He is called "the last great Frenchman", in his historical role in the 20th century he is certainly compared with Churchill and Roosevelt. After living a long eighty year life, he really deserves these reviews. Charles de Gaulle became for the citizens of his country a symbol of patriotism, the fight against Nazism, the revival of a free France and the founding father of the modern French state. And when in 2005-2006 the television competition "The Great French of All Time" was held, no one doubted the final result: as expected, Charles de Gaulle won an unconditional victory.
He was born on November 22, 1890 into an aristocratic family, received an excellent education, graduated from a prestigious famous military school. He fought with honor in the First World War, having risen to the rank of captain, was awarded, wounded several times, was captured, tried to escape five times. After his release, he returned to his homeland, got married, graduated from the Higher Military School and was mired in routine work.
Although it cannot be said that between the two wars, Charles de Gaulle remained in complete oblivion, making an ordinary officer career. He not only taught, worked in the apparatus of Marshal Petain, served in Lebanon, but also proved himself as a military theorist. In particular, he was one of the first to declare that the future war is a war of tanks. One of his books on military tactics in 1934 was translated into German in Germany, and in 1935, with the assistance of Tukhachevsky (whom de Gaulle met in captivity), was published in the USSR. In 1937 he was promoted to colonel and was appointed commander of a tank regiment in the city of Metz. There he was met by the war.
De Gaulle was ready for war, but not France. His ebullient and ambitious nature was waiting in the wings (in his youth he dreamed of a feat in the name of his country), but France was overnight shamefully defeated, and the only Marshal of France at that time, Henri Philippe Pétain, admitted her defeat and concluded an armistice with Germany.
But de Gaulle did not recognize the surrender and the formed collaborationist Vichy government headed by Pétain. De Gaulle, who in three weeks of a real war, being the commander of the armored division of the 5th Army, was first promoted to the rank of brigadier general, and then appointed deputy minister of war, flies to England. And already on June 18, 1940, at the BBC studio in London, he makes a historic appeal to his compatriots: “France lost the battle, but she did not lose the war! Nothing is lost because this is a world war. The day will come when France will return freedom and greatness … That is why I, General de Gaulle, appeal to all French people to unite around me in the name of action, self-sacrifice and hope. Whatever happens, the flame of the French Resistance should not go out, and will not go out."
He creates the organization "Free France", which was immediately recognized by Britain and the United States, and a year later, after the German attack on the USSR, and the Soviet leadership. Later he renames it "Fighting France".
Almost immediately 50,000 Frenchmen who were in England rose under de Gaulle's banners: those who escaped from Dunkirk, wounded in Spain, those who could hear de Gaulle's call and move to foggy Albion.
But at first it was not easy with the overseas territories: the majority of the French colonies swore allegiance to the Vichy government. It is characteristic that the first thing Churchill did after France surrendered was to blow up the French fleet based off the coast of Algeria so that the Germans and Vichy could not use it against the British.
De Gaulle launched a serious struggle for influence in the colonies and soon achieved success: first, Equatorial, then, not without difficulty and not all, North Africa swore allegiance to the "Fighting France". At the same time, he tried in every possible way to avoid a clash between Vichy and Gaullist, that is, the French among themselves.
He strove in every possible way to unite all the French, so he tried to lead the Resistance in France itself, where the positions of the communists were strong, and all the scattered forces in the colonies. He constantly visited the most different corners where the French resistance was just beginning. He also visited the USSR, where he blessed the legendary Normandie-Niemen squadron.
De Gaulle tried to overcome the split, to rally the nation in the struggle against fascism. At the same time, he fought with everyone, primarily the United States and England, so that they would not redistribute the world, that is, they would not seize the former French colonies during the liberation and take control. His next task was to get the allies to take him and his movement, France as such, seriously and on an equal footing. And de Gaulle coped with all these tasks. Although it seemed almost impossible.
France took part in the landing in Normandy not in the first roles, but de Gaulle's troops and he himself were the first to enter Paris, which, we note for the sake of justice, was largely already liberated as a result of the communist uprising. The first thing de Gaulle did was to light an eternal flame on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, extinguished by the Germans four years ago, on the Square of the Stars under the Arc de Triomphe.
After the war with de Gaulle, something happened that happened to Churchill, which in general often happens when peoples show black ingratitude towards their glorious sons: the national hero, the savior of France, was sent to retirement. More precisely, at first, his Provisional Government carried out all the necessary first measures that made it possible to establish post-war life, but then a new constitution was adopted in France and the Fourth, and again parliamentary, republic was established. And de Gaulle was not on his way with her. He has always advocated a strong executive branch
De Gaulle left for an estate in the village of Colombey near Paris, which he bought back in the 30s and which he loved very much. He began to write military memoirs. But de Gaulle "only dreamed of peace." He, as has already happened, was waiting for "his finest hour." And France called in its general when a national liberation uprising broke out in Algeria in 1958.
But he again surprised everyone: he was invited to save French Algeria, where one million French lived, and, on the contrary, by taking extremely unpopular and dangerous steps, he gave Algeria independence, suppressing the colonial rebellion in 1961. “There is nothing strange about feeling nostalgic for the empire. In exactly the same way, one can regret the softness of the light that once emitted lamps in oil, about the former splendor of the sailing fleet, about the lovely, but no longer existing, opportunity to ride in a carriage. But there is no policy that runs counter to reality. These are the words of a wise statesman who thinks about the country and proceeds from principles. Unlike politicians who cared only about the upcoming elections, populists by definition and opportunists by vocation. Power for him was not an end in itself, but a means, but not personal well-being, but the fulfillment of his mission. Most often politicians themselves strive for power, state people are called upon. De Gaulle was in demand by the time and considered himself called. At the same time, despite his ambition and authoritarianism, France was never threatened by de Gaulle the dictator.
Although it was then that he developed a new constitution for France and proclaimed the Fifth Republic, based on a strong personal presidential power. And, of course, the overwhelming majority of the French chose de Gaulle as the first president of the new republic. He always said that the Fifth Republic is a response to the inability of the “regime of parties,” a parliamentary republic, to cope with the threats and challenges of the time. France suffered a serious defeat in the war, and de Gaulle, with great difficulty, managed to return her to the club of great countries.
