See also: Order of Battle for the Battle of France The German Army was divided into three army groups: Army Group A under [Gerd von Rundstedt]] contained 45½ divisions (including seven armored) and was to deliver the decisive blow, codenamed "Sichelschnitt" ('Sickle Cut'), through the Allied defenses in the Ardennes, spearheaded by three Panzer corps trying to create the pocket. Army Group B under Fedor von Bock contained 29½ divisions (including three armored) and was tasked with occupying ...

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Battle of France, Battle of France - Prelude, Battle of France - Forces and dispositions, Battle of France - May: Low Countries and Northern France, Battle of France - The Centre, Battle of France - Blitzkrieg, Battle of France - Allied reaction, Battle of France - To the Channel, Battle of France - Weygand Plan, Battle of France - BEF at Dunkirk, Battle of France - June: France, Battle of France - Aftermath, Battle of France - Casualties, Battle of France - German, Battle of France - Allied, Battle of France - Historiography, Battle of France - Notes

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Timeline of World War II - January. 4: Battle of Monte Cassino begins. 15: 27th Polish Home Army Infantry Division recreated, marking the start of Operation Tempest by the Polish Home Army. 18: Siege of Leningrad ends. 22: Allied landings at Anzio, Italy. 31: Allied invasion of the Marshall Islands. Timeline of World War II - February. 8: The plan for the invasion of France, Operation Overlord, is confirmed. 14: SHAEF headquarters established in Britain by General Eisenhower.

Though controversial throughout his political career, not least among ideological opponents on the left and among overseas strategic partners, De Gaulle continues to command enormous respect within France, where his presidency is seen as a return to political stability and strength on the international stage. Domestically, for all its flaws, he presided over a return to economic prosperity after an initially sluggish postwar performance, while maintaining much of the social contract evolved in previous decades between employers and la ...

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Charles de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle - 1890–1912: Formative years, Charles de Gaulle - 1912–1940: Military career, Charles de Gaulle - 1940–1945: The Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle - 1946–1958: The desert crossing, Charles de Gaulle - 1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1958–1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1962–1968 Politics of grandeur, Charles de Gaulle - Thirty glorious years, Charles de Gaulle - The fourth nuclear power, Charles de Gaulle - China, Charles de Gaulle - Second round, Charles de Gaulle - The Six Day War, Charles de Gaulle - Nigerian Civil War, Charles de Gaulle - Vive le Québec Libre!, Charles de Gaulle - No to Britain, Charles de Gaulle - May 1968, Charles de Gaulle - 1969 - Retirement, Charles de Gaulle - 1970 - A humble death, Charles de Gaulle - Private life, Charles de Gaulle - Retrospect, Charles de Gaulle - Footnote, Charles de Gaulle - Works, Charles de Gaulle - French editions, Charles de Gaulle - English translations, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Second Government 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Third Ministry 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

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Charles De Gaulle married on April 7, 1921 to Yvonne Vendroux ("Tante Yvonne"). They had 3 children: Philippe (1921), Elisabeth (1924), and Anne (1928). Anne had Down syndrome and died at 20. Charles De Gaulle's grandson, Charles De Gaulle is a member of the European Parliament for the National Front. ...

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Charles de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle - 1890–1912: Formative years, Charles de Gaulle - 1912–1940: Military career, Charles de Gaulle - 1940–1945: The Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle - 1946–1958: The desert crossing, Charles de Gaulle - 1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1958–1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1962–1968 Politics of grandeur, Charles de Gaulle - Thirty glorious years, Charles de Gaulle - The fourth nuclear power, Charles de Gaulle - China, Charles de Gaulle - Second round, Charles de Gaulle - The Six Day War, Charles de Gaulle - Nigerian Civil War, Charles de Gaulle - Vive le Québec Libre!, Charles de Gaulle - No to Britain, Charles de Gaulle - May 1968, Charles de Gaulle - 1969 - Retirement, Charles de Gaulle - 1970 - A humble death, Charles de Gaulle - Private life, Charles de Gaulle - Retrospect, Charles de Gaulle - Footnote, Charles de Gaulle - Works, Charles de Gaulle - French editions, Charles de Gaulle - English translations, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Second Government 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Third Ministry 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

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Charles de Gaulle - French editions. La Discorde Chez l'Ennemi (1924) Histoire des Troupes du Levant (1931) Written by Major De Gaulle and Major Yvon, with Staff Colonel de Mierry collaborating in the preparation of the final text. Le Fil de l'Epée (1932) Vers l'Armée de Métier (1934) La France et son Armée (1938) Trois Etudes (1945) (Rôle Historique des Places Fortes; Mobilisation Economique à l'Etranger; Comment Faire une Armée de Métier) followed by th ...

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Charles de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle - 1890–1912: Formative years, Charles de Gaulle - 1912–1940: Military career, Charles de Gaulle - 1940–1945: The Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle - 1946–1958: The desert crossing, Charles de Gaulle - 1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1958–1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1962–1968 Politics of grandeur, Charles de Gaulle - Thirty glorious years, Charles de Gaulle - The fourth nuclear power, Charles de Gaulle - China, Charles de Gaulle - Second round, Charles de Gaulle - The Six Day War, Charles de Gaulle - Nigerian Civil War, Charles de Gaulle - Vive le Québec Libre!, Charles de Gaulle - No to Britain, Charles de Gaulle - May 1968, Charles de Gaulle - 1969 - Retirement, Charles de Gaulle - 1970 - A humble death, Charles de Gaulle - Private life, Charles de Gaulle - Retrospect, Charles de Gaulle - Footnote, Charles de Gaulle - Works, Charles de Gaulle - French editions, Charles de Gaulle - English translations, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Second Government 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Third Ministry 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

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Changes 12 June 1958 - André Malraux enters the cabinet as Minister of Radio, Television, and Press 14 June 1958 - Guy Mollet becomes Minister of General Civil Servants Status 7 July 1958 - Bernard Chenot enters the cabinet as Minister of Public Health and Population. Jacques Soustelle succeeds Malraux as Minister of Information. 23 July 1958 - Antoine Pinay becomes Minister of Economic Affairs, remaining also Minister of Finance. ...

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Charles de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle - 1890–1912: Formative years, Charles de Gaulle - 1912–1940: Military career, Charles de Gaulle - 1940–1945: The Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle - 1946–1958: The desert crossing, Charles de Gaulle - 1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1958–1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1962–1968 Politics of grandeur, Charles de Gaulle - Thirty glorious years, Charles de Gaulle - The fourth nuclear power, Charles de Gaulle - China, Charles de Gaulle - Second round, Charles de Gaulle - The Six Day War, Charles de Gaulle - Nigerian Civil War, Charles de Gaulle - Vive le Québec Libre!, Charles de Gaulle - No to Britain, Charles de Gaulle - May 1968, Charles de Gaulle - 1969 - Retirement, Charles de Gaulle - 1970 - A humble death, Charles de Gaulle - Private life, Charles de Gaulle - Retrospect, Charles de Gaulle - Footnote, Charles de Gaulle - Works, Charles de Gaulle - French editions, Charles de Gaulle - English translations, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Second Government 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Third Ministry 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

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The defences were first proposed by Marshal Joffre. He was opposed by modernists such as Paul Reynaud and Charles de Gaulle who favoured investment in armour and aircraft. Joffre had support from Pétain and there were a number of reports and commissions organised by the government. It was Andre Maginot who finally convinced the government to invest in the scheme. Maginot was another veteran of WW I who became France's Minister ...

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Maginot Line, Maginot Line - Planning and construction, Maginot Line - Features, Maginot Line - German invasion, Maginot Line - End of the war, Maginot Line - The Line after WWII, Maginot Line - Referenced in A Separate Peace, Maginot Line - Books, Maginot Line - External link

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During the Italian campaign of 1943, 100,000 Free French soldiers fought on the Allied side. By the time of the Normandy Invasion, the Free French forces numbered more than 400,000 people. The Free French 2nd Armoured Division, under General Philippe Leclerc, landed at Normandy and eventually led the drive towards Paris. The Free French 1st Army, under General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, joined the Allied invasion of sou ...

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Free French Forces, Free French Forces - History, Free French Forces - Prelude, Free French Forces - Cross of Lorraine, Free French Forces - Mers El Kébir and the war in Africa, Free French Forces - The Forces Françaises Combattantes and National Council of the Resistance, Free French Forces - Liberation of France, Free French Forces - End of the war, Free French Forces - Notable Free French

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He retired once again to Colombey-les-deux-Églises, where he died suddenly in 1970, while in the middle of writing his memoirs. In perfect health until then, it was reported that as he had finished watching the evening news on television and was sitting in his armchair he suddenly said "I feel a pain here", pointing to his neck, just seconds before he fell unconscious due to an aneurysmal rupture. Within minutes he was dead. His last wish was also a final slap to the establishment and protocol. He specifically asked to be buried in Colombey ...

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Charles de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle - 1890–1912: Formative years, Charles de Gaulle - 1912–1940: Military career, Charles de Gaulle - 1940–1945: The Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle - 1946–1958: The desert crossing, Charles de Gaulle - 1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1958–1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1962–1968 Politics of grandeur, Charles de Gaulle - Thirty glorious years, Charles de Gaulle - The fourth nuclear power, Charles de Gaulle - China, Charles de Gaulle - Second round, Charles de Gaulle - The Six Day War, Charles de Gaulle - Nigerian Civil War, Charles de Gaulle - Vive le Québec Libre!, Charles de Gaulle - No to Britain, Charles de Gaulle - May 1968, Charles de Gaulle - 1969 - Retirement, Charles de Gaulle - 1970 - A humble death, Charles de Gaulle - Private life, Charles de Gaulle - Retrospect, Charles de Gaulle - Footnote, Charles de Gaulle - Works, Charles de Gaulle - French editions, Charles de Gaulle - English translations, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Second Government 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Third Ministry 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

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De Gaulle's government, however, was criticized within France, particularly for its heavy-handed style. While the written press and elections were free, the state had a monopoly on television and radio broadcasts (though there existed private stations broadcasting from abroad; see ORTF) and the executive occasionally told public broadcasters the bias that they desired on news. In many respects, society was traditionalistic and repressive. Many factors contributed to a general weariness of sections of the public, particularly the stude ...

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Charles de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle - 1890–1912: Formative years, Charles de Gaulle - 1912–1940: Military career, Charles de Gaulle - 1940–1945: The Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle - 1946–1958: The desert crossing, Charles de Gaulle - 1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1958–1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1962–1968 Politics of grandeur, Charles de Gaulle - Thirty glorious years, Charles de Gaulle - The fourth nuclear power, Charles de Gaulle - China, Charles de Gaulle - Second round, Charles de Gaulle - The Six Day War, Charles de Gaulle - Nigerian Civil War, Charles de Gaulle - Vive le Québec Libre!, Charles de Gaulle - No to Britain, Charles de Gaulle - May 1968, Charles de Gaulle - 1969 - Retirement, Charles de Gaulle - 1970 - A humble death, Charles de Gaulle - Private life, Charles de Gaulle - Retrospect, Charles de Gaulle - Footnote, Charles de Gaulle - Works, Charles de Gaulle - French editions, Charles de Gaulle - English translations, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Second Government 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Third Ministry 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

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Young Charles De Gaulle chose a military career and spent four years at the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr (the French equivalent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York or the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst at Camberley in the United Kingdom). He graduated in 1912 and decided to join an infantry regiment when he could have joined an elite corps. During World War I, then Captain De Gaulle was severely wounded at the gruesome Battle of Verdun in March 1916, and left for dead on the battlefield. Still alive, he ...

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Charles de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle - 1890–1912: Formative years, Charles de Gaulle - 1912–1940: Military career, Charles de Gaulle - 1940–1945: The Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle - 1946–1958: The desert crossing, Charles de Gaulle - 1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1958–1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1962–1968 Politics of grandeur, Charles de Gaulle - Thirty glorious years, Charles de Gaulle - The fourth nuclear power, Charles de Gaulle - China, Charles de Gaulle - Second round, Charles de Gaulle - The Six Day War, Charles de Gaulle - Nigerian Civil War, Charles de Gaulle - Vive le Québec Libre!, Charles de Gaulle - No to Britain, Charles de Gaulle - May 1968, Charles de Gaulle - 1969 - Retirement, Charles de Gaulle - 1970 - A humble death, Charles de Gaulle - Private life, Charles de Gaulle - Retrospect, Charles de Gaulle - Footnote, Charles de Gaulle - Works, Charles de Gaulle - French editions, Charles de Gaulle - English translations, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Second Government 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Third Ministry 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

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Charles De Gaulle was the third child of a morally conservative but socially progressive Catholic bourgeois family. His father's side of the family was a long line of aristocracy from Normandy and Burgundy which had been settled in Paris for about a century, whereas his mother's side was a family of rich entrepreneurs from the industrial region of Lille in French Flanders. Born in Lille, De Gaulle grew up and was educated in Paris. Note the name De Gaulle is not a traditional French name with a particule, but a ...

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Charles de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle - 1890–1912: Formative years, Charles de Gaulle - 1912–1940: Military career, Charles de Gaulle - 1940–1945: The Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle - 1946–1958: The desert crossing, Charles de Gaulle - 1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1958–1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1962–1968 Politics of grandeur, Charles de Gaulle - Thirty glorious years, Charles de Gaulle - The fourth nuclear power, Charles de Gaulle - China, Charles de Gaulle - Second round, Charles de Gaulle - The Six Day War, Charles de Gaulle - Nigerian Civil War, Charles de Gaulle - Vive le Québec Libre!, Charles de Gaulle - No to Britain, Charles de Gaulle - May 1968, Charles de Gaulle - 1969 - Retirement, Charles de Gaulle - 1970 - A humble death, Charles de Gaulle - Private life, Charles de Gaulle - Retrospect, Charles de Gaulle - Footnote, Charles de Gaulle - Works, Charles de Gaulle - French editions, Charles de Gaulle - English translations, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Second Government 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Third Ministry 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

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On June 18, De Gaulle prepared to speak to the French people, via BBC radio, from London. The British Cabinet attempted to block the speech, but was overruled by Churchill. In France, De Gaulle's "Appeal of June 18" could be heard nationwide in the evening. The phrase "France has lost a battle; she has not lost the war", which appeared on posters in Britain at the time, is often incorrectly associated with the BBC broadcast; nevertheless the words aptly capture the spirit of De Gaulle's position. Although only few people actually heard the s ...

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Charles de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle - 1890–1912: Formative years, Charles de Gaulle - 1912–1940: Military career, Charles de Gaulle - 1940–1945: The Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle - 1946–1958: The desert crossing, Charles de Gaulle - 1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1958–1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1962–1968 Politics of grandeur, Charles de Gaulle - Thirty glorious years, Charles de Gaulle - The fourth nuclear power, Charles de Gaulle - China, Charles de Gaulle - Second round, Charles de Gaulle - The Six Day War, Charles de Gaulle - Nigerian Civil War, Charles de Gaulle - Vive le Québec Libre!, Charles de Gaulle - No to Britain, Charles de Gaulle - May 1968, Charles de Gaulle - 1969 - Retirement, Charles de Gaulle - 1970 - A humble death, Charles de Gaulle - Private life, Charles de Gaulle - Retrospect, Charles de Gaulle - Footnote, Charles de Gaulle - Works, Charles de Gaulle - French editions, Charles de Gaulle - English translations, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Second Government 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Third Ministry 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

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De Gaulle's opposition to the proposed constitution failed as the parties of the left supported a weak presidency to prevent any repetition of the Vichy regime. The second draft constitution narrowly approved at the referendum of October 1946 was even less to De Gaulle's liking than the first. In April 1947 De Gaulle made a renewed attempt at transforming the political scene with the creation of the Rassemblement du Peuple Français (Rally of the French People, or RPF), but the movement lost impetus after initial success. In May 1953 he withdrew aga ...

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Charles de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle - 1890–1912: Formative years, Charles de Gaulle - 1912–1940: Military career, Charles de Gaulle - 1940–1945: The Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle - 1946–1958: The desert crossing, Charles de Gaulle - 1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1958–1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1962–1968 Politics of grandeur, Charles de Gaulle - Thirty glorious years, Charles de Gaulle - The fourth nuclear power, Charles de Gaulle - China, Charles de Gaulle - Second round, Charles de Gaulle - The Six Day War, Charles de Gaulle - Nigerian Civil War, Charles de Gaulle - Vive le Québec Libre!, Charles de Gaulle - No to Britain, Charles de Gaulle - May 1968, Charles de Gaulle - 1969 - Retirement, Charles de Gaulle - 1970 - A humble death, Charles de Gaulle - Private life, Charles de Gaulle - Retrospect, Charles de Gaulle - Footnote, Charles de Gaulle - Works, Charles de Gaulle - French editions, Charles de Gaulle - English translations, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Second Government 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Third Ministry 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

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In the November 1958 elections, De Gaulle and his supporters (initially organised in the Union pour la Nouvelle République-Union Démocratique du Travail, then the Union des Démocrates pour la Vème République and later still the Union des Démocrates pour la République) won a comfortable majority, in December De Gaulle was elected President by the parliament with 78% of the vote, he was inaugurated in January 1959. He oversaw tough economic measures to revitalise the country, including the issuing of a new fr ...

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Charles de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle - 1890–1912: Formative years, Charles de Gaulle - 1912–1940: Military career, Charles de Gaulle - 1940–1945: The Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle - 1946–1958: The desert crossing, Charles de Gaulle - 1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1958–1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1962–1968 Politics of grandeur, Charles de Gaulle - Thirty glorious years, Charles de Gaulle - The fourth nuclear power, Charles de Gaulle - China, Charles de Gaulle - Second round, Charles de Gaulle - The Six Day War, Charles de Gaulle - Nigerian Civil War, Charles de Gaulle - Vive le Québec Libre!, Charles de Gaulle - No to Britain, Charles de Gaulle - May 1968, Charles de Gaulle - 1969 - Retirement, Charles de Gaulle - 1970 - A humble death, Charles de Gaulle - Private life, Charles de Gaulle - Retrospect, Charles de Gaulle - Footnote, Charles de Gaulle - Works, Charles de Gaulle - French editions, Charles de Gaulle - English translations, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Second Government 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Third Ministry 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

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The Fourth Republic was tainted by political instability, its failures in Indochina and its inability to resolve the Algerian question. On May 13, 1958, the settlers seized the government buildings in Algiers, attacking what they saw as French government weakness in the face of demands among the Arab majority for Algerian independence. A "Committee of Civil and Army Public Security" was created under the presidency of General Jacques Massu, a Gaullist sympathiser. General Raoul Salan, Commander-in-Chief in Algeria, announced on radio that the Army h ...

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Charles de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle - 1890–1912: Formative years, Charles de Gaulle - 1912–1940: Military career, Charles de Gaulle - 1940–1945: The Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle - 1946–1958: The desert crossing, Charles de Gaulle - 1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1958–1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1962–1968 Politics of grandeur, Charles de Gaulle - Thirty glorious years, Charles de Gaulle - The fourth nuclear power, Charles de Gaulle - China, Charles de Gaulle - Second round, Charles de Gaulle - The Six Day War, Charles de Gaulle - Nigerian Civil War, Charles de Gaulle - Vive le Québec Libre!, Charles de Gaulle - No to Britain, Charles de Gaulle - May 1968, Charles de Gaulle - 1969 - Retirement, Charles de Gaulle - 1970 - A humble death, Charles de Gaulle - Private life, Charles de Gaulle - Retrospect, Charles de Gaulle - Footnote, Charles de Gaulle - Works, Charles de Gaulle - French editions, Charles de Gaulle - English translations, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Second Government 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Third Ministry 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

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Charles de Gaulle was the third child of a morally conservative but socially progressive Catholic bourgeois family. His father's side of the family was a long line of aristocracy from Normandy and Burgundy which had been settled in Paris for about a century, whereas his mother's side was a family of rich entrepreneurs from the industrial region of Lille in French Flanders. Born in Lille, de Gaulle grew up and was educated in Paris. Note that the "de" in de Gaulle is not a nobiliary particle, although the de Gaulle family were an ancie ...

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Charles de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle - 1890–1912: Formative years, Charles de Gaulle - 1912–1940: Military career, Charles de Gaulle - 1940–1945: The Free French Forces, Charles de Gaulle - 1946–1958: The desert crossing, Charles de Gaulle - 1958: The collapse of the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1958—1962: Founding of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle - 1962–1968 Politics of grandeur, Charles de Gaulle - Thirty glorious years, Charles de Gaulle - The fourth nuclear power, Charles de Gaulle - China, Charles de Gaulle - Second round, Charles de Gaulle - The Six Day War, Charles de Gaulle - Nigerian Civil War, Charles de Gaulle - Vive le Québec Libre!, Charles de Gaulle - No to Britain, Charles de Gaulle - May 1968, Charles de Gaulle - 1969 - Retirement, Charles de Gaulle - 1970 - A humble death, Charles de Gaulle - Private life, Charles de Gaulle - Retrospect, Charles de Gaulle - Footnote, Charles de Gaulle - Works, Charles de Gaulle - French editions, Charles de Gaulle - English translations, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Second Government 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946, Charles de Gaulle - De Gaulle's Third Ministry 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

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After the war the Line was re-manned by the French and underwent some modifications. However when France withdrew from NATO (in 1966) much of the Line was abandoned. With the rise of the French independent nuclear deterrent by 1969 the Line was largely given up by the government, with sections auctioned off to the public and the rest left to decay. The term "Maginot Line" has been used as a metaphor for something that is confidently relied upon despite being ineffectual. In fact, it did exactly what it was intended to do, sealing off ...

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Maginot Line, Maginot Line - Planning and construction, Maginot Line - Features, Maginot Line - German invasion, Maginot Line - End of the war, Maginot Line - The Line after WWII, Maginot Line - Referenced in A Separate Peace, Maginot Line - Books, Maginot Line - External link

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See also: Order of Battle for the Battle of France The German Army was divided into three army groups: Army Group A, composed of 45½ divisions including seven armored commanded by Gerd von Rundstedt, was to deliver the decisive blow, cutting a "Sichelschnitt" ('Sickle Cut'), as Winston Churchill later called it, through the Allied defenses in the Ardennes spearheaded by three Panzer corps trying to create the pocket. Army Group B, composed of 29½ divisions including three armored under Fedo ...

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Battle of France, Battle of France - Prelude, Battle of France - Forces and dispositions, Battle of France - May: Low Countries and Northern France, Battle of France - The Centre, Battle of France - Blitzkrieg, Battle of France - Allied reaction, Battle of France - To the Channel, Battle of France - Weygand Plan, Battle of France - BEF at Dunkirk, Battle of France - June: France, Battle of France - Aftermath, Battle of France - Casualties, Battle of France - German, Battle of France - Allied, Battle of France - Historiography, Battle of France - Notes

Read more here: » Battle of France: Encyclopedia II - Battle of France - Forces and dispositions

Following the Polish September Campaign of the preceding year, a period of inaction called the Phony War had occurred between the war's major powers. Hitler originally planned for an invasion as soon as 12 November but was convinced by his generals to postpone the invasion until next year. In April 1940, the Germans had launched an attack on the neutral countries of Denmark and Norway for strategic reasons. The British had responded by launching an Allied campaign in Norway in support of the Norwegians, though the effort had become politically costly for the government of Neville C ...

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Battle of France, Battle of France - Prelude, Battle of France - Forces and dispositions, Battle of France - May: Low Countries and Northern France, Battle of France - The Centre, Battle of France - Blitzkrieg, Battle of France - Allied reaction, Battle of France - To the Channel, Battle of France - Weygand Plan, Battle of France - BEF at Dunkirk, Battle of France - June: France, Battle of France - Aftermath, Battle of France - Casualties, Battle of France - German, Battle of France - Allied, Battle of France - Historiography, Battle of France - Notes

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The best and most modern French armies had been sent north and lost in the resulting encirclement; the French had lost their best heavy weaponry and their best armored formations. Weygand was faced with a hemorrhage in the front stretching from Sedan to the Channel, and the French government had begun to lose heart that the Germans could still be defeated, particularly as the British were evacuating the Continent, a particularly symbolic event for French morale. On 1 ...

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Battle of France, Battle of France - Prelude, Battle of France - Forces and dispositions, Battle of France - May: Low Countries and Northern France, Battle of France - The Centre, Battle of France - Blitzkrieg, Battle of France - Allied reaction, Battle of France - To the Channel, Battle of France - Weygand Plan, Battle of France - BEF at Dunkirk, Battle of France - June: France, Battle of France - Aftermath, Battle of France - Casualties, Battle of France - German, Battle of France - Allied, Battle of France - Historiography, Battle of France - Notes

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France formally surrendered to the German armed forces on 25 June in the same railroad car at Compiègne that Germany in 1918 had been forced to surrender in. This railway car was lost in allied air raids on the German capital of Berlin later in the war. Paul Reynaud, France's Prime Minister, having signed an agreement with Britain saying that neither side would sign a separate peace with Germany, resigned rather than sign the peace treaty himself, and he was succeeded by Maréchal Philippe Pétain, who agreed to meet the ...

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Battle of France, Battle of France - Prelude, Battle of France - Forces and dispositions, Battle of France - May: Low Countries and Northern France, Battle of France - The Centre, Battle of France - Blitzkrieg, Battle of France - Allied reaction, Battle of France - To the Channel, Battle of France - Weygand Plan, Battle of France - BEF at Dunkirk, Battle of France - June: France, Battle of France - Aftermath, Battle of France - Casualties, Battle of France - German, Battle of France - Allied, Battle of France - Historiography, Battle of France - Notes

Read more here: » Battle of France: Encyclopedia II - Battle of France - Aftermath