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Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle (November 22, 1890--November 9, 1970), in France commonly referred to as general de Gaulle, was a French military leader and statesman.
Prior to World War II, he was mostly known as a tactician of tank battles and an advocate of the concentrated use of armored and aviation forces. He was the leader of Free France in World War II and head of the provisional government in 1944?946. Called to form a government in 1958, he inspired a new constitution1 and was the Fifth Republic's first president from 1958 to 1969. His political ideology is known as Gaullism, which left a major influence in subsequent French politics.
 1912-1940: Military career
Young Charles de Gaulle chose a military career and spent four years at the Ecole Speciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr (the French equivalent of West Point). He graduated in 1912 and decided to join an infantry regiment when he could have joined an elite corps. During World War I, then captain de Gaulle was severely wounded at the gruesome Battle of Verdun in March 1916, and left for dead on the battlefield. Alive, he was taken prisoner by the Germans. He made five unsuccessful escape attempts, and was put in solitary confinement in a retaliation camp.
When the war ended, he remained in the military, serving on the staff of Gen. Maxime Weygand and then Gen. Philippe Petain. During the Polish-Soviet war in 1919-1920, he volunteered to be a member of the French Military Mission to Poland and was an infantry instructor with the Polish army. He fought and distinguished himself in fighting near the river Zbrucz and received the highest Polish military award, Virtuti Militari. He was promoted to major and offered possibility of a further career in Poland, but chose instead to return to France. He was heavily influenced by that war, namely by the use of tanks, fast manoeuvres and lack of trenches.
Based partially on his observations during war in Poland, which was so different from experiences from WWI, he published a number of books and articles on the reorganisation of the army, particularly Vers l'Armee de Metier (published in English as "The Army of the Future") in which he supported the new ideas of mechanised troops and specialised armoured divisions in preference to the static theories exemplified by the Maginot Line.
While Heinz Guderian and the German Army General Staff were influenced by de Gaulle, Petain rejected most of de Gaulle's theories, and the relationship between them became strained. French politicians also dismissed de Gaulle's theories with the notable exception of Paul Reynaud who would later play a major role in de Gaulle's career.
At the outbreak of World War II, de Gaulle was only a colonel, having encountered hostility from the leaders of the military through the 1920s and 1930s due to his bold views. After the German breakthrough at Sedan on May 10, 1940, he was finally given command of the 4th Armoured Division.
On May 17, 1940, de Gaulle attacked the German tank forces at Montcornet. With only 200 French tanks and no air support, the offensive had little impact on stopping the German advance. There was more success on May 28, when de Gaulle's tanks forced the German armour to retreat at Caumont. He became the first and only French commanding officer to force the Germans to retreat during the invasion of France. Prime Minister Paul Reynaud promoted him provisional brigadier general (thus his title of general de Gaulle).
1940-1945: The Free French Forces
General de Gaulle speaking on the BBC during the war.
On June 18, de Gaulle prepared to speak to the French people, via BBC radio, from London. The British Cabinet attempted to block the speech, but was overruled by Churchill. In France, de Gaulle's "Appeal of June 18" could be heard nationwide in the evening. "France has lost a battle but has not lost the war" was its most famous line. Although only few people actually heard the speech that night (BBC was seldom listened to on the continent, and millions of Frenchmen were refugees on the road), excerpts of the speech appeared in French newspapers the next day in the yet unoccupied southern part of France, and the speech was repeated for several days on the BBC. Soon enough, among the chaos and bewilderment that was France in June 1940, the news that a French general was in London refusing the tide of events and calling for the end of despair and the continuation of a winnable war was spread from mouths to mouths. To this day it remains one of the most famous speeches in French history.
From London, de Gaulle formed and led the Free French movement. Whereas the USA continued to recognise Vichy France, the British government of Winston Churchill supported de Gaulle, initially maintaining relations with Vichy but subsequently recognising the Free French.
On July 4, 1940, a court-martial in Toulouse sentenced de Gaulle in absentia to four years in prison. At a second court-martial on August 2, 1940, de Gaulle was condemned to death for treason.
In his dealings with his British allies and the United States, de Gaulle insisted at all times in retaining full freedom of action on behalf of France, even where this might embarrass or inconvenience his partners in the war. "France has no friends, only interests" is one of his best-remembered statements. Churchill once commented, regarding working with de Gaulle, that: "Of all the crosses I have had to bear during this war, the heaviest has been the Cross of Lorraine (de Gaulle's symbol of Free France)".
Working with the French resistance and supporters in France's colonial possessions in Africa, after the Anglo-American invasion of North Africa in November 1942, de Gaulle moved his headquarters to Algiers in May 1943. He became first joint head (with the less resolutely independent Gen. Henri Giraud, the candidate preferred by the United States) and then sole chairman of the Committee of National Liberation.
Casablanca conference, January 1943. From left to right: General Giraud, President Roosevelt, General de Gaulle, Winston Churchill.
At the liberation of France following Operation Overlord, in which Free French forces played a minor but symbolic role, he quickly established the authority of the Free French Forces in France, avoiding an Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories in France. On his return to Paris, he moved back into his office at the War Ministry, thus proclaiming continuity of the Third Republic and denying the legitimacy of Vichy France.
After the war he served as the President of the provisional government from September 1944 but resigned on January 20, 1946, complaining of conflict between the political parties, and disapproving of the draft constitution for the Fourth Republic which he believed placed too much power in the hands of parliament with its shifting party alliances.
1946-1958: The desert crossing
De Gaulle's opposition to the proposed constitution failed as the parties of the left supported a weak presidency to prevent any repetition of the Vichy regime. The second draft constitution narrowly approved at the referendum of October 1946 was even less to de Gaulle's liking than the first.
In April 1947 de Gaulle made a renewed attempt at transforming the political scene with the creation of the Rassemblement du Peuple Francais (Rally of the French People, or RPF), but the movement lost impetus after initial success. In May 1953 he withdrew again from active politics, though the RPF lingered until September 1955.
He retired to Colombey-les-deux-Eglises and wrote his war memoirs, Memoires de guerre. During this period of formal retirement, de Gaulle however maintained regular contact with past political lieutenants from wartime and RPF days, including sympathisers involved in political developments in Algeria.
1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic
The Fourth Republic was tainted by political instability, its failures in Indochina and its inability to resolve the Algerian question.
On May 13, 1958, the settlers seized the government buildings in Algiers, attacking what they saw as French government weakness in the face of demands among the Arab majority for Algerian independence. A "Committee of Civil and Army Public Security" was created under the presidency of General Jacques Massu, a Gaullist sympathiser. General Raoul Salan, Commander-in-Chief in Algeria, announced on radio that the Army had "provisionally taken over responsibility for the destiny of French Algeria."
Under the pressure of Massu, Salan declared "Vive de Gaulle!" from the balcony of the Algiers Government-General building on May 15. De Gaulle answered two days later that he was ready to "take on the powers of the Republic" (assumer les pouvoirs de la Republique). Many worried as they saw this answer as support to the army.
On May 19 de Gaulle asserted again (at a press conference) that he was at the disposition of the country. As a journalist expressed the concerns of some who feared that he would violate civil liberties, de Gaulle retorted vehemently: "Have I ever done that? Quite the opposite, I have reestablished them when they had disappeared. Who honestly believes that, at age 67, I would start a career as a dictator?" A republican by conviction, de Gaulle maintained throughout the crisis that he would accept power only from the lawfully constituted authorities of the state.
The crisis deepened as French paratroops from Algeria seized Corsica and a landing near Paris was discussed. Political leaders on all sides agreed to support the General's return to power, except Francais Mitterrand, and the Communist Party (which denounced de Gaulle as the agent of a fascist coup). On May 29 the French President, Ren?Coty, appealed to the "most illustrious of Frenchmen" to become the last President of the Council (Prime Minister) of the Fourth Republic.
De Gaulle remained intent on replacing the constitution of the Fourth Republic, which he blamed for France's political weakness. He set as a condition for his return that he be given wide emergency powers for six months and that a new constitution1 be proposed to the French people. On June 1, 1958 de Gaulle became premier and was given emergency powers for 6 months by the National Assembly.
On September 28, 1958, a referendum took place and 79.2% of those who voted supported the new constitution and the creation of the Fifth Republic. The colonies (Algeria was officially a part of France, not a colony) were given the choice between immediate independence and the new constitution. All colonies voted for the new constitution except Guinea, which thus became the first French African colony to gain independence, at the cost of the immediate ending of all French assistance.
1958-1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic
Meeting of de Gaulle and U.S. President John F. Kennedy at the presidential palace in Paris.
In the November 1958 elections de Gaulle and his supporters (initially organised in the Union pour la Nouvelle Republique-Union Democratique du Travail, then the Union des Democrates pour la Veme Republique and later still the Union des Democrates pour la Republique) won a comfortable majority, in December de Gaulle was elected President by the parliament with 78% of the vote, he was inaugurated in January 1959.
He oversaw tough economic measures to revitalise the country, including the issuing of a new franc (worth 100 old francs). Internationally he rebuffed both the United States and the Soviet Union, pushing for an independent France with its own nuclear weapons. He set about building Franco-German coooperation as the cornerstone of the EEC (now the European Union), giving the first state visit to Germany by a French head of state since Napoleon.
He also took the opportunity to deny the British entry to the EEC for the first time (January 1963), citing his belief that the United Kingdom would not accept the rules of the Community, and would prefer its oversea alliances (the United States and the British Commonwealth) to its European partners, French ties to its own former empire notwithstanding. Although his supporters would argue that subsequent British ambivalence toward the EU justified his fears, many Britons took De Gaulle's "non" as a deep insult. British commentators have suggested that Britain's later lack of enthusiasm for the EU was due precisely to it being a project to which Britain was not invited during its formative years. As a result of De Gaulle's snub, it is asserted, instead of genuinely embracing all European democracies, the EU became a platform tailor-made for French ambitions but serving British needs poorly. (See Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom.).
De Gaulle believed that while the war in Algeria was militarily winnable it was not defensible internationally, and he became reconciled to the country's independence. This stance created huge anger among the French settlers and their metropolitan supporters, and de Gaulle was forced to suppress two uprisings in Algeria by French settlers and troops, in the second of which (April 1961) France herself faced threatened invasion by rebel paratroops. He was also targeted by the settler OAS terrorist group and several assassinations attempts were made on him; the most famous is that of 22 August 1962, when he and his wife narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when their Citroen DS was targeted by machine gun fire arranged by Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry at the Petit-Clamart. In March 1962 de Gaulle arranged a cease-fire in Algeria and a referendum supported independence, finally accomplished on July 3.
In September 1962 he sought a constitutional amendment to allow the president to be directly elected by the people. Following a defeat in the National Assembly, he dissolved that body and held new elections, the Gaullists won an increased majority. Although the Algerian issue was settled the prime minister, Michel Debr? still resigned over the final settlement and was replaced with Georges Pompidou.
1969 The retirement
Charles de Gaulle resigned on April 28, 1969 following the defeat of his referendum to transform the Senate (upper house of the French parliament, wielding less power than the French National Assembly) into an advisory body while giving extended powers to regional councils. Some said this referendum was a self-conscious political suicide committed by de Gaulle after the traumatizing events of May 1968. As proven already in 1946, de Gaulle was no man to stay in power without feeling that the people were following him. He retired once again to Colombey-les-deux-Eglises, where he died suddenly in 1970, while in the middle of writing his memoirs. In perfect health until then, it was reported that as he had finished watching the evening news on television and was sitting in his armchair he suddenly said "I feel a pain here", pointing to his neck, just seconds before he fell unconscious due to an aneurysmal rupture. Within minutes he was dead.
(Photo source: Wikipedia.org)
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