History UsefulNotes / CharlesDeGaulle

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a UsefulNotes/{{Fr|ance}}ench [[UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades military]] officer, politician and statesman, who fought with distinction during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, later becoming the leader of the Free French Forces and leader of the de facto Free French GovernmentInExile after the fall of the [[UsefulNotes/FrenchPoliticalSystem Third Republic]] in 1940 during the early stages of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, opposing the government of Philippe Pétain that collaborated with UsefulNotes/NaziGermany as well as the latter's occupation of the country. After the Liberation of the country with the help of the Allies, he led the French Provisional Government from 1944 until 1945, later becoming the first [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfFrance President]] of the [[UsefulNotes/FrenchPoliticalSystem Fifth Republic]], from 1958 until 1969. He is a strong contender at being the most influential French political figure (or French figure, period) of the 20th century, and his legacy continues to shape the nation's politics to this very day.

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a UsefulNotes/{{Fr|ance}}ench [[UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades military]] officer, politician and statesman, who fought with distinction during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, later becoming the leader of the Free French Forces after the fall of France in 1940 during the early stages of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. After the Liberation of the country with the help of the Allies, he led the French Provisional Government from 1944 until 1945, later becoming the first [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfFrance President]] of the [[UsefulNotes/FrenchPoliticalSystem Fifth Republic]], from 1958 until 1969. He is a strong contender at being the most influential French political figure (or French figure, period) of the 20th century, and his legacy continues to shape the nation's politics to this very day.

On June 18, 1940, Creator/TheBBC broadcast a speech by de Gaulle (l'Appel du 18 juin / the Appeal of 18 June) urging French people to continue resisting the Germans. Although it had limited impact at the time, the speech cemented him as the [[GovernmentInExile leader of the Free French Forces]], which grew over time to become a significant military force in its own right. This, along with UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill's determination to avoid being isolated between UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt and UsefulNotes/JosefStalin during negotiations, effectively made him the de facto Allied leader of France. He would eventually assume such a role in the Provisional French Government, following the liberation of France during the advance of the Allies in 1944, vigorously opposing the attempts to enforce the Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories (AMGOT) in the country.

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a UsefulNotes/{{Fr|ance}}ench [[UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades military]] officer, politician and statesman, who fought with distinction during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, later becoming the leader of the Free French Forces after the fall of France in 1940 during the early stages of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. After the Liberation of the country with the help of the Allies, he led the French Provisional Government from 1944 until 1945, later becoming the first [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfFrance President]] of the [[UsefulNotes/FrenchPoliticalSystem Fifth Republic]], from 1958 until 1969. He is a strong contender at being the most influential French political figure of the 20th century, and his legacy continues to shape the nation's politics to this very day.

* ''De Gaulle, l'éclat et le secret'' (2020 miniseries). Covers his life from the Appeal of June 18, 1940 to his resignation from the presidency in 1969. He's portrayed by Samuel Labarthe.

At the outbreak of World War II, de Gaulle initially served as a colonel; he was eventually appointed to lead a hastily-formed armored division after the Wehrmacht's breakthrough at Sedan. His limited success at countering German advances promoted him to the rank of acting brigadier-general. Nevertheless, it was all too little, too late, and France was forced to sign an armistice with Germany on June 22, 1940. By then, de Gaulle (along with a few other officers who opposed the surrender) had fled to England. De Gaulle was one of the handful of people who saw any point in what was largely symbolic resistance at the time. Few people saw the point in fighting on once Paris had fallen -- Marshall Philippe Pétain's coup had a lot of popular support, and unlike Great Britain, France had limited capacity to wage war outside of the European continent.

On June 18, 1940, the [[Creator/TheBBC BBC]] broadcast a speech by de Gaulle (l'Appel du 18 juin / the Appeal of 18 June) urging the French people to continue resisting the Germans. Although it had limited impact at the time, the speech cemented him as the [[GovernmentInExile leader of the Free French Forces]], which grew over time to become a significant military force in its own right. This, along with UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill's determination to avoid being isolated between UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt and UsefulNotes/JosefStalin during negotiations, effectively made him the de facto Allied leader of France. He would eventually assume such a role in the Provisional French Government, following the liberation of France during the advance of the Allies in 1944, vigorously opposing the attempts to enforce the Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories (AMGOT) in the country.

After the war, de Gaulle spent about a decade out of the spotlight. He was later elected as the first President of the French Fifth Republic during the [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchColonialEmpire Algerian War]] for his apparently firm and rock-like determination to retain Algeria as a French possession. It turned out that he wasn't firm and rock-like the way his supporters wanted, as he ultimately granted UsefulNotes/{{Algeria}} its independence. This led to several assassination attempts on his life by the Organisation de l'armée secrète (OAS), a far-right paramilitary organization mainly comprised of veterans and others who opposed Algerian independence.

He had three children -- Philippe de Gaulle (1921–2024), fought in the Free French Forces from 1940 to 1945, rose to the rank of Admiral in 1980 and later became a Senator), Élisabeth de Boissieu (1924–2013) and Anne de Gaulle (born with Down Syndrome, 1928–1948).

He had three children -- Philippe de Gaulle (born 1921, still living, fought in the Free French Forces from 1940 to 1945, rose to the rank of Admiral in 1980 and later became a Senator), Élisabeth de Boissieu (1924–2013) and Anne de Gaulle (born with Down Syndrome, 1928–1948).

Despite his charisma and popularity, he was increasingly being seen as authoritarian and was considered too conservative for the France of TheSixties. To young students, de Gaulle -- who spent much of his life opposing conventional practice and authority -- was the symbol of everything that was [[{{Irony}} old, conservative and out-dated]]. He managed to survive the May 1968 protests and riots by calling a snap election where his party won a crushing majority, but [[{{Cincinnatus}} quit after being overwhelmingly defeated]] in a referendum on reforming the Senate and administrative divisions. None of the following presidents has ever done this after electoral defeats during their mandates. He died at the age of 79 on November 9, 1970, a few months after his resignation.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/degaulle.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Left: De Gaulle le général (1942); right, de Gaulle le président (1958)]]

On June 18, 1940, the [[Creator/TheBBC BBC]] broadcast a speech by de Gaulle (l'Appel du 18 juin / the Appeal of 18 June) urging the French people to continue resisting the Germans. Although it had limited impact at the time, the speech cemented him as the leader of the Free French Forces, which grew over time to become a significant military force in its own right. This, along with UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill's determination to avoid being isolated between UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt and UsefulNotes/JosefStalin during negotiations, effectively made him the de facto Allied leader of France. He would eventually assume such a role in the Provisional French Government, following the liberation of France during the advance of the Allies in 1944, vigorously opposing the attempts to enforce the Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories (AMGOT) in the country.

An ''élève de [[UsefulNotes/LesGrandesEcoles Saint-Cyr]]'', de Gaulle was educated as an officer in France's most prestigious military academy. Commanding a platoon as a lieutenant, he fought in some of the earliest battles of World War I, sustaining numerous injuries while earning praise for his bravery and unconventional tactics. He was eventually captured during the Battle of Verdun, spending the remainder of the war in German captivity and even sharing a cell with [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets Mikhail Tukhachevsky]] (then an Imperial Russian Army lieutenant). Between the World Wars, both men became leading advocates of mechanization and [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons German]]-style maneuver warfare (''Bewegungskrieg''), opposing the prevailing Entente Cordiale-style doctrine of firepower and positional warfare. Unfortunately, UsefulNotes/NaziGermany very actively developed such warfare and France did not (being too reliant on the UsefulNotes/MaginotLine), with dire consequences.