This appeal was the founding act of the Free French Forces, led by General de Gaulle.Īlthough the Appeal of 18 June was not recorded, the Appeal of 22 June was. He left immediately for London to continue the war.īroadcast on Radio Londres, BBC’s programme in the French language, General de Gaulle appealed to all officers and soldiers who were on British territory, or who could make it there, to join and continue the fight. Upon his return from England, he learned of the request for an armistice. Paul Reynaud, Prime Minister and Minister of War, named him Under-Secretary of State for National Defence and War, and tasked him with coordinating military action of France and the United Kingdom to continue the fight.Ĭharles de Gaulle met with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill.ĭe Gaulle tried in vain to push the French Government to continue the war, despite the withdrawal of the English Army, which left French territory, re-embarking at Dunkirk. He was appointed general on a temporary basis. When war broke out, de Gaulle was a colonel in command of the 507th Regiment of Armoured Tanks, in Metz. He took advantage of the time between the two wars to develop his military theory, publishing La Discorde chez l'ennemi (The Enemy’s House Divided)(1924), Le Fil de l'épée (The Edge of the Sword) (1932), Vers l'armée de métier (Towards a Professional Army) (1934), which promotes the use of tanks, and La France et son armée (1938). He returned to France and was admitted to the École de Guerre. He was temporarily assigned to the independent Polish Army. These two years in prison left him with bitter memories of feeling useless, even though he kept the boredom of his fellow prisoners at bay by giving them brilliant talks on the course of the military conflict. His attempt to escape landed him in a higher-security facility for the most disobedient officers. After being wounded several times, he was captured by the Germans in March 1916. He was admitted to the St Cyr Military Academy, after one year of preparatory studies at Collège Stanislas.Īfter leaving the Academy, he joined the 33rd Infantry Regiment based in Arras, under the orders of Colonel Pétain.Ĭaptain de Gaulle was noted for his bravery. He did a portion of his primary school studies in the École des Frères of the Christian schools of the Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin parish.Īs laws prohibiting religious congregations were passed in France, a young de Gaulle completed his secondary studies with Sacred Heart Jesuits in Belgium. He was third of five children in a family of Parisian lawyers originally from the Champagne Region.
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