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Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle [a] [b] (22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French military officer and statesman who led the Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1946 to restore democracy in France.
France was one of the largest military powers to come under occupation as part of the Western Front in World War II.The Western Front was a military theatre of World War II encompassing Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany.
Charles de Gaulle and Charles Mast saluting to the French national anthem in Tunis, Tunisia (1943). At the outbreak of World War II, Charles de Gaulle was put in charge of the French Fifth Army's tanks (five scattered battalions, largely equipped with R35 light tanks) in Alsace, and on 12 September 1939, he attacked at Bitche, simultaneously with the Saar Offensive.
France had lots of armed forces in World War II, in part due to the German occupation. In 1940, General Maurice Gamelin commanded the French Army, headquartered in Vincennes on the outskirts of Paris. It consisted of 117 divisions, with 94 committed to the northeastern front and a commander, General Alphonse Georges, at La Ferte-sous-Jouarre.
Another great French commander of World War I, Pétain led the French to victory at Verdun and restored the army's morale after the mutinies of 1917. In World War II, he at first fought against and later collaborated with the Germans by leading the government of Vichy France. Louis Franchet d'Espèrey: 1856–1942 French
2 December 1887 8 years, 306 days Opportunist Republican The first President of France to complete a full term, he was easily reelected in December 1885. He was nonetheless forced to resign, following an honours scandal in which his son-in-law was implicated. The Government of Maurice Rouvier deputized during the interim (2–3 December 1887). 5
PARIS(Reuters) -Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of France's far-right National Front party who tapped into blue-collar anger over immigration and globalisation and revelled in minimising the ...
When World War II began, Giraud was a member of the Superior War Council, and disagreed with Charles de Gaulle about the tactics of using armoured troops. He became the commander of the 7th Army when it was sent to the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 and was able to delay German troops at Breda on 13 May. Subsequently, the depleted 7th Army was ...