchet Plan. He proposed this plan as he feared as loss of French influence in Europe and wanted to balance the power in France's favor. He wanted this to replace the US-led NATO which he believed gave America undue influence in Europe.
ReplyDeletehttps://global.oup.com/uk/orc/politics/eu/eupolitics/resources/biographies/degaulle/