Charles de Gaulle - Quotes, Facts & Presidency - Biography

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Martin's, Softcover. Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan , After the war, De Gaulle remained in the military and became interested in the new developments of military strategy. He came to believe the future of war would rest on highly mobile mechanized units — principally tank units backed up with air support. The French remained committed to the more static view of warfare characterized by the Maginot line and the trenches of the First World War.

However, during the German invasion of France in , De Gaulle was given command of a tank unit. At Caumont on the 28th May , his unit provided one of the few occasions where the German advance was stalled and briefly pushed back. However, lacking air support and overwhelmed by the superior German armed divisions, French fell into a humiliating retreat.

This led to the creation of Vichy France. General Charles de Gaulle was the most senior army officer to reject the armistice — seeing it as a betrayal of France. He said in a proclamation, 18 June Tomorrow, as today, I will speak on Radio London. His advice went unheeded and, in June , German forces easily overran France. As under-secretary of national defence and war, de Gaulle refused to accept the French government's truce with the Germans and escaped to London, where he announced the formation of a French government in exile.

He became leader of the Free French.

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After the liberation of Paris in August , de Gaulle was given a hero's welcome in the French capital. As president of the provisional government, he guided France through the writing of the constitution on which the Fourth Republic was based. However, when his desires for a strong presidency were ignored, he resigned. An attempt to transform the political scene with a new party failed, and in he withdrew into retirement again.

In a dispute over greater power for the country's executive branch, de Gaulle resigned this post.

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For several years, de Gaulle led his own political movement, "Rally for the French People," which did not gain much momentum. He retired from politics in before returning to become president of the country in The French government, known as the Fourth Republic, began to crumble in the late s, and de Gaulle once again returned to public service to help his country.

He helped form the country's next government, becoming its president in January Establishing France's Fifth Republic, de Gaulle dedicated himself to improving the country's economic situation and maintaining its independence. To show France's military relevance, de Gaulle successfully campaigned for the country to press on with its nuclear weapons program.

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De Gaulle was not afraid to make controversial decisions. After coping with uprisings in Algeria for years, he helped the French colony achieve independence in This move was not widely popular at the time. De Gaulle supported the idea of a united Europe, but he wanted Europe to be free from the superpowers' influences. To some, de Gaulle came off as anti-American.

Though he may have been, to some extent, his actions seemed to truly reflect his deep nationalistic views.

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Sometimes inflexible and intractable, de Gaulle nearly saw his government toppled by student and worker protests in He managed to restore order to the country, but left power soon after, following a battle over political and economic reforms. In April , de Gaulle resigned from the presidency. After his resignation, de Gaulle retired to his home in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises.

He had little time to enjoy the quiet life of this village, as he died of a heart attack on November 9,