General Charles de Gaulle came to power in France twice. The first time - in 1944, when they stood in front of him complex tasks on the organization of the post-war life of the state. In the second - in 1958, when events in Algeria, which at that time was a colony of France, escalated.
For several years, war raged in Algeria, which led to fears among the French "ultras" fighting there that the government would abandon the African colony. On May 13, 1958, they seized the colonial administration building and sent a telegram to Paris to de Gaulle asking him to break the silence and create a new government of popular unity.
Heeding the requests of the military, two days later the main symbol of the Resistance addressed the French with an appeal:
“For 12 years now, France has been trying to solve problems that are beyond the capabilities of the party regime, and is heading towards disaster. Once, in a difficult hour, the country trusted me so that I would lead it to salvation. Today, when the country faces new challenges, let it know that I am ready to assume all the powers of the Republic,” de Gaulle said.
Behind these in strong words decisive action followed. Fearing that the general might use the power of the military loyal to him, then French President Rene Coty invites de Gaulle to form a new government for the country. “De Gaulle was able to offer himself as the only alternative to the far-right coup and the establishment of a fascist regime. And the republic fell at his feet,” write the authors of the book “The Beginning of the End. France. May 1968" by Angelo Catrocci and Tom Hire.
De Gaulle did not serve as Prime Minister for long - from June 1958 to January 1959. In January 1959, he was elected president. In this position
he managed to achieve the main thing - constitutional reform, which led to the popular election of the president and the separation of the functions of the president and parliament. The reform was supported by almost 80% of the votes. And although de Gaulle himself was first elected president under the old system, with his accession to this post the birth of the Fifth Republic took place.
Having returned to power in the wake of the situation in Algeria, de Gaulle at the same time did not strive to maintain this African territory under French influence at all costs. However, the President General decided to offer the public several options for resolving the situation - from giving Algeria the status of a territory associated with France, to a complete severance of relations and the creation of a government friendly to Paris in this country.
In Moscow without
In 1962, the military conflict in Algeria ended, which marked the beginning of the formation of an independent Algerian state. Despite the fact that Algerian independence had many opponents who made several attempts on de Gaulle's life, France agreed with the new president. In 1965, the country again chose de Gaulle as its leader.
De Gaulle's second presidential term was marked by active steps in foreign policy, confirming the independent nature of the French foreign policy, he withdraws France from the NATO military organization. The organization's headquarters are being moved from Paris to Brussels.
Everything happens in a hurry, one of the most powerful organizations in the world receives a long-term residence permit in a nondescript building of a former hospital. NATO officers, who gave a Gazeta.Ru correspondent a tour of the alliance’s headquarters, half-jokingly admit that they “still have a grudge against the French president.”
If de Gaulle's actions are condemned in Washington, then in the USSR, on the contrary, they are treated with undisguised delight, welcoming the French Fronde in every possible way. In 1966, the French President went to the USSR on his first official visit, but this was his second trip to the USSR. He first visited Moscow in 1944 as a leader fighting the Nazis in France.
Never having any sympathy for communist ideas, De Gaulle always had a rather warm attitude towards Russia.
However, he is drawn to Moscow primarily by politics. “De Gaulle needed a “counterbalance” and therefore met the USSR and its allies halfway,” note the then Soviet political heavyweights, Vadim Kirpichenko and.
As a result of the visit of the French president to the USSR, several key documents were signed. In addition, they talked about “détente”, and it was also emphasized that “the USSR and France are responsible for preserving and ensuring both European and world peace.”
Of course, there was no talk of a real rapprochement between the USSR and France - the political and economic approaches of the two countries were too different. However, de Gaulle saw Russia not only as a major world power, but also as part of Europe. “All of Europe - from the Atlantic to the Urals - will decide the fate of the world!” said de Gaulle in his historic 1959 speech in Strasbourg.
In addition to the USSR, de Gaulle's France built relations with Eastern European and developing countries and worked to improve relations with Germany. Once hostile to France, Germany, which fought against that country during the war, became a major trading partner of Paris.
From revolution to revolution
However, despite his successes in the international arena, de Gaulle faced a crisis within the country towards the end of his first presidential term.
After the expiration of the first seven-year term, the general intended to be re-elected to the presidency of France. These elections, according to the amendments made to the Constitution, should have been popular. De Gaulle, as expected, won the elections, although only in the second round, defeating his main critic, the socialist.
The second round and the popularity of Mitterrand indicated a decline in the popularity of the Resistance legend himself. This was caused by problems in the economy, the arms race and criticism of the general's largely authoritarian style of government.
De Gaulle's opponents note that he actively used the power of state television to legitimize his power, although this did not exclude sharp criticism of his rule, which came from the pages of the print media.
The political crisis led to a real revolutionary situation - students at the University of Paris and the Sorbonne, dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the field of education, rebelled. It was led by radical left activists, who would later be joined by trade unions. Tens of thousands of people block the streets and clash with police and gendarmes. The events will become the largest mass unrest in Europe and will be called “May 1968”.
Many slogans of that time - for example, “It is forbidden to prohibit” - would be repeated decades later by the president’s opponents.
De Gaulle, despite the entreaties of some ministers to start negotiations with the protesters, was quite tough and did not want to negotiate, but the situation looked threatening. “By turning politics into theatre, de Gaulle was today confronting a movement that had turned theater into politics,” writes presidential biographer Julian Jackson.
For the first time, the military general seems confused, but he addresses the nation and demands broad powers, since the country, in his words, is “on the brink of civil war.”
While not feeling sympathy for his opponents, the president will still tell them: “I understand you.”
After the address, de Gaulle flies out of the country to Baden-Baden, although not to bask at the resort, but to visit the French troops stationed nearby in Germany. Soon the president returns to France, and his next step is the dissolution of the National Assembly and the announcement of early elections, where the Gaullist Rally for the Republic party receives the majority of votes. However, the victory turns out to be Pyrrhic.
As a leading researcher at the Institute of Europe notes, de Gaulle's conservatism began to slow down the development of France. “His time was running out, the Senate reform failed, and attempts to do something led to a crisis,” the expert tells Gazeta.Ru. It's about on the reform of the upper house of parliament, which he planned to turn into a body representing the interests of trade unions and business. However, this reform failed. De Gaulle said that if the reform did not take place, he would resign from his post. As befits a military man and a man of honor, the general keeps his word and leaves power.
After his resignation, De Gaulle did not live long and died of a ruptured aorta on November 9, 1970. The head of government, and then the President of France, Georges Pompidou, will say: “De Gaulle is dead, France is a widow.” Coffin of a military general, politician and world statesman saw off thousands of people. Over the years, Charles de Gaulle remains one of the most revered French politicians - many still consider him the most powerful president of the Fifth Republic.
Life, true patriot, Frenchman Charles de Gaulle.
Charles de Gaulle himself explained his feelings this way: the love of France was instilled in him and his sister by their father and mother, and from childhood, the children could not even imagine how it could be otherwise.
Biography of Charles de Gaulle
De Gaulle was born in the autumn of 1890 in the city of Lille, in the house of his grandmother. He spent his childhood in Paris with his parents and sister.
Charles de Gaulle received a military profession and studied at a military school. He was a participant in the First World War, and was even captured.
By World War II he was already a general in the French armed forces. During World War II, Charles was against any compromise with the pro-fascist government.
It was at this time that his path as a successful politician began. He met with Winston Churchill several times in London, discussing with him the possibilities of the French resistance. Churchill called General de Gaulle the honor of France.
With his successful example and speeches, he raised the spirit of the French and encouraged them to continue resisting the fascists, despite the official policy of France.
He becomes the organizer of the Free France movement, which the French colonies are agitating to join, many of which do so.
Such as Chad, Congo, Gabon, Cameroon. Since the Second World War, de Gaulle has been trying with all his might to limit the interference of the United States and England in French politics.
At that time, the goal of Anglo-American policy was to exclude France from the leading countries of Europe and completely subordinate it to its influence.
How could de Gaulle, brought up on the principles of nationalism, allow this? That’s why he had to, being a military man, also become a politician and defend the freedoms of the French people.
The contribution that Charles de Gaulle made to the history of France and his successes in the political arena cannot be overestimated.
He was with her during the most difficult years of the country, organized resistance during the Second World War, and for ten years, from 1959 to 1969, was president of the fifth French republic.
He was one of the authors of the French constitution, which is still used today. Nicolas Sarkozy, the sixth president of the Fifth French Republic, in one of his speeches spoke of de Gaulle as the savior of France, who returned the country's independence and, no less important, its prestige in the world community!
By the way, it was during the time of de Gaulle that France was considering the issue of creating its own nuclear weapons.
The first nuclear weapons tests were carried out in 1960 in the Sahara Desert. The tests were stopped by President Mitterrand.
During de Gaulle's time, France left NATO. De Gaulle already in those days understood that the dollar was just paper with a very small cost and tried even then to convert dollars into gold and thus reduce the influence of the United States on France. At that time, he partially succeeded.
He collected paper US dollars located in France, took them by plane to Washington and exchanged them for gold there, which discouraged the American senior leadership and eventually forced them to abandon the dollar-gold link.
November 22 brings together the presidents of France and the United States. It’s Charles de Gaulle’s birthday, John Kennedy’s is the day of his tragic death
At the same time, Soviet-French cooperation was actively developing. De Gaulle in the USSR saw his ally in the fight against the Anglo-American alliance, and his dislike for communism was becoming a thing of the past, for the success of promoting his national interests.
De Gaulle stands for a united Europe, it is in such a Europe that he sees an opportunity to resist NATO, and it is for this purpose that he openly comes out in support of Germany.
However, while pursuing an active, successful foreign policy, the situation inside the country was difficult: huge unemployment, the standard of living of the population was low.
All this led to dissatisfaction among the French with de Gaulle's tough policies. And in 1969 he left his post. And already in 1970, General de Gaulle dies.
The main French airport is named in honor of the world famous de Gaulle - Paris - Charles de Gaulle Airport or as it is also called Roissy - Charles de Gaulle and the pride of France - the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the only currently operating aircraft carrier of the French Navy " Charles de Gaulle."
And also a rose from the family of hybrid tea roses, the lilac rose “Charles de Gaulle,” is named after him.
Another little known fact from the life of General de Gaulle is that he was a trustee of a medical foundation in France that helped families with children with Down syndrome.
Here is such an interesting, versatile person, a world-famous politician, public figure, and a true patriot of his country.
His personal success came from a goal, from a dream of the success of his country, a country with independent thinking. De Gaulle from a simple military man became a successful, respected politician, thinker, and business executive.
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Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and politician, known primarily as a tank battle tactician before World War II. Leader of the Free French Forces in World War II, head of the provisional government in 1944-46. Inspirer of the new constitution and first president of the Fifth Republic from 1958 to 1969.
Origin and beginning of military career
Charles was the third child of a morally conservative but socially progressive Catholic bourgeois family. His father came from an old aristocratic family from Normandy. The mother belonged to a family of wealthy entrepreneurs from industrial region Lille in French Flanders.
The young de Gaulle chose a military career and studied for four years at the prestigious military school of Saint-Cyr. During World War I, Captain de Gaulle was seriously wounded at the Battle of Verdun in March 1916 and captured by the Germans.
After the end of the war, he remained in the army, where he served on the staff of General Maxime Weygand and then General Philippe Pétain. During the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1920. de Gaulle served in the Polish army as an infantry instructor. He was promoted to major and received an offer to build a further career in Poland, but chose to return to France.
The Second World War
By the outbreak of World War II, de Gaulle remained a colonel, arousing hostility from the military authorities with his bold views. Following the German breakthrough at Sedan on 10 May 1940, he was finally given command of the 4th Armored Division.
On May 28, de Gaulle's tanks stopped German armor in the battle of Caumont. The colonel became the only French commander to force the Germans to retreat during the invasion of France. Prime Minister Paul Reynaud promoted him to acting brigadier general.
On June 6, 1940, Reynaud appointed de Gaulle Under Secretary of State for National Defense and responsible for coordination with Great Britain. As a member of the cabinet, the general resisted proposals to surrender. Attempts to strengthen the resolve of those in the French government who favored continuing the war failed, and Reynaud resigned. Pétain, who became prime minister, intended to seek an armistice with Germany.
On the morning of June 17, with 100 thousand gold francs from secret funds provided to him the night before by Paul Reynaud, the general fled Bordeaux by plane and landed in London. De Gaulle decided to abandon the surrender of France and begin to create a Resistance movement.
On July 4, 1940, a military tribunal in Toulouse sentenced de Gaulle in absentia to four years in prison. At the second military tribunal on August 2, 1940, the general was sentenced to death for treason.
At the Liberation of France, he quickly established the authority of the Free French Forces, avoiding the Allied military government. Returning to Paris, the general proclaimed the continuity of the Third Republic, denying the legitimacy of Vichy France.
After the end of the war, de Gaulle became president of the provisional government from September 1944, but resigned on 20 January 1946, complaining about the conflict between political parties and disapproving of the draft constitution of the Fourth Republic, which seemed to place too much power in the hands of parliament with its shifting party alliances.
1958: Collapse of the Fourth Republic
The Fourth Republic was marred by political instability, failures in Indochina and the inability to resolve the Algerian question.
On May 13, 1958, settlers took over government buildings in Algeria. Commander-in-Chief General Raoul Salan announced on the radio that the army had temporarily assumed responsibility for the fate of French Algeria.
The crisis deepened as French paratroopers from Algeria captured Corsica and discussed landing troops near Paris. Political leaders of all parties agreed to support de Gaulle's return to power. The exception was the Communist Party of François Mitterrand, which condemned the general as an agent of a fascist coup.
De Gaulle still intended to change the constitution of the Fourth Republic, blaming it on France's political weakness. The general made the condition of his return the provision of broad emergency powers within 6 months and the adoption of a new constitution. On June 1, 1958, de Gaulle became prime minister.
On September 28, 1958, a referendum was held, and 79.2% of voters supported the new constitution and the creation of the Fifth Republic. The colonies (Algeria was officially part of France, not a colony) were given a choice between independence and a new constitution. All colonies voted for the new constitution, with the exception of Guinea, which became the first French African colony to gain independence, at the cost of immediately cutting off all French aid.
1958-1962: Foundation of the Fifth Republic
In November 1958, de Gaulle and his supporters gained a majority, and in December the general was elected president with 78% of the vote. He promoted tough economic measures, including the issuance of a new franc. On August 22, 1962, the general and his wife narrowly escaped an assassination attempt.
At the international level, he maneuvered between the USA and the USSR, promoting an independent France with its own nuclear weapons. De Gaulle began to build Franco-German cooperation as the cornerstone of the EEC, making the first state visit to Germany by a French head of state since Napoleon.
1962-1968: politics of greatness
In the context of the Algerian conflict, de Gaulle was able to achieve two main goals: to reform the French economy, and to maintain a strong French position in foreign policy, the so-called “policy of grandeur.”
The government actively intervened in the economy, using five-year plans as its main tool. Thanks to the unique combination of Western capitalism and state-oriented economics, major projects were implemented. In 1964, for the first time in 200 years, France's GDP per capita overtook that of Great Britain.
De Gaulle was convinced that a strong France, acting as a balancing force in the dangerous rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union, was in the interests of the whole world. He always tried to find counterbalances to both the USA and the USSR. In January 1964, France officially recognized the PRC, despite US opposition.
In December 1965, de Gaulle was elected president for a second seven-year term, defeating François Mitterrand. In February 1966, the country left the NATO military structure. De Gaulle, while building independent nuclear forces, did not want to depend on decisions made in Washington.
In June 1967, he condemned the Israelis for their occupation of the West Bank and Gaza after the Six-Day War. This was a major change in French policy towards Israel.
1968: leaving power
The demonstrations and strikes of May 1968 were big problem for de Gaulle's presidency. He dissolved parliament, in which the government had almost lost its majority, and held new elections in June 1968, which were a great success for the Gaullists and their allies: the party won 358 of 487 seats.
Charles de Gaulle resigned on April 28, 1969 after the failure of the referendum he initiated. He went to Colombey-les-deux-Eglises, where he died in 1970 while working on his memoirs.
Charles de Gaulle
Savior of France
Everything is inextricably linked with his name recent history France. Twice, in the most difficult times for the country, he took responsibility for its future and twice voluntarily renounced power, leaving the country prosperous. He was full of contradictions and shortcomings, but had one indisputable advantage - above all, General de Gaulle put the good of his country.
Charles de Gaulle belonged to an ancient family, originating from Normandy and Burgundy. It is believed that the prefix “de” in the surname was not a traditional part of French noble names, but a Flemish article, but the de Gaulley nobility spanned more than one generation. From ancient times, the de Gaullies served the king and France - one of them took part in the campaign of Joan of Arc - and even when the French monarchy ceased to exist, they remained, in the words of General de Gaulle, “yearning monarchists.” Henri de Gaulle, the father of the future general, began a military career and even participated in the war with Prussia, but then retired and became a teacher at a Jesuit college, where he taught literature, philosophy and mathematics. He married his cousin Jeanne Maillot, who came from a wealthy merchant family from Lille. She came to give birth to all her children - four sons and a daughter - at her mother's house in Lille, although the family lived in Paris. The second son, who received the baptismal name Charles Andre Joseph Marie, was born on November 22, 1890.
The children in the family were raised in the same way as many generations before them: religiosity (all de Gaullies were deeply religious Catholics) and patriotism. In his memoirs, de Gaulle wrote:
My father, an educated and thoughtful man, brought up in certain traditions, was filled with faith in the high mission of France. He introduced me to her story for the first time. My mother had a feeling of boundless love for her homeland, which can only be compared with her piety. My three brothers, my sister, myself - we were all proud of our homeland. This pride, mixed with a sense of anxiety about her fate, was second nature to us.
From childhood, children were instilled with a love of history, literature and the nature of their native country, they were introduced to the sights, biographies of prominent people and the works of the church fathers. The sons were taught that they were descendants of a glorious family, representatives of a great class, which from time immemorial had served for the glory of the fatherland, the nation
and religion. Young Charles was so impressed by thoughts of his own great origin that he sincerely believed in his great destiny. “I believed that the meaning of life was to accomplish an outstanding feat in the name of France, and that the day would come when I would have such an opportunity,” he later recalled.
From 1901, Charles studied at the Jesuit college on Rue Vaugirard, where his father taught. He loved history, literature, and even tried to write himself. Having won a local poetry competition, Charles refused the cash prize for the opportunity to publish his work. They say that Charles constantly trained his willpower - refusing lunch until he finished his homework, and even depriving himself of dessert if his homework, in his opinion, was not done well enough. He also intensively developed his memory - in his mature years he easily memorized speeches of dozens of pages - and enthusiastically read philosophical works. Although the boy was very capable, his studies still caused him certain difficulties - since childhood, Charles had difficulty enduring any petty restrictions and rigid regulations that he could not explain logically, and in the Jesuit college every sneeze was certainly regulated. Last year Charles studied in Belgium: after the government crisis of 1905, the church was separated from the state, and Catholic educational institutions were closed. At the insistence of his father, Charles moved abroad with his native educational institution - in Belgium he studied in a special mathematics class and demonstrated such talent for the exact sciences that teachers advised him to choose a scientific career. However, Charles dreamed of a military path since childhood: having received a bachelor's degree, he returned to Paris and after preparatory education at a prestigious college Stanislas in 1909 he entered the military school in Saint-Cyr - founded by Napoleon, this is the highest military educational institution considered one of the best in Europe. He chose the infantry as his branch of the army - as the closest to real military operations.
Since childhood, Charles dreamed of becoming a military man in order to defend his native country from enemies with arms in hand. Even as a child, when little Charles cried in pain, his father calmed him down with the words: “Do generals cry?” As he grew older, Charles bossed his brothers and sister around with all his might, and even forced them to learn a secret language, which was words read backwards - given the incredible complexity of French spelling, this was not as simple as it might seem at first glance.
Studying in Saint-Cyr initially disappointed him: the endless drills and the need to constantly mindlessly obey orders oppressed Charles, who was convinced that such training was only suitable for the rank and file - commanders should learn to subordinate, not to obey. His classmates rightly considered de Gaulle arrogant, and for his tall stature, thinness and constantly upturned long nose they nicknamed him “long asparagus.” Charles dreamed of standing out on the battlefield, but at the time when he studied in Saint-Cyr, no war was foreseen, and the glory of French weapons was a thing for a long time days gone by- the last war, with Prussia in 1870, the French shamefully lost, and during the “Paris Commune” the army, which dealt with the rebels, completely lost the last remnants of respect among the people. Charles dreamed of changes that could make the French army great again, and for this purpose he was ready to work day and night. In Saint-Cyr, he did a lot of self-education, and when he graduated from college in 1912, he began to carefully study the army system from the inside, noticing any shortcomings of the system. Lieutenant de Gaulle was enlisted in the 33rd Infantry Regiment stationed in Arras under the command of Colonel Henri Philippe Pétain, one of the most talented French military leaders of that time.
General Philippe Pétain.
In July 1914, the First World War. Already in August, Charles de Gaulle, fighting near Dinan, was wounded and was out of action for two months. In March 1915, he was again wounded in the battle of Mesnil-le-Hurlu - he returned to duty as a captain and company commander. In the Battle of Verdun, which the French won thanks to the leadership talents of General Pétain, de Gaulle was wounded for the third time, and so badly that he was considered dead and left on the battlefield. He was captured; spent several years in military camps, tried unsuccessfully to escape five times and was released only after the signing of the armistice in November 1918.
But even in captivity, de Gaulle did not sit idle. He improved his knowledge German language, studied the organization of military affairs in Germany, and wrote down his findings in his diary. In 1924, he published a book in which he summarized the experience accumulated during captivity, calling it “Discord in the Enemy’s Camp.” De Gaulle wrote that Germany was defeated primarily by the lack of military discipline, the arbitrariness of the German command and poor coordination of its actions with government orders - although all of Europe was sure that the German army was the best in the world and it lost for economic reasons and because that the Entente had better military leaders.
As soon as he returned from the war, de Gaulle immediately headed to another: in 1919, like many French soldiers, he enlisted in Poland, where he first taught the theory of tactics at a military school, and then participated in the Soviet-Polish war as an officer-instructor .
Yvonne de Gaulle.
In 1921, he returned to France - and unexpectedly fell in love. His chosen one was the young beauty Yvonne Vandrou, the daughter of a wealthy pastry chef. For her, this novel also came as a surprise: until recently she had declared that she would never marry a military man, but very quickly forgot about her vow. Already on April 7, 1921, Charles and Yvonne got married. The choice turned out to be successful: Yvonne became de Gaulle’s faithful ally, supporting him in all his endeavors and providing him with understanding, love and a reliable rear. They had three children: son Philippe, named after General Pétain, was born on December 28, 1921, daughter Elizabeth was born on May 15, 1924. The youngest, beloved daughter Anna, was born on January 1, 1928 - the girl had Down syndrome and lived only twenty years. In her memory, General de Gaulle devoted a lot of energy to charitable foundations that cared for children with similar diseases.
Returning from captivity, de Gaulle was offered a teaching position in Saint-Cyr, but he himself dreamed of entering the Higher Military School - an institution for training senior officers, similar to the General Staff Academy - where he was enrolled in the fall of 1922. Since 1925, de Gaulle served in the office of General Pétain, his former commander, who became one of the most authoritative military men in Europe after the First World War, and then in headquarters in various places. In 1932, he was appointed to the secretariat of the Supreme Council of National Defense.
From the mid-twenties, de Gaulle began to gain fame as a military theorist and publicist: he published several books and articles – “Discord in the Enemy’s Camp”, “On the Edge of the Sword”, “For a Professional Army” - where he expressed his views on the organization of the army, tactics and strategy of warfare, organization of the rear and many other issues that are not always directly related to military affairs and even more rarely reflect the views inherent in the army majority.
De Gaulle had his own opinion about everything: he believed that the army, even during war, should submit to civilian authority, that the future belonged to a professional army, that the most progressive weapons were tanks. The latter point of view ran counter to the strategy of the General Staff, which relied on infantry and defensive fortifications such as the Maginot Line. The writer Philippe Barres, in a book about de Gaulle, talking about his conversation with Ribbentrop at the end of 1934, gives the following dialogue:
– As for the Maginot Line, the Hitlerite diplomat franked, we will break through it with the help of tanks. Our specialist General Guderian confirms this. I know your top technician has the same opinion.
– Who is ours best specialist? - Barres asked and heard in response:
– Goll, Colonel Goll. Is it true that he is so little known among you?
De Gaulle tried with all his might to get the General Staff to create tank forces, but all his attempts ended in failure. Even when Paul Reynaud, the future prime minister, became interested in his proposals and, on their basis, created a bill on army reform, the National Assembly rejected it as “useless, undesirable and contrary to logic and history.”
In 1937, de Gaulle nevertheless received the rank of colonel and a tank regiment in the city of Metz, and with the outbreak of World War II, tank units of the 5th Army operating in Alsace came under his command. “It fell to my lot to play a role in a terrible hoax,” he wrote about this. – Several dozen light tanks that I command are just a speck of dust. We will lose the war in the most pathetic way if we don't act." Thanks to Paul Reynaud, who headed the government, already in May 1940, de Gaulle was entrusted with command of the 4th regiment - in the Battle of Camon, de Gaulle became the only French military man who was able to force the German troops to retreat, for which he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Although many biographers claim that de Gaulle was never officially awarded the rank of general, it was with this title that he went down in history. A week later, de Gaulle became Deputy Minister of National Defense.
The problem was that there was no actual defense. The French General Staff relied so much on the Maginot Line that it did not prepare for either the offensive or the defensive. After the “Phantom War”, the rapid German advance broke through the defenses, and in just a few weeks it became clear that France could not survive. Despite the fact that Reynaud's government was against capitulation, he was forced to resign on June 16, 1940. The country was led by General Pétain, a hero of the First World War, who was no longer going to fight Germany.
De Gaulle felt that the world was going crazy: the thought that France might surrender was unbearable for him. He flew to London, where he negotiated with the British Prime Minister Churchill to organize the evacuation of the French government, and there he learned that Pétain was negotiating surrender.
It was the darkest hour in the life of General de Gaulle - and it became his finest hour. “On the eighteenth of June 1940,” he wrote in his memoirs, “answering the call of his homeland, deprived of any other help to save his soul and honor, de Gaulle, alone, unknown to anyone, had to take responsibility for France.” . At eight o'clock in the evening he spoke on English radio, calling on all French people not to give up and to rally around him for the freedom of France.
Has the last word really been said? Should we give up all hope? Is our defeat final? No!.. I, General de Gaulle, appeal to all French officers and soldiers who are already on British soil or who will arrive here in the future, with or without weapons, I appeal to all engineers and skilled workers of the war industry who are already on British soil or will come here in the future. I encourage you all to contact me. Whatever happens, the flame of the French Resistance must not and will not fade.
And soon leaflets with de Gaulle’s appeal were distributed throughout France: “France lost the battle, but it did not lose the war! Nothing is lost because this war is a world war. The day will come when France will regain freedom and greatness... That is why I appeal to all French people to unite around me in the name of action, sacrifice and hope."
On June 22, 1940, France capitulated: according to the signed agreements, it was divided into two parts - the occupied and unoccupied zones. The latter, which occupied the south and east of France, was ruled by the Pétain government, called the “Vichy government” after its location in the resort town. The next day, England officially broke off diplomatic relations with the Vichys and recognized de Gaulle as the head of the “Free French”.
“France lost the battle, but did not lose the war!” Charles de Gaulle reads an appeal to the French on English radio, July 18, 1940.
Such actions could not please the capitulated Pétain government. On June 24, General de Gaulle was officially dismissed; on July 4, the French military tribunal in Toulouse sentenced him in absentia to four years in prison for desertion, and on August 2, to death. In response, on August 4, de Gaulle created the Free France Committee, which he himself headed: in the first weeks, two and a half thousand people joined the committee, and already in November, Free France had 35 thousand people, 20 warships, 60 merchant ships and a thousand pilots. The symbol of the movement was the Cross of Lorraine, an ancient symbol of the French nation, which is a cross with two crossbars. None of the more or less prominent political figures supported de Gaulle or joined his movement, but ordinary French people saw their hope in him. He spoke on the radio twice every day, and although few people knew de Gaulle by sight, his voice, speaking about the need to continue the fight, became familiar to almost every Frenchman. “I... at first was nothing of myself,” de Gaulle himself admitted. “In France, there was no one who could vouch for me, and I did not enjoy any fame in the country. Abroad – there is no trust and no justification for my activities.” However, in a fairly short period of time he managed to achieve very significant success.
De Gaulle's collaborator, anthropologist and politician Jacques Soustelle described him during this period:
Very tall, thin, of a monumental build, with a long nose above a small mustache, a slightly receding chin, and an imperious gaze, he seemed much younger than fifty years of age. Dressed in a khaki uniform and a headdress of the same color, decorated with two brigadier general's stars, he always walked with long strides, usually holding his hands at his sides. He spoke slowly, sharply, sometimes with sarcasm. His memory was amazing. He simply reeked of the power of a monarch, and now, more than ever, he justified the epithet “king in exile.”
Gradually, de Gaulle's leadership was recognized by the French colonies in Africa - Chad, Congo, Cameroon, Tahiti and others - after which de Gaulle landed in Cameroon and officially took the colonies under his control. In June 1942, Free France was renamed Fighting France, headed by the French National Committee, which was effectively a government in exile, and its commissioners were ministers. De Gaulle's envoys traveled around the world campaigning in support of the general and Fighting France, and special agents established ties with the French Resistance and communists fighting in occupied territory, supplying them with money and weapons, resulting in the National Committee of the Resistance in 1943 recognized de Gaulle as the head of the country.
“Fighting France” was recognized by the USSR and the USA. Although the Roosevelt government was extremely disapproving of de Gaulle himself, considering him a usurper, an upstart and an “arrogant Frenchman,” it still recognized his movement as the only real power capable of resisting Hitler. Churchill, largely at the instigation of Roosevelt, also disliked the general, calling him “an absurd person who imagines himself the savior of France” and “Joan of Arc with a mustache”: in many ways, such antipathy was caused by the active Anglophobia of de Gaulle, who could not forgive Great Britain for centuries rivalry and its current relatively prosperous position, which British diplomats, to be honest, have repeatedly tried to take advantage of.
De Gaulle could be arrogant, authoritarian, arrogant and even obnoxious, he changed his beliefs and maneuvered among enemies and allies, as if he did not see any difference between them: hating communism, he was friends with Stalin, disliked the British, collaborated with Churchill, knew how to be cruel with friends and frivolous in important matters. But he had only one goal - to save the country, to restore its greatness, to prevent stronger allies from swallowing it, and issues of personal power and personal relationships faded into the background.
In November 1942, American troops landed in Algeria and Morocco, also French territories at the time. The Allies appointed General Giraud as Commander-in-Chief of Algeria. Over time, they planned to bring Giraud into national leadership, replacing him with a government that would have many Vichyists, de Gaulle's National Committee. However, in June 1943, de Gaulle managed to become co-chairman (along with Giraud) of the French Committee for National Liberation created in Algeria, and a few months later he painlessly removed Giraud from power.
When the Allies were preparing to land in Normandy, they again tried to remove de Gaulle from participating in big politics, but he publicly declared that he would not allow the French government (that is, the FCNO) to be subordinated to the American command. The general negotiated with Stalin, Churchill and Eisenhower and eventually ensured that it was he who entered the capital as the winner when the Allies and Resistance forces liberated Paris.
The Pétain government was evacuated to Sigmaringen Castle, where it was arrested by the Allies in the spring of 1945. The court found General Pétain guilty of treason and war crimes and sentenced him to death, public infamy and confiscation of property. However, General de Gaulle, out of respect for Pétain's advanced years and in memory of his service under his command, pardoned him, replacing the execution with life imprisonment.
Since August 1944, de Gaulle headed the Council of Ministers of France: he again assumed sole responsibility for the fate of his native country, opposing the plans of the Allies, according to which France, as a capitulated country, should be removed from deciding the fate of the post-war world. It was solely thanks to de Gaulle and his efforts that France, like other victorious countries, received its own occupation zone in Germany and later a seat on the UN Security Council.
Meeting of the French National Liberation Committee, de Gaulle seated in the center, 1944.
For France itself, as for almost all European countries, the post-war years were very difficult. The destroyed economy, unemployment and political chaos required immediate decisive action from the government, and de Gaulle acted with lightning speed: the largest enterprises were nationalized - mines, aircraft factories and an automobile concern Renault, social and economic reforms were carried out. In domestic politics, he proclaimed the slogan “Order, law, justice.”
However, it was never possible to restore order in the political life of the country: elections in constituent Assembly, carried out in November 1945, did not give an advantage to any party - the Communists received a simple majority, the draft constitution was repeatedly rejected, any bills were contested and failed. De Gaulle saw the future of France in a presidential republic, but the deputies of the assembly advocated for a strong multi-party parliament. As a result, on January 20, 1946, de Gaulle voluntarily resigned. He stated that he had completed his main task - the liberation of France - and could now transfer the country into the hands of parliament. However, historians believe that this was a cunning move on the part of the general, but, as time has shown, not entirely a successful move: de Gaulle was confident that a heterogeneous assembly full of irreconcilable contradictions would not be able to form a stable government and cope with all the difficulties, and then he again will be able to become the savior of the country - on his own terms, of course. However, de Gaulle had to wait twelve years for such a triumphant return. In October, a new constitution was adopted, which gave all power to parliament with a purely nominal figure of the country's president. The Fourth Republic began without General de Gaulle.
Together with his family, de Gaulle retired to the family estate in the town of Colombeles-deux-Eglises, located in Champagne, three hundred kilometers from Paris, and sat down to write his memoirs. He compared his situation to Napoleon's imprisonment on the island of Elba - and like Napoleon, he was not going to sit idly by without hope of return. In April 1947, he, together with Jacques Soustelle, Michel Debreu and other associates, created the Rally of the French People party - Rassemblement du Peuple Frangais, or for short RPF whose emblem was the Cross of Lorraine. RPF planned to establish a one-party system in France, but in the 1951 elections it did not receive an absolute majority in parliament that would allow it to achieve its intended goal, and was dissolved in May 1953. Although Gaullism as an ideological and political movement (advocating for the greatness of the country and strong presidential power) remained noticeable in political map France at the time, de Gaulle himself took a long vacation. He hid from the curious in Colombey and devoted himself to communicating with his family and writing memoirs - his war memoirs in three volumes, entitled Conscription, Unity and Salvation, were published from 1954 to 1959 and enjoyed enormous popularity. It might seem that he considered his career over, and many of those around him were confident that General de Gaulle would never return to big politics.
De Tolle speaking at an RPF rally, 1948
In 1954, France lost Indochina. Taking advantage of the opportunity, a nationalist movement in the then French colony of Algeria, called the National Liberation Front, started a war. They demanded the independence of Algeria and the complete withdrawal of the French administration and were ready to achieve this with arms in hand. At first, the actions were sluggish: the FLN did not have enough weapons and people, and the French authorities, led by Jacques Soustelle, considered what was happening to be just a series local conflicts. However, after the Philipville Massacre in August 1955, when rebels killed more than a hundred civilians, the seriousness of what was happening became apparent. While the FLN was waging a brutal guerrilla war, the French were massing troops into the country. A year later, the FLN staged a series of terrorist attacks in the city of Algiers, and France was forced to introduce a parachute division under the command of General Jacques Massu, who managed to restore order in a short period of time using very brutal methods. De Gaulle later wrote:
Many leaders of the regime realized that the problem required a radical solution.
But taking the tough decisions that this problem required, removing all obstacles to their implementation... was beyond the strength of unstable governments... The regime limited itself to supporting the struggle that raged throughout Algeria and along the borders with the help of soldiers, weapons and money. Financially, it was very expensive, because it was necessary to maintain armed forces there with a total strength of 500 thousand people; this was also costly from a foreign policy point of view, because the whole world condemned the hopeless drama. As for, finally, the authority of the state, it was literally destructive.
France was divided in two: some, who considered Algeria an integral part of the metropolis, viewed what was happening there as a rebellion and a threat to the territorial integrity of the country. There were many French living in Algeria who, if the colony gained independence, would have been abandoned to the mercy of fate - the FLN rebels are known to have treated French settlers with particular cruelty. Others believed that Algeria was worthy of independence - or at least it would be easier to let it go than to maintain order there. Quarrels between supporters and opponents of the independence of the colony proceeded very violently, resulting in mass demonstrations, riots and even terrorist acts.
The United States and Great Britain offered their services to maintain order in the region, but when this became known, a scandal erupted in the country: Prime Minister Felix Gaillard’s consent to foreign aid was considered a betrayal, and he had to resign. His successor could not be appointed for three weeks; Finally, the country was led by Pierre Pflimlen, who announced his readiness to enter into negotiations with the TNF.
This statement caused a real storm: all supporters of preserving the integrity of the country (that is, those who advocated for Algeria to remain a French colony) felt betrayed. On May thirteenth, French Algerian generals put forward an ultimatum to parliament demanding that Algeria not be abandoned, that they adopt a new constitution and appoint de Gaulle as prime minister, and in case of refusal they threatened to land troops in Paris. In fact it was a putsch.
De Gaulle was not involved in either the failure in Indochina or the Algerian crisis; he still enjoyed authority in the country and on the world stage. His candidacy seemed to suit everyone: some hoped that he, a patriot and a loyal supporter of the integrity of the country, would not allow Algerian independence, others believed that the general was able to restore order in the country in any way. And although de Gaulle himself did not want to come to power as a result of a coup (any political upheaval, in his opinion, only worsened the situation in the country and, therefore, was unacceptable), he agreed to lead the country again in such a difficult time for France. On May 15, he made a significant statement on the radio: “Once, in a difficult hour, the country trusted me to lead it to salvation. Today, when the country faces new challenges, let it know that I am ready to assume all the powers of the Republic.”
On June 1, 1958, the National Assembly confirmed de Gaulle in office, giving him emergency powers to revise the constitution. Already in September, a new fundamental law was adopted, limiting the powers of parliament and asserting the strong power of the president. The Fourth Republic fell. In the elections of December 21, 1958, 75 percent of the electors voted for President de Gaulle. In the fall, de Gaulle unveiled the so-called “Constantine Plan” - a five-year economic development plan
Algeria - and announced an imminent military offensive against the partisans. In addition, he promised an amnesty for rebels who voluntarily laid down their arms. Within two years, the TNF was practically destroyed.
To the disappointment of the military, de Gaulle had his own solution to the Algerian problem: an independent state, economically and politically closely linked with the former metropolis. This decision was reinforced by the Evian agreements signed in March 1962. Algeria was not the only country to which de Gaulle gave freedom: in 1960 alone, more than two dozen African states gained independence. De Gaulle insisted on maintaining close cultural and economic ties with the former colonies, thereby strengthening France's influence in the world. Dissatisfied with de Gaulle’s policies, the “ultra-right” began a real hunt for him - according to historians, in total the general survived more than two dozen assassination attempts, but was not seriously injured in any of them, which once again strengthened de Gaulle in his opinion of himself as chosen by God for saving the country. Moreover, the general was not distinguished by either vindictiveness or particular cruelty: for example, after an assassination attempt in August 1962, when his car was unsuccessfully fired upon from machine guns, de Gaulle signed the death warrant only for the leader of the conspirators, Colonel Bastien-Thierry: because he, an officer of the French army, so and never learned to shoot.
To the United States, which often expressed its dissatisfaction with French policies, de Gaulle did not hesitate to declare that France had the right to act “as the mistress of its policy and on its own initiative.” In 1960, in defiance of the United States, he staged his own nuclear tests in the Sahara.
De Gaulle was determined to limit the European influence of the United States, on which many countries were dependent, and with them Great Britain, which was always more oriented towards America than towards Europe.
Charles de Gaulle With US President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline, Elysee Palace, 1961
He remembered only too well how Churchill had told him during the war: “Remember, whenever I have to choose between a free Europe and the seas, I will always choose the seas. Whenever I have to choose between Roosevelt and you, I will choose Roosevelt!”
First, de Gaulle failed to allow Britain to join the Common Market, and then announced that he no longer considered it possible to use the dollar as an international currency, and demanded that all the dollars at France's disposal - about one and a half billion - be exchanged for gold. He called this operation his “economic Austerlitz.” As historians write, de Gaulle’s attitude towards the dollar as a “green piece of paper” was formed under the impression of an anecdote once told to him by the Minister of Finance: “A Raphael painting is being sold at auction. The Arab offers oil, the Russian offers gold, and the American lays out a wad of hundred dollar bills and buys Raphael for $10,000. As a result, the American got Raphael for three dollars, because the cost of paper for one hundred dollar bill is three cents!”
When President Johnson was informed that a French ship loaded with dollar bills was docked in New York harbor, and a plane with the same cargo had landed at the airport, he almost had a stroke. He tried to promise de Gaulle major troubles - and in return he threatened that he would withdraw all NATO bases from French territory. Johnson had to agree and pay de Gaulle more than three thousand tons of gold, and in February 1966, de Gaulle still announced France’s withdrawal from NATO and the evacuation of all American bases from its territory.
At the same time, he did not forget about his own country: under de Gaulle, a denomination was carried out in France (one new franc was equal to one hundred old), as a result of which the economy was strengthened and the political situation, so turbulent in the early fifties, was stabilized. In December 1965, he was re-elected to a second term.
However, already at this time it became noticeable that de Gaulle was losing authority: to the younger generation he seemed too authoritarian, not listening to other people’s advice, ossified in his outdated principles; others did not approve of his too aggressive foreign policy, which constantly threatened to quarrel France with other countries. In the elections, he received only a slight advantage over François Mitterrand, who represented a broad opposition bloc, but de Gaulle did not draw any conclusions from this. The economic crisis of 1967 further undermined his position, and the events of May 1968 finally undermined his influence.
Official portrait of President de Gaulle, 1968
It all started when the university in Nanterre was closed after student riots. The students of the Sorbonne rebelled in support of Nanterre and made their own demands. Hundreds of people were injured as a result of unsuccessful police actions. Within a few days, the rebellion spread throughout France: everyone had already forgotten about the students, but the long-accumulated dissatisfaction with the authorities spilled out and it was no longer possible to contain it. On May thirteenth - exactly ten years after de Gaulle’s famous speech during the Algerian events - a grandiose demonstration took place, people carried posters: “05/13/58–05/13/68 - it’s time to leave, Charles!”, “Ten years is enough!”, “De Gaulle in the archive!”, “Farewell, de Gaulle!”. The country was paralyzed by an indefinite strike.
This time de Gaulle managed to restore order. He dissolved the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies and called early elections, in which unexpectedly absolute majority the Gaullists got it again. The reason for this is seen in the fact that, despite all the chaos of the May events, there was no real alternative to de Gaulle.
However, he was tired. Faced with the fact that his cause and he himself were no longer as popular in the country as he would like, and that his authority was not enough to cope with what was happening in time, de Gaulle decided to leave the arena. In April 1967, he put forward obviously unpopular bills on the reorganization of the Senate and the reform of the territorial-administrative structure of France to a national referendum, promising to resign in case of failure. On the eve of the vote, the general left Paris with the entire archive for Colombey - he had no illusions about the results. He lost the referendum. On April 28, de Gaulle told Prime Minister Maurice Couve de Murville by telephone: “I cease to perform the duties of President of the Republic. This decision comes into effect at noon today."
After retiring, de Gaulle devoted time only to himself and his family for the first time in many years. His son became a senator, his daughter married Colonel Henri de Boisseau, a descendant of aristocrats and a talented military leader. Charles and his wife went traveling - finally he was able to see neighboring countries not from the window of a government car, but simply by walking the streets. They visited Spain and Ireland, traveled around France, and in the fall of 1970 they returned to Colombey, where de Gaulle wanted to finish his memoirs. He never had time to finish them: on November 10, 1970, two weeks before his eightieth birthday, General de Gaulle died of a ruptured aorta.
Informing the nation of the general's death, Georges Pompidou, his successor, said: "General de Gaulle has died, France has become a widow."
According to his will, de Gaulle was buried in the Colombeles-deux-Eglises cemetery, next to his daughter Anna, in the presence of only his closest friends and relatives. On the same day, a funeral mass took place in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, which was celebrated with special solemnity and great rank by the Cardinal Archbishop of Paris. It was the least the country could do for the man who saved it twice.
A few years later, at the entrance to Colombeles-deux-Eglises, a monument was erected - a strict Lorraine cross made of gray granite. It symbolizes not just the greatness of France, not just the hidden power of this entire country, but also an individual, her faithful son and defender - General Charles de Gaulle, equally strict and unyielding in his service. After his death, much of what he did was forgotten or overestimated, and now the figure of the general in the history of Europe is on a par with such colossi as Napoleon or Charlemagne. To this day, his views remain relevant, his deeds remain great, his followers still rule France, and, as before, his name is a symbol of the greatness of the country.
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French military and public figure. Full name- Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle. During World War II it became a symbol of the French Resistance. First President of the Fifth Republic (1959-1969).
Childhood. Carier start
Charles de Gaulle was born on November 22, 1890 into a patriotic Catholic family. Although the de Gaulley family is noble, the de in the surname is not the traditional French “particle” of noble surnames, but the Flemish form of the article. Charles, like his three brothers and sister, was born in Lille in his grandmother's house, where his mother came every time before giving birth, although the family lived in Paris. His father Henri de Gaulle was a professor of philosophy and literature at a Jesuit school, which greatly influenced Charles. From early childhood he loved to read. History struck him so much that he developed an almost mystical concept of serving France.
Already as a boy he showed great interest in military affairs. After a year of preparatory studies at the Parisian College Stanislav, he was accepted into the Special Military school in Saint-Cyr. He chooses the infantry as his branch of the army: it is more “military” because it is closest to combat operations. The training took place in the 33rd Infantry Regiment under the command of the then Colonel Pétain. He graduated from military college in 1912 with 13th rank.
World War I
Since the beginning of the First World War on August 12, 1914, Lieutenant de Gaulle has taken part in military operations as part of the 5th Army of Charles Lanrezac, stationed in the northeast. Already on August 15 in Dinan he received his first wound; he returned to duty after treatment only in October. On March 10, 1915, at the Battle of Mesnil-le-Hurlu, he was wounded for the second time. He returns to the 33rd Regiment with the rank of captain and becomes company commander. In the Battle of Verdun near the village of Douaumont in 1916, he was wounded for the third time. Left on the battlefield, he - posthumously - receives honors from the army. However, Charles survives and is captured by the Germans; he is treated at the Mayenne hospital and held in various fortresses.
De Gaulle makes five attempts to escape. M. N. Tukhachevsky, the future marshal of the Red Army, was also captured with him; Communication begins between them, including on military-theoretical topics. While in captivity, de Gaulle read German authors, learned more and more about Germany, this later greatly helped him in his military command. It was then that he wrote his first book, “Discord in the Enemy's Camp” (published in 1916).
1920s. Family
De Gaulle was released from captivity only after the armistice on November 11, 1918. From 1919 to 1921, de Gaulle was in Poland, where he taught the theory of tactics at the former imperial guard school in Rembertow near Warsaw, and in July-August 1920 he fought for a short time on the front of the Soviet-Polish war of 1919-1921 with the rank of major (in the troops of the RSFSR in this conflict, the commander, ironically, is Tukhachevsky). Having rejected the offer of a permanent position in the Polish Army and returning to his homeland, on April 6, 1921 he married Yvonne Vandrou. December 28th next year his son Philippe is born, named after the boss - later the notorious traitor and antagonist of de Gaulle, Marshal Philippe Pétain. Captain de Gaulle taught at the Saint-Cyr school, then in 1922 he was admitted to the Higher Military School. On May 15, 1924, daughter Elizabeth is born. In 1928, the youngest daughter Anna was born, suffering from Down syndrome (the girl died in 1948; de Gaulle was subsequently a trustee of the Foundation for Children with Down Syndrome).
Military theorist
In the 1930s, Lieutenant Colonel and then Colonel de Gaulle became widely known as the author of military theoretical works, such as “For a Professional Army”, “On the Edge of the Sword”, “France and Its Army”. In his books, de Gaulle, in particular, pointed out the need for the comprehensive development of tank forces as the main weapon future war. In this, his works come close to the works of the leading military theorist in Germany, Guderian. However, de Gaulle's proposals did not evoke sympathy from the French military command.
The Second World War. Leader of the Resistance
First declarations
By the beginning of World War II, de Gaulle had the rank of colonel. On May 14, 1940, he was given command of the new 4th Regiment (5,000 soldiers and 85 tanks). From June 1, he temporarily acted as a brigadier general (he was never officially confirmed in this rank, and after the war he received only a colonel’s pension from the Fourth Republic). On June 6, Prime Minister Paul Reynaud appointed de Gaulle as deputy foreign minister during the war. The general invested with this position did not accept the terms of the truce, and on June 15, after the transfer of power to Marshal Pétain, he emigrated to Great Britain.
It was this moment that became a turning point in de Gaulle’s biography. In “Memoirs of Hope” he writes: “On June 18, 1940, answering the call of his homeland, deprived of any other help to save his soul and honor, de Gaulle, alone, unknown to anyone, had to take responsibility for France " On this day, the BBC broadcasts a radio speech by de Gaulle calling for the creation of the Resistance. Leaflets were soon distributed in which the general addressed “To all the French” (A tous les Français) with the statement:
“France lost the battle, but it did not lose the war! Nothing is lost because this war is a world war. The day will come when France will regain freedom and greatness... That is why I appeal to all French people to unite around me in the name of action, sacrifice and hope."
The general accused the Pétain government of treason and declared that “with full consciousness of duty he speaks on behalf of France.” Other appeals from de Gaulle also appeared.
So de Gaulle became the head of “Free (later “Fighting”) France,” an organization designed to resist the occupiers and the collaborationist Vichy regime.
At first he had to face considerable difficulties. “I... at first did not represent anything... In France, there was no one who could vouch for me, and I did not enjoy any fame in the country. Abroad - no trust and no justification for my activities.” The formation of the Free French organization was quite protracted. Who knows what de Gaulle's fate would have been like if he had not enlisted the support of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The desire to create an alternative to the Vichy government led Churchill to recognize de Gaulle as “the head of all free Frenchmen” (June 28, 1940) and to help “promote” de Gaulle internationally. However, in his memoirs about the Second World War, Churchill does not give de Gaulle a very high assessment, and considers his cooperation with him forced - there was simply no other alternative.
Control over the colonies. Development of the Resistance
Militarily, the main task was to transfer to the side of the French patriots the “French Empire” - vast colonial possessions in Africa, Indochina and Oceania. After an unsuccessful attempt to capture Dakar, de Gaulle creates in Brazzaville (Congo) the Council of Defense of the Empire, the manifesto of which began with the words: “We, General de Gaulle (nous général de Gaulle), head of the free French, decree,” etc. The council includes anti-fascist military governors of the French (usually African) colonies: generals Catroux, Eboue, Colonel Leclerc. From this point on, de Gaulle emphasized the national and historical roots of his movement. He establishes the Order of Liberation, the main sign of which is the Lorraine cross with two crossbars - an ancient symbol of the French nation, dating back to the era of feudalism. The decree on the creation of the order is reminiscent of the statutes of the orders of the times of royal France.
The great success of the Free French was the establishment, shortly after June 22, 1941, of direct ties with the USSR (without hesitation, the Soviet leadership decided to transfer Bogomolov, their ambassador under the Vichy regime, to London). For 1941-1942 The network of partisan organizations in occupied France also grew. Since October 1941, after the first mass executions of hostages by the Germans, de Gaulle called on all French people for a total strike and mass actions of disobedience.
Conflict with the Allies
Meanwhile, the actions of the “monarch” irritated the West. Roosevelt's staff spoke openly about the “so-called free French” who were “sowing poisonous propaganda” and interfering with the conduct of the war. On November 7, 1942, American troops land in Algeria and Morocco and negotiate with local French military leaders who supported Vichy. De Gaulle tried to convince the leaders of England and the United States that cooperation with the Vichys in Algeria would lead to the loss of moral support for the allies in France. “The United States,” said de Gaulle, “introduces elementary feelings and complex politics into great affairs.” The contradiction between de Gaulle's patriotic ideals and Roosevelt's indifference in the choice of supporters (“I like all those who help solve my problems,” as he openly declared) became one of the most important obstacles to coordinated action in North Africa.
The head of Algeria, Admiral Darlan, who by that time had already gone over to the Allied side, was killed on December 24, 1942 by 20-year-old Frenchman Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle. The suspiciously quick investigation ended in the hasty execution of La Chapelle just a day after Darlan's murder. The Allied leadership appoints Army General Henri Giraud as the “civil and military commander-in-chief” of Algeria. In January 1943, at a conference in Casablanca, de Gaulle became aware of the Allied plan: to replace the leadership of “Fighting France” with a committee led by Giraud, in which it was planned to include big number persons who once supported the Peten government. In Casablanca, de Gaulle shows understandable intransigence towards such a plan. He insists on unconditional respect for the country's national interests (in the sense as they were understood in "Fighting France"). This leads to the split of “Fighting France” into two wings: nationalist, led by de Gaulle (supported by the British government led by W. Churchill), and pro-American, grouped around Henri Giraud.
On May 27, 1943, the National Council of the Resistance gathers at a founding conspiratorial meeting in Paris, which (under the auspices of de Gaulle) assumes many powers to organize the internal struggle in the occupied country. De Gaulle's position became increasingly stronger, and Giraud was forced to compromise: almost simultaneously with the opening of the NSS, he invited the general to the ruling structures of Algeria. He demands the immediate submission of Giraud (the commander of the troops) to civil authority. The situation is heating up. Finally, on June 3, 1943, the French Committee of National Liberation was formed, headed by de Gaulle and Giraud on equal terms. The majority in it, however, goes to the Gaullists, and some adherents of his rival (including Couve de Murville, the future Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic) go over to de Gaulle’s side. In November 1943, Giraud was removed from the committee. The story of Giraud is precisely the moment when the military leader de Gaulle becomes a politician. For the first time he is faced with the question of political struggle: “Either I, or him.” For the first time, de Gaulle uses effective political means of struggle, rather than declarations.
On June 4, 1944, de Gaulle was summoned by Churchill to London. The British prime minister announced the upcoming landing of allied forces in Normandy and, at the same time, full support for Roosevelt's line of complete dictate of the will of the United States. De Gaulle was made to understand that his services were not needed. In the draft appeal written by Gen. D. D. Eisenhower ordered the French people to comply with all instructions of the allied command until the elections of legitimate authorities. It is clear that in Washington the de-Gaulle Committee was not considered such. De Gaulle's strong protest forced Churchill to grant him the right to speak separately to the French on the radio (rather than join Eisenhower's text). In the address, the general declared the legitimacy of the government formed by Fighting France and strongly opposed plans to subordinate it to American command.
Liberation of France
On June 6, 1944, Allied forces carry out a successful landing in Normandy, thereby opening a second front in Europe. De Gaulle, after a short stay on liberated French soil, again headed to Washington for negotiations with President Roosevelt, the goal of which was still the same - to restore the independence and greatness of France (a key expression in the general’s political vocabulary). “Listening to the American president, I was finally convinced that in business relations between two states, logic and feeling mean very little in comparison with real force, that the one who knows how to grab and hold what is captured is valued here; and if France wants to take its former place, it must rely only on itself,” writes de Gaulle.
After the Resistance rebels led by Colonel Rolle-Tanguy open the way to Paris for the tank troops of one of de Gaulle’s most loyal associates, the military governor of Chad Philippe de Hautecloque (who went down in history under the name Leclerc), de Gaulle arrives in the liberated capital. A grandiose performance takes place - de Gaulle’s solemn procession through the streets of Paris, with a huge crowd of people, to which a lot of space is devoted in the general’s “War Memoirs”. The procession passes by the historical sites of the capital, consecrated by the heroic history of France, and the general admits: “With every step that I take, walking through the most famous places in the world, it seems to me that the glory of the past seems to join the glory of today.” De Gaulle never considered himself a politician only of his time, did not put himself on a par with such figures as Churchill or Roosevelt, but was aware of his significance, his mission in the context of centuries-old French history.
Post-war government
Since August 1944, de Gaulle has been Chairman of the French Council of Ministers (Provisional Government). He subsequently characterizes his short, one-and-a-half-year activity in this post as “salvation.” France had to be “saved” from the plans of the Anglo-American bloc: the partial remilitarization of Germany, the exclusion of France from the list of great powers. Both at Dumbarton Oaks, at the Great Powers Conference on the creation of the UN, and at the Yalta Conference in January 1945, representatives of France are absent. Shortly before the Yalta meeting, de Gaulle went to Moscow with the aim of concluding an alliance with the USSR in the face of the Anglo-American danger. The general first visited Moscow from December 2 to December 10, 1944. On the last day of this visit in the Kremlin, J.V. Stalin and de Gaulle signed an agreement on “alliance and military assistance.” The significance of this act was primarily in the return of France to the status of a great power and its recognition as one of the victorious states. French General Delattre de Tassigny, together with the commanders of the Allied powers, accepts the surrender of the Germans in Karlshorst on the night of May 8-9, 1945 armed forces. France has occupation zones in Germany and Austria.
This period was marked by an intensified contradiction between the foreign policy “greatness” of the country and the poor internal situation. After the war, the standard of living remained low, unemployment grew against the background of the strengthening military-industrial complex. Couldn't even properly identify political structure countries. The elections to the Constituent Assembly did not give an advantage to any party (the Communists received a relative majority - which eloquently demonstrates the situation; Maurice Thorez became Deputy Prime Minister), the draft Constitution was repeatedly rejected. After one of the next conflicts over the expansion of the military budget, de Gaulle left the post of head of government on January 20, 1946 and retired to Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, a small estate in Champagne (Haute-Marne department). He himself compares his situation with the expulsion of Napoleon. But, unlike the idol of his youth, de Gaulle has the opportunity to observe French politics from the outside - not without the hope of returning to it.
