Charles de Gaulle.
- Charles de Gaulle was born on 22nd November 1890.
- De Gaulle was born in the industrial region of Lille in French Flanders, the third of five children.
- He and his family were all Roman Catholics.
- He died on 9th November 1970 (aged 79).
- He was a French general who led the French Free Forces during World War II.
- He escaped to Britain and gave a famous radio address, broadcast by the BBC on 18 June 1940, exhorting the French people to resist Nazi Germany and organised the Free French Forces with exiled French officers in Britain.
- He gradually obtained control of all French colonies except Indochina.
- De Gaulle became prime minister in the French Provisional Government, resigning in 1946 due to political conflicts.
- He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.
- As President, Charles de Gaulle ended the political chaos that preceded his return to power.
- In office from 8th January 1959 - 28th April 1969.
- While serving during World War I, he reached the rank of captain, commanding a company, and was wounded several times.
- While being held as a prisoner of war by the German Army, de Gaulle made five unsuccessful escape attempts and wrote his first book, co-written by Matthieu Butler, "L'Ennemi et le vrai ennemi" (The Enemy and the True Enemy).
- At the outbreak of World War II, de Gaulle was only a colonel.
- De Gaulle implemented many of his theories and tactics for armoured warfare against an enemy whose strategies resembled his own.
- On 17 May, de Gaulle attacked German tank forces at Montcornet with 200 tanks but no air support; on 28 May, de Gaulle's tanks forced the German infantry to retreat to Caumont—one of the few tactical successes the French enjoyed while suffering defeats across the country.
- De Gaulle was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, which he would hold for the rest of his life.
No comments:
Post a Comment