The de Gaulle government during World War II. Biography

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DE GAULE, CHARLES(De Gaulle, Charles André Marie) (1890-1970), President of France. Born November 22, 1890 in Lille. Graduated in 1912 military academy Saint-Cyr. During the First World War, he was wounded three times and was taken prisoner near Verdun in 1916. In 1920-1921, he served in Poland with the rank of major at the headquarters of the military mission of General Weigan. Between the two world wars, de Gaulle taught military history at the Saint-Cyr school, served as assistant to Marshal Pétain, wrote several books on military strategy and tactics. In one of them, called For a professional army(1934), insisted on the mechanization of the ground forces and the use of tanks in cooperation with aviation and infantry.

Leader of the French Resistance during World War II.

In April 1940, de Gaulle was promoted to brigadier general. June 6 was appointed Deputy Minister of National Defense. On June 16, 1940, when Marshal Pétain was negotiating surrender, de Gaulle flew to London, from where on June 18 he called on his compatriots to continue the fight against the invaders by radio. He founded the Free French movement in London. After the landing of the Anglo-American troops in North Africa in June 1943, the French Committee of National Liberation (FKNO) was created in Algiers. De Gaulle was first appointed its co-chairman (together with General Henri Giraud) and then sole chairman. In June 1944, the FKNO was renamed the Provisional Government of the French Republic.

Political activity after the war.

After the liberation of France in August 1944, de Gaulle returned to Paris in triumph as head of the provisional government. However, the Gaullist principle of strong executive power was rejected by the voters at the end of 1945, who preferred a constitution similar in many respects to that of the Third Republic. In January 1946 de Gaulle resigned.

In 1947, de Gaulle founded a new party, the Rally of the French People (RPF), whose main goal was to fight for the abolition of the 1946 Constitution that proclaimed the Fourth Republic. However, the RPF failed to achieve the desired result, and in 1955 the party was dissolved.

In order to preserve the prestige of France and strengthen its national security, de Gaulle supported the European Reconstruction Program and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. During the coordination of the armed forces Western Europe at the end of 1948, thanks to the influence of de Gaulle, command was transferred to the French ground forces and the fleet. Like many Frenchmen, de Gaulle continued to be suspicious of a "strong Germany" and in 1949 spoke out against the Bonn Constitution, which ended Western military occupation but did not fit in with the plans of Schumann and Pleven (1951).

In 1953, de Gaulle withdrew from political activity, settled in his house in Colombey-les-deux-Église and began writing his Military memoirs.

In 1958, the protracted colonial war in Algeria caused an acute political crisis. On May 13, 1958, ultra-colonialists and representatives of the French army mutinied in the Algerian capital. Soon they were joined by supporters of General de Gaulle. All of them advocated the preservation of Algeria as part of France. The general himself, with the support of his supporters, skillfully took advantage of this and obtained the consent of the National Assembly to create his own government on the terms dictated by him.

Fifth Republic.

The first years after returning to power, de Gaulle was engaged in the strengthening of the Fifth Republic, financial reform, and the search for a solution to the Algerian issue. On September 28, 1958, a new constitution was adopted in a referendum.

December 21, 1958 de Gaulle was elected President of the Republic. Under his leadership, the influence of France in the international arena increased. However, in colonial policy, de Gaulle ran into problems. Having set about settling the Algerian problem, de Gaulle firmly pursued a policy of self-determination for Algeria. This was followed by mutinies by the French army and ultra-colonialists in 1960 and 1961, the terrorist activities of the Armed Secret Organization (OAS), and an attempt on de Gaulle's life. Nevertheless, after the signing of the Evian Accords, Algeria gained independence.

In September 1962, de Gaulle proposed an amendment to the constitution, according to which the election of the president of the republic should be held by universal suffrage. Faced with the resistance of the National Assembly, he decided to resort to a referendum. In a referendum held in October, the amendment was approved by a majority vote. The November elections brought victory to the Gaullist party.

In 1963, de Gaulle vetoed entry into the Common Market of Great Britain, blocked an attempt by the United States to supply nuclear missiles to NATO, and refused to sign an agreement on a partial ban on nuclear weapons tests. His foreign policy led to a new alliance between France and West Germany. In 1963 de Gaulle visited the Middle East and the Balkans, and in 1964 - Latin America.

December 21, 1965 de Gaulle was re-elected to the presidency for the next 7-year term. NATO's long standoff culminated in early 1966 when the French president withdrew his country from military organization block. Nevertheless, France remained a member of the Atlantic Alliance.

The elections to the National Assembly in March 1967 brought the Gaullist party and its allies a slight majority, and in May 1968 student unrest and a nationwide strike began. The President again dissolved the National Assembly and called new elections, which were won by the Gaullists. April 28, 1969, after losing the April 27 referendum on the reorganization of the Senate, de Gaulle resigned.

The twentieth century brought to mankind many personalities who had a tangible impact on the course of world history. One such person is Charles de Gaulle.

The first president and founder of the Fifth French Republic, the creator (in 1940) of the patriotic movement of the French people "Free France", since 1941 the chairman of the "French National Committee", 1944-1946. - Chairman of the "French Provisional Government".

On his initiative, a new Constitution of France was prepared and adopted in 1958 by Parliament. She significantly expanded the rights of the president, recognized the independence of Algeria.

And this outstanding historical one began on November 22, 1890, when baby Charles was born in the family of French aristocrats in the city of Lille. The family of the future general and president was Catholic and adhered to patriotic views, which also affected the formation of the future views of Charles de Gaulle.

In 1912 he, after successful completion military educational institution Saint Cyr, becomes a professional soldier. In one of the battles of the First World War, he was captured. In 1918 he returned to his homeland. After returning, Charles de Gaulle makes a successful military career. During this period, de Gaulle wrote several books on military and political topics.

But in reality, Charles de Gaulle revealed his abilities as a statesman and political figure, with the beginning, which he met already in the rank of general. After the conclusion of a peace truce with Germany by Marshal Henri Pétain, General de Gaulle left his homeland and on June 18, 1940, by radio, from London, appealed to the French not to lay down their arms and join the Free French movement he created.

At the beginning of the war, the main task of the Free French was to control the territory of the French colonies. General de Gaulle did an excellent job with this task. Cameroon, Congo, Chad, Gabon, Ubangi-Shari joined the Free French. And in the future, other colonies followed suit. At the same time, the Free French fighters actively participated in the Allied combat operations.

In 1943, General de Gaulle became co-chairman and then chairman of the "French National Liberation Committee" created in 1943, and remained in this post until 1946. In 1947, Charles de Gaulle founded the RPF ("Unification of the French People") and joined the political struggle. But success, despite more than 1 million members, the RPF did not achieve and in 1953 it was dissolved.

Charles de Gaulle's finest hour came in 1958 during the Algerian crisis. The crisis paved the way for him to power. Under his leadership, the French Constitution of 1958 was developed and then adopted, which became the beginning of the Fifth French Republic, which exists to this day.

Since that time, France has become a presidential-parliamentary republic from a parliamentary-presidential republic with the election of the president by universal suffrage. Despite the strong resistance of the ultra colonialists and mutinies in the army, a number of assassination attempts on de Gaulle, in 1962 Algeria gained independence. Despite the fact that de Gaulle was a French nationalist, he vehemently defended the right of all nations and peoples to self-determination. He also owns the idea of ​​a united Europe.

In 1965, Charles de Gaulle was re-elected to the presidency of France for another seven-year term. However, his new ideas did not receive support and in 1969 he resigned, completely abandoning all political activity.

Charles de Gaulle died in Colombes-les-deux-Eglises, Champagne, on 11/09/1970. His grave is in a modest local cemetery. Here is such a biography of one of the most famous French rulers, Charles de Gaulle.

General Charles de Gaulle came to power in France twice. For the first time - in 1944, when he faced the difficult tasks of organizing post-war life states. In the second - in 1958, when events intensified in Algeria, which at that time was a colony of France.

For several years, there was a war in Algeria, which led to the fears of the French ultras fighting there that the government would abandon the African colony. On May 13, 1958, they seized the building of the colonial administration and sent a telegram to de Gaulle in Paris 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 turned to the French with an appeal:

“For 12 years now, France has been trying to solve problems beyond the power of the party regime, and is heading towards disaster. Once, in a difficult hour, the country trusted me to lead it to salvation. Today, when the country faces new trials, let it know that I am ready to assume all the powers of the Republic,” de Gaulle said.

These strong words were followed by decisive actions. Fearing that the general might use the power of the military loyal to him, the then President of France, Rene Coty, invited de Gaulle to form a new government of the country. “De Gaulle was able to offer himself as the only alternative to the coup of the extreme right 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 Nyme.

De Gaulle did not stay long as prime minister - from June 1958 to January 1959. In January 1959, he was elected president. In this position

he managed to achieve the main thing - the 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 vote. And although de Gaulle himself was first elected president under the old system, with his arrival to this post the Fifth Republic was born.

Returning to power in the wake of the situation in Algeria, de Gaulle at the same time did not seek at all costs to keep this African territory under French influence. 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 break in 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 chooses de Gaulle as its leader.

The second presidential term of de Gaulle was marked by active steps in foreign policy Confirming the independent nature of French foreign policy, he withdraws France from the military organization of NATO. The organization's headquarters are moved from Paris to Brussels.

Everything happens in a hurry, one of the most powerful organizations in the world receives a residence permit for many years 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 in Washington de Gaulle's actions are condemned, in the USSR, on the contrary, they are treated with undisguised enthusiasm, welcoming the French opposition in every possible way. In 1966, the President of France goes 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 treated Russia warmly enough.

However, it is primarily politics that attracts him to Moscow. “De Gaulle needed a“ counterweight ”and therefore went to meet the USSR and its allies,” say the then Soviet heavyweights of politics, Vadim Kirpichenko and.

Following the visit of the French President to the USSR, several key documents were signed. In addition, "détente" was mentioned, and it was also emphasized that "the USSR and France are responsible for maintaining 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 in Russia not only a major world power, but also a part of Europe. "The whole of Europe - from the Atlantic to the Urals - will decide the fate of the world!" de Gaulle stated in his historical speech 1959 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 this 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, by the end of his first presidential term, faced a crisis within the country.

After the expiration of the first seven-year term, the general was going to be re-elected to the presidency of France. These elections, according to the amendments to the Constitution, should have been popular. De Gaulle, as expected, won the election, however, only in the second round, defeating his main critic, the socialist.

The second round and the popularity of Mitterrand testified to the decline in the popularity of the Resistance legend itself. This was caused by problems in the economy, an 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 rule out sharp criticism of his rule, which came from the pages of the print media.

The political crisis led to a real revolutionary situation - dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the field of education, students at the University of Paris and the Sorbonne revolted. It was headed by radical left activists, who were later joined by trade unions. Tens of thousands of people block the streets and clash with the police and gendarmes. The events will become the most massive unrest in Europe and will be called "May 1968".

Many of the slogans of that time - for example, "It is forbidden to prohibit" - will be repeated decades later by opponents of the president.

De Gaulle, despite the persuasion of some ministers to start negotiations with the protesters, was quite tough and did not want to go into negotiations, but the situation looked threatening. “By turning politics into theatre, de Gaulle today stood up to the movement that turned the theater into politics,” writes presidential biographer Julian Jackson.

The combat general seems confused for the first time, but he addresses the nation and demands broad powers, as the country, in his words, is "on the verge of civil war."

At the same time, not feeling sympathy for his opponents, the president will still tell them: "I understand you."

After the appeal, de Gaulle flies out of the country to Baden-Baden, however, not to bask in 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 party Rally for the Republic 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 reform of the Senate failed, and attempts to do something led to a crisis,” says the expert to 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 stated that if the reform did not take place, he would step down 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 an aortic rupture on November 9, 1970. The head of the government, and then the President of France, Georges Pompidou, will say: "De Gaulle is dead, France is widowed." The coffin of a military general politician and world statesman accompanied by 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.

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and politician, best known before World War II as a tank battle tactician. Leader of the Free French Forces in World War II, head of the provisional government 1944-46. Mastermind of the new constitution and first president of the Fifth Republic from 1958 to 1969.

Origin and early military career

Charles was the third child in a morally conservative but socially progressive Catholic bourgeois family. His father came from an old aristocratic family from Normandy. Mother belonged to a family of wealthy entrepreneurs from the industrial region of Lille in French Flanders.

The young de Gaulle chose a military career and studied for four years at the prestigious Saint-Cyr military school. During World War I, Captain de Gaulle was badly wounded at the Battle of Verdun in March 1916 and taken prisoner by the Germans.

After the end of the war, he remained in the army, where he served on the staff of General Maxime Weigand and then General Philippe Pétain. During the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1920. de Gaulle served in Polish army 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 start of World War II, de Gaulle remained a colonel, arousing hostility from the military authorities with his bold views. After 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 at the Battle of Cowmont. 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 interim brigadier general.

On June 6, 1940, Reynaud appointed de Gaulle as Under-Secretary of State for National Defense and responsible for coordinating with Britain. As a member of the cabinet, the general resisted offers to surrender. Attempts to strengthen the resolve of those members of the French government who favored the continuation of the war failed, and Reynaud resigned. Pétain, who had become prime minister, intended to seek a truce with Germany.

On the morning of June 17, with 100,000 gold francs from secret funds provided to him the night before by Paul Reynaud, the general fled from Bordeaux by plane and landed in London. De Gaulle decided to abandon the surrender of France and start creating 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 penalty for treason.

In 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 succession 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 for the Fourth Republic, which seemed to put too much power in the hands of parliament with its shifting party alliances.

1958: Collapse of the Fourth Republic

The Fourth Republic was tarnished by political instability, setbacks in Indochina, and failure to resolve the Algerian question.
On May 13, 1958, settlers seized government buildings in Algiers. The commander-in-chief, General Raul 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 took over Corsica and discussed an amphibious landing near Paris. The political leaders of all parties agreed to support de Gaulle's return to power. An exception was the communist party of François Mitterrand, which condemned the general as an agent of a fascist coup.

De Gaulle was still determined to change the constitution of the Fourth Republic, blaming it for France's political weakness. The general set as a condition of his return the granting 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 those who voted supported the new constitution and the creation of the Fifth Republic. The colonies (Algiers was officially part of France, not a colony) were given the choice between independence and a new constitution. All the colonies voted in favor of the new constitution, with the exception of Guinea, which became the first French African colony to gain independence, at the cost of an immediate end to all French aid.

1958-1962: Foundation of the Fifth Republic

In November 1958, de Gaulle and his supporters received a majority, 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 death during an assassination attempt.

At the international level, he maneuvered between the US and the USSR, promoting an independent France with its own nuclear weapons. De Gaulle set about building Franco-German cooperation, as cornerstone EEC, having made the first state visit to Germany since the time of Napoleon by the head of the French state.

1962-1968: the politics of greatness

In the conditions of the Algerian conflict, de Gaulle was able to achieve two main goals: to reform the French economy, and to maintain a strong position of France in foreign policy, the so-called "politics of greatness".

The government actively intervened in the economy, using five-year plans as the main instrument. Thanks to the unique combination of Western capitalism and a state-oriented economy, the largest projects were realized. In 1964, for the first time in 200 years, France's per capita GDP overtook Britain's.

De Gaulle was convinced that a strong France, acting as a balancing force in a 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 US and the USSR. In January 1964, France officially recognized the People's Republic of China, 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 withdrew from the military structure of NATO. De Gaulle, building independent nuclear forces, did not want to depend on the 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

Demonstrations and strikes in May 1968 were a 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 out 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-Églises, where he died in 1970 while working on his memoirs.

Charles de Gaulle was born on November 22, 1890 into a patriotic Catholic family. Although the de Gaulle family is noble, de in the surname is not a “particle” of noble families traditional for France, 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. The story struck him so much that he had an almost mystical concept of serving France.

As a boy, he showed great interest in military affairs. After a year of preparatory exercises at the Stanislas College in Paris, he is admitted to the Special Military School in Saint-Cyr. He chooses infantry as his type of troops: it is more “military”, since 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 the military college in 1912 at the 13th rank.

World War I

Since the outbreak of the First World War on August 12, 1914, Lieutenant de Gaulle has been taking part in hostilities as part of the 5th Army of Charles Lanrezac, located in the northeast. Already on August 15 in Dinan, he received the 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 a second time. He returns to the 33rd regiment with the rank of captain and becomes a company commander. In the Battle of Verdun at the village of Douaumont in 1916, he was wounded for the third time. Left on the battlefield, he - already posthumously - receives honors from the army. However, Charles remains alive, is captured by the Germans; he is treated at the Mayenne hospital and kept in various fortresses.

De Gaulle makes five attempts to escape. Together with him, M.N. Tukhachevsky, the future marshal of the Red Army, was also in captivity; communication is established between them, including on military-theoretical topics. In captivity, de Gaulle reads German authors, learns more and more about Germany, which later helped him a lot in military command. It was then that he wrote his first book, Discord in the Camp of the Enemy (published in 1916).

1920s. Family

De Gaulle is 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 school of the imperial guard 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 (with the troops of the RSFSR in this conflict, it is Tukhachevsky who is in command, ironically). Having rejected the offer of a permanent position in the Polish Army and returning to his homeland, on April 6, 1921, he marries Yvonne Vandru. On December 28 next year, his son Philip is born, named after the chef - later sadly known traitor and de Gaulle's antagonist Marshal Philippe Pétain. Captain de Gaulle teaches at the Saint-Cyr school, then in 1922 he was admitted to the Higher Military School. May 15, 1924 daughter Elizabeth is born. In 1928, the youngest daughter, Anna, was born, suffering from Down syndrome (the girl died in 1948; later de Gaulle was 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 a 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 of a future war. In this, his work is close to the work of Germany's leading military theorist, Guderian. However, de Gaulle's proposals did not evoke sympathy from the French military command.

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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 (officially, they did not manage to approve him 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, vested with this position, did not accept the terms of the armistice, 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 de Gaulle's radio speech calling for the creation of the Resistance. Soon, leaflets were distributed in which the general addressed "To all the French" (A tous les Français) with the statement:

“France lost the battle, but she did not lose the war! Nothing is lost, because this war is a world war. The day will come when France will return freedom and greatness ... That is why I appeal to all French people to unite around me in the name of action, self-sacrifice and hope.

The general accused the Pétain government of betrayal and declared that "with full consciousness of duty he acts on behalf of France." Other appeals of de Gaulle also appeared.

So de Gaulle became the head of the Free (later “Fighting”) France, an organization designed to resist the invaders and the Vichy collaborationist regime.

At first, he had to face considerable difficulties. “I ... at first did not represent anything ... In France - no one who could vouch for me, and I did not enjoy any fame in the country. Abroad - no trust and justification for my activities. The formation of the Free French organization was rather protracted. Who knows what de Gaulle's fate would have been 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 French" (June 28, 1940) and to help de Gaulle "promote" internationally. Nevertheless, in his memoirs about the Second World War, Churchill does not give a very high assessment of de Gaulle, and considers his cooperation with him forced - there was simply no other alternative.

control of 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 failed attempt seize Dakar, de Gaulle creates in Brazzaville (Congo) the Council of the Defense of the Empire, the manifesto on the creation of which began with the words: “We, General de Gaulle (nous général de Gaulle), head of the free French, decide,” etc. The Council includes anti-fascist tuned military governors of the French (usually African) colonies: Generals Catru, Eboue, Colonel Leclerc. From that moment on, de Gaulle emphasized the national and historical roots of his movement. He establishes the Order of the Liberation, the main sign of which is the Lorraine cross with two crossbars - an ancient, dating back to the era of feudalism, a symbol of the French nation. The decree on the creation of the order resembles the statutes of the orders of the times of royal France.

The great success of Free France was the establishment of direct ties with the USSR shortly after June 22, 1941 (the Soviet leadership decided without hesitation to transfer Bogomolov, their ambassador under the Vichy regime, to London). For 1941-1942 the network of partisan organizations in occupied France also grew. From October 1941, after the first mass executions of hostages by the Germans, de Gaulle called on all the French to a total strike and mass actions of disobedience.

Conflict with allies

Meanwhile, the actions of the "monarch" irritated the West. Roosevelt's apparatus 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 landed in Algiers and Morocco and negotiated with local French commanders who supported Vichy. De Gaulle tried to convince the leaders of England and the United States that cooperation with the Vichy 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 things.” The contradiction between de Gaulle's patriotic ideals and Roosevelt's indifference in the choice of supporters ("all those who help solve my problems are suitable for me," as he openly stated) became one of the most important obstacles in conducting coordinated actions in North Africa.

The head of Algeria, Admiral Darlan, who by that time had already defected to the side of the Allies, was killed on December 24, 1942, by the 20-year-old Frenchman Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle. The suspiciously quick investigation ended with the hasty execution of La Chapelle just a day after Darlan's murder. The Allied leadership appoints General of the Army Henri Giraud as the "civilian 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 the "Fighting France" with a committee headed by Giraud, which was planned to include big number those who once supported the Pétain government. In Casablanca, de Gaulle shows understandable intransigence towards such a plan. He insists on the unconditional observance of the national interests of the country (in the sense that they were understood in the "Fighting France"). This leads to a split in the "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 convenes for a founding conspiratorial meeting in Paris, which (under the auspices of de Gaulle) assumes many powers in organizing the internal struggle in the occupied country. De Gaulle's position was becoming stronger and 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 (commander of the troops) to civilian power. The situation is heating up. Finally, on June 3, 1943, the French National Liberation Committee was formed, headed by de Gaulle and Giraud on an equal footing. The majority in it, however, are received by the Gaullists, and some adherents of his rival (including Couve de Murville - the future Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic) - go over to the side of de Gaulle. 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 faces the question of political struggle: "Either I, or he." For the first time, de Gaulle uses effective political means of struggle, and not declarations.

On June 4, 1944, de Gaulle was summoned by Churchill to London. The British Prime Minister announced the forthcoming landing of the Allied troops in Normandy and, at the same time, the full support of the Roosevelt line on the complete dictate of the will of the United States. De Gaulle was given to understand that his services were not needed. In a draft appeal written by Gen. D. D. Eisenhower ordered the French people to comply with all the instructions of the allied command until the elections of legitimate authorities. It is clear that in Washington the De Gaulle Committee was not regarded as such. De Gaulle's sharp protest forced Churchill to give him the right to speak to the French on the radio separately (rather than join Eisenhower's text). In the address, the general declared the legitimacy of the government formed by the "Fighting France", and strongly opposed plans to subordinate it to American command.

Liberation of France

On June 6, 1944, the Allied forces successfully landed in Normandy, thus opening a second front in Europe. De Gaulle, after a short stay on liberated French soil, again went to Washington for negotiations with President Roosevelt, the goal of which is still the same - to restore the independence and greatness of France (the key expression in political vocabulary general). “Listening to the American President, I finally became convinced that in business relations between the two states, logic and feeling mean very little in comparison with real power that one is valued here who knows how to grab and hold what is captured; and if France wants to take its former place, it must rely only on itself,” writes de Gaulle.

After the rebels of the Resistance, led by Colonel Rolle-Tanguy, open the way to Paris for the tank troops of one of de Gaulle's most faithful associates, the military governor of Chad, Philippe de Hauteklok (who went down in history under the name Leclerc), de Gaulle arrives in the liberated capital. There is a grandiose performance - de Gaulle's solemn procession through the streets of Paris, with a huge crowd of people, to whom a lot of space is devoted in the General's "Military Memoirs". The procession passes the historical places of the capital, consecrated by the heroic history of France, and the general admits: “With every step that I take, stepping on the most famous places in the world, it seems to me that the glory of the past, as it were, joins 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 - Chairman of the Council of Ministers of France (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 ranks of the great powers. And at Dumbarton Oaks, at the Great Powers Conference on the Creation of the United Nations, and at Yalta Conference in January 1945, French representatives 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 visited Moscow for the first time 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 aid". The significance of this act was primarily in the return of France to the status of a great power and its recognition among the victorious states. French general Delattre de Tassigny, together with the commanders of the Allied Powers, takes in Karlshorst on the night of May 8-9, 1945, the surrender of the German armed forces. France has occupation zones in Germany and Austria.

This period was marked by an aggravated contradiction between the foreign policy "greatness" of the country and not the best internal situation. Saved after the war low level life, unemployment grew against the backdrop of a strengthening military-industrial complex. It was not even possible to properly define the political structure of the country. Elections to the Constituent Assembly did not give an advantage to any party (the relative majority - which eloquently indicates the situation - were received by the Communists, Maurice Thorez became vice-premier), 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 (department of Upper Marne). He himself compares his position with the exile 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.