http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/petain_philippe.shtml
- Pétain was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l'État Français), from 1940 to 1944. Pétain, who was 84 years old in 1940, ranks as France's oldest head of state.
- Because of his outstanding military leadership in World War I,he was viewed as a national hero in France.
- After the defeat of France in World War II in June 1940, Pétain was appointed Premier of France by President Lebrun at Bordeaux, and the Cabinet resolved to make peace with Germany.
- The government subsequently moved to central France (Vichy).
- His government voted to transform the discredited French Third Republic into the French State, an authoritarian regime.
- Petain's actions during World War II resulted in what many regard as a show-trial, with conviction and death sentence for treason, which was commuted to life imprisonment by his former protégé Charles de Gaulle.
- In modern France he is remembered as an ambiguous figure, while pétainisme is a derogatory term for certain reactionary policies.
- Born - 24th April 1856.
- Died - 23rd July 1951.
- Petain was a national hero in France for his role in the defence of Verdun in World War One, but was later discredited and sentenced to death as head of the French collaborationist government at Vichy in World War Two.
- Pétain was born into a farming family from northern France. He joined the French army in 1876.
- In 1916, Pétain was ordered to stop the massive German attack on the city of Verdun. He reorganised the front lines and transport systems and was able to inspire his troops, turning a near-hopeless situation into a successful defence.
- Pétain then successfully re-established discipline after a series of mutinies by explaining his intentions to the soldiers personally and improving their living conditions.
- In November 1918, he was made a marshal of France.
- In 1934, Pétain was appointed minister of war, and then secretary of state in the following year.
- In 1939, he was appointed French ambassador to Spain.
- In May 1940, with France under attack from Germany, Pétain was appointed vice premier. In June he asked for an armistice, upon which he was appointed 'chief of state', enjoying almost absolute powers.
- The armistice gave the Germans control over the north and west of France, including Paris, but left the remainder as a separate regime under Pétain.
- In November 1942, in response to allied landings in North Africa, the Germans invaded the unoccupied zone of France. Vichy France remained nominally in existence, but Pétain became nothing more than a figurehead.
- In the summer of 1944, after the allied landings in France, Pétain was taken to Germany. He returned to France after liberation, was brought to trial and condemned to death.
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