Hello, friends! With you Andrey Khvostov, the founder of the project. Today I will tell you about the life of a true patriot, the Frenchman Charles de Gaulle.
Charles de Gaulle himself explained his feelings as follows: love for France was instilled in him and his sister by their father and mother, and from childhood, the children did not even imagine how it could be otherwise.
Biography of Charles de Gaulle
De Gaulle was born in the fall of 1890 in the city of Lille, in the house of his grandmother. He spent his childhood in Paris, together with his parents and sister.
Charles de Gaulle received a military profession, studied at a military school. He was a participant in the First World War, and was even captured.
By World War II, he was already a general in the French armed forces. During World War II, Charles was against any compromise with the pro-fascist government.
It was at this time that his path of a successful politician began. He met several times in London with Winston Churchill, discussing with him the possibility of French resistance. Churchill called General de Gaulle an honor of France.
With his successful example and performances, he raised the spirit of the French and encouraged them to continue to resist the Nazis, despite the official policy of France.
He becomes the organizer of the Free France movement, to which the French colonies are agitating to join, many of which do so.
Such as Chad, Congo, Gabon, Cameroon. Since the Second World War, de Gaulle has been trying with all his might to limit the intervention of the United States and Britain in French politics.
At that time, the goal of Anglo-American policy was to exclude France from the leading countries of Europe, to completely subordinate it to its influence.
And how could de Gaulle, brought up on the principles of nationalism, have allowed this? Therefore, as a military man, he also had to become a politician and defend the freedoms of the French people.
It is impossible to overestimate the contribution that Charles de Gaulle made to the history of France, his successes in the political arena.
He was with her in the most difficult years of the country, organized resistance during the Second World War, for ten years, from 1959 to 1969, was president of the fifth French republic.
He was one of the authors of the French constitution, which is still in use today. Nicolas Sarkozy, the sixth president of the Fifth French Republic, in one of his speeches spoke of de Gaulle as the savior of France, who returned independence to the country and, no less important, its prestige in the world community!
By the way, it was during de Gaulle's time in France that the question of creating their own nuclear weapons.
The first nuclear weapons tests were carried out in 1960 in the Sahara Desert. The tests were terminated by President Mitterrand.
During de Gaulle's time, France leaves NATO. De Gaulle, already at that time, understood that the dollar was just a paper with a very small cost, and already then tried to convert dollars into gold and thus reduce the influence of the United States on France. Partially he succeeded at that time.
He collected paper US dollars in France, took them by plane to Washington and exchanged them for gold, which discouraged the American top management and eventually forced them to abandon pegging the dollar to gold.
November 22 unites the presidents of France and the United States. Charles de Gaulle's birthday, John F. Kennedy's tragic death
At the same time, Soviet-French cooperation was actively developing. De Gaulle in the USSR saw his ally in the struggle against the Anglo-American alliance, and his dislike of communism was becoming a thing of the past for the success of promoting his national interests.
De Gaulle stands for a united Europe, it is in such a Europe that he sees an opportunity to resist NATO, and it is for this that he openly supports Germany.
However, pursuing an active successful foreign policy, the situation inside the country was difficult: huge unemployment, the population's standard of living is low.
All this led to dissatisfaction among the French with de Gaulle's harsh policies. And in 1969 he leaves his post. And already in 1970, General de Gaulle dies.
In honor of the world famous de Gaulle, the main French airport is named - Paris - Charles de Gaulle Airport or as it is also called Roissy - Charles de Gaulle and the pride of France - the first nuclear aircraft carrier and the only operating, at the moment, aircraft carrier of the French Navy " Charles de Gaulle ”.
And also a rose from the family of hybrid tea roses, a rose of lilac varieties "Charles de Gaulle" is named in his honor.
Another little-known fact about General de Gaulle's life is that he was the trustee of a medical foundation in France, which helped families with children with Down syndrome.
Here is such an interesting, versatile developed personworld famous politician, public figure, true patriot their country.
His personal success came from a goal, from a dream of the success of his country, a country with independent thinking. De Gaulle from a simple military man became a successful respected politician, thinker, and business executive.
P.S. If you are thinking about creating a website, the “Website from scratch” course will help you. When buying via links from Andrey Khvostov's Blog, I will return to you 30% their commissions money... Download free video tutorials “ TOP 5 ways to make money on the Internet ”
Watch the free webinar "Infobusiness from within"... If you want to know How to Make Money on Affiliate Programs and Info Products, download a free video course by Vladislav Chelpachenko.
Like all the greats statesmen, Charles de Gaulle remained in the memory of people very contradictory. Sometimes it seems that when talking about him, they are talking about completely different people... Regardless of subjective opinions, he is the founding father of the modern French state, proudly calling itself the Fifth Republic. For 42 years after his death, the political husk flew off the image of this man, and it became clear that this military general saw the future better than most of his contemporaries.
Biography
He was born in the century before last, in 1890 in Lille, from childhood he dreamed of accomplishments for the glory of France, so, quite logically, he chose military career... Graduated military school in Saint-Cyr. Baptism of fire took place on the fronts of the First World War, was seriously wounded, was enlisted in the dead, was taken prisoner. I tried to run regularly. He was imprisoned in a fortress, where he met the Russian lieutenant Mikhail Tukhachevsky. He, in the end, fled, but de Gaulle did not succeed. It was not only after the defeat of Germany that he was released, but did not go home, but remained in Poland as an instructor. There he had to take part in repelling the blow of the Red Army, which was led by his acquaintance Tukhachevsky.
De Gaulle regarded the behavior of Marshal Pétain, who surrendered France to the Germans, as a betrayal. From this moment begins new life General Charles de Gaulle - the leader of the struggle for the liberation of the Motherland from the invaders. The enormous moral authority acquired in this role became the reason that at the end of the war France was among the victors of Nazism. The struggle was not only military, but also political, so a public figure was forged, rallying (often against their will) in order to bring France to the first row of world powers.
Although he was the head of the Provisional Government of France since 1944, after the adoption of the constitution of the Fourth Republic in 1946, he left it due to disagreements with left-wing politicians. To him, a staunch supporter of a strong centralized power, it seemed disastrous to hand over power in the country to a collective body - the National Assembly. Time has shown that he was right. When the Algerian crisis hit in 1958, Charles de Gaulle returned to politics, his party wins elections, holds a referendum on a new constitution, and he becomes its first full-fledged president. 
And first of all, de Gaulle ends the war in Algeria. This deed of his earned him the gratitude of many Frenchmen, but also the hatred of those who were forced to leave this colony, and after it, many others. 15 assassination attempts were organized against de Gaulle, but he happily escaped death. His indisputable merit was the technical breakthrough made by France in the post-war years. The French have mastered nuclear technology and equipped their army with atomic weapons, and their power grids with nuclear power plants.
Charles' opinion on American monetary expansion then surprised many. Back in 1965, during an official visit to America, he brought Lyndon Johnson a whole ship, loaded to the brim with dollars, and demanded their exchange at the official rate of $ 35 per ounce of gold. Johnson tried to scare the old soldier with trouble, but he attacked the wrong one. De Gaulle threatened to leave the NATO bloc, which he soon did, despite the fact that the exchange was made. After this episode, America completely abandoned the gold standard, and we are all reaping the fruits of this today. The wise French president saw this danger long ago.
By his name ...
France appreciated its general shortly after his death. Today, in the eyes of the French, de Gaulle is almost equal to Napoleon I. His name is given to the flagship of the French navy, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier built outside the United States and without their help, the largest ship launched in France in 1994. Today it is the most efficient ship in Europe.
Many thousands of visitors to France have set foot on its soil at the airport. Its ultra-modern design, combined with fantastic technical facilities, makes this airport a true masterpiece of architecture and technology.
One of the central squares of Paris - d'Etoile, the Place de l'Etoile, now bears the name of de Gaulle. Only knowing the desire of the French in every possible way to preserve any details of history, one can understand how much this means in their eyes. There is a monument to the general on the square (by the way, the French most often refer to him as "General de Gaulle"). Another square named after him is located in Moscow, in front of the Cosmos Hotel.
You can still talk a lot about this extraordinary person. But especially touching is the fact that he bequeathed to bury himself next to his early death daughter, disabled from birth. It turns out that he was also capable of deep and tender love, this soldier and politician who was not afraid of anyone or anything ...
Charles de Gaulle - President of the French Republic (1959-1969)
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was born in Lille on November 22, 1890. He was the third child of Jeanne and Henri de Gaulle. The family was quite wealthy, his parents were right-wing Catholics. The parents raised their five children in the spirit of patriotism, thoroughly acquainting them with the history and culture of France. The events of the revolution at the end of the 18th century. were regarded as a tragic mistake of the French nation, and "Marseillaise" Henri de Gaulle called "godless song"
His father, Henri de Gaulle, was a professor of philosophy and history at the Jesuit College in rue Vaugirard. In 1901 Charles begins his studies at this college. Proud and obstinate, Charles was at the same time a romantic-minded young man who knew how to admire and think deeply about the future of his homeland. Many years later, in his memoirs, he wrote: "I was sure that France was destined to go through the crucible of trials." I believed that the meaning of life is to accomplish an outstanding feat in the name of France, and that the day will come when I will have such an opportunity. "
Charles received a religious education, read a lot, from childhood showed great interest in literature, even wrote poetry. Becoming a winner on school competition poets, young de Gaulle chose the latter from two possible prizes - a cash prize or a publication. De Gaulle was fond of history, especially since the de Gaulle family was proud not only of their noble origin and deep roots, but also of the feats of their ancestors: according to family legend, one of the de Gaulle family, Jegan, participated in the campaign of Jeanne d'Arc. Little de Gaulle listened the father's stories of the glorious past of his family with burning eyes.Many, for example, Winston Churchill, subsequently laughed at de Gaulle, saying that he suffers from the "Jeanne d'Arc complex." But the most revered French saint dreamed of the future general as a child, in a dream he fought side by side with her to save France.
Even in childhood, de Gaulle's character showed obsessive perseverance and the ability to manage people. So, he learned himself and made his brothers and sister learn an encrypted language in which words were read backwards. It must be said that this is much more difficult for French orthography than for Russian, English or German, and, nevertheless, Charles could speak without hesitation in such a language in long phrases. He constantly trained his memory, the phenomenal qualities of which amazed those around him later, when he recited speeches of 30-40 pages by heart, without changing a single word in comparison with the text sketched the day before.
From his youth, de Gaulle had an interest in four disciplines: literature, history, philosophy, and the art of war. The philosopher who had on him greatest influence, was Henri Bergson, from whose teachings the young man could learn two most important points that determined not only his general worldview, but also his practical actions in everyday life... The first is what Bergson considered a natural, natural division of people into a privileged class and an oppressed people, on which he based the advantages of dictatorship over democracy. The second is the philosophy of intuitionism, according to which human activity was a combination of instinct and reason. De Gaulle applied the principle of intuition after accurate calculation many times when making the most important decisions that led him to the heights, as, incidentally, overthrew him from them.
The family environment and hobbies shaped de Gaulle's attitude to his homeland, to its history, to his mission. However, the craving for military affairs forced de Gaulle in practice to fulfill that duty to his homeland, which for many generations of de Gaulle's philosophers and teachers remained a pure theorem. In 1909, after graduating from college, Charles entered the military school of Saint-Cyr.
It is widely believed that military service deprives a person of the ability to think independently, teaches him only to follow orders that are not subject to discussion, prepares martyrs. There is hardly a more graphic refutation of such nonsense than the example of Charles de Gaulle. Every day of the service was not wasted for him. Without ceasing to read, educate himself, he carefully watched the life of the French army, noting all the shortcomings in its structure. Being a diligent cadet, without violating the charter, he remained a strict judge of what he saw.
In 1913, with the rank of junior lieutenant, de Gaulle entered service in an infantry regiment under the command of the then Colonel Philippe Petain (who was destined to raise de Gaulle to command heights, so that later, in 1945, he would be pardoned by his former protégé and thereby avoid death penalty).
Brilliantly unlearning, young de Gaulle went to the front of the First World War. Three times wounded after a hand-to-hand fight near Verdun, he falls into German captivity, from which he tries to escape 5 times. Only at the end of the war did he return to France, where he continued to improve at a higher military school in Paris. At the same time, he wrote several books, seeing the possibility of widespread use of tanks and aircraft in hostilities. In the 20s. de Gaulle makes reports, publishes articles and books, in which, in particular, analyzes the results of the First World War, sets out his military doctrine, draws the image of a strong personality, a leader (under the influence of the ideas of the philosopher Nietzsche)
After the war, de Gaulle took part in the intervention in Soviet Russia as an officer-instructor in the Polish troops. After that, he served in the occupation forces in the Rhineland and participated in the operation to invade the French troops in the Ruhr, in an adventure that he warned his superiors against and which ended in a deafening failure - under pressure from Germany and the allies, France was forced to retreat, and its share in the reparations payout has been reduced. At this time, he wrote several books, among which it is worth highlighting "Discord in the Camp of the Enemy", a commentary on the actions of the German army and government during the First World War, begun in captivity. The actions of the German headquarters in this work were sharply criticized. De Gaulle did not dwell on the objective reasons for the defeat of Germany, but gave an analysis, from which it followed that the domestic and military policy of the German government and the General Staff led, almost in the first place, to the defeat. It must be said that at that time in France, paradoxically, the organization of the Wehrmacht's military machine was considered a model. De Gaulle, however, pointed to the significant miscalculations of the Germans.
The book was subsequently appreciated for its many fresh ideas. For example, de Gaulle argued that even in times of war, the military administration of the state must obey the civil one. Now this statement, which follows directly from the thesis that wars are won in the rear, seems obvious enough. In the 1920s, it was sedition in France. It was not useful for a career military man to make such judgments. De Gaulle, in his views on the structure of the army, on the tactics and strategy of war, was very different from the mass of the French military establishment. At that time, its former commander, the victor at Verdun, Marshal Pétain, was an indisputable authority in the army. In 1925, Pétain turned his attention to the fact that de Gaulle had not taken a worthy place in the headquarters, and appointed him his adjutant, instructing him to soon prepare a report on the system of defensive measures in France.
Meanwhile, Hitler comes to power in Germany and the Second World War becomes inevitable. De Gaulle foresees the impending danger, but, alas, not everyone heeds his warnings.
Being engaged in military pedagogical activity, he presented a number of theoretical works on strategy and tactics, proposed new model interaction of various types of troops. In 1937 de Gaulle became a colonel. Two years later, having unleashed the Second world war, Germany strikes at France too; in 1940, having broken the resistance, the Germans forced the French army to retreat. De Gaulle was promoted to the rank of general and became the commander of a tank division. The newly minted brigadier general, who commanded the division, insists on continuing the war, although the government is leaning towards ending it.
The French say: "De Gaulle will remain in French history as a sacred person, since he was the first to take out the sword." However, the situation in which de Gaulle found himself was not easy. According to the historian Grosse, "Free France" fought on three fronts: against German and Japanese enemies, against Vichy, whose spirit of surrender it exposed, and against the Anglo - Americans. Sometimes it was unclear who the main enemy was. "
Churchill hoped, having sheltered the fugitive general, to get his hands on a man with the help of whom he could influence the policy of internal resistance, the free colonies, but this was a cruel delusion. With astonishing speed, de Gaulle practically from scratch created a centralized organization, completely independent of the allies and anyone else, with its own information headquarters and armed forces. Around himself, he gathered people who were practically not familiar to him before. At the same time, everyone who signed the Act of Accession, which meant joining the "Free France", necessarily signed an obligation to unconditionally obey de Gaulle.
“I believed,” de Gaulle wrote in his War Memoirs, that the honor, unity and independence of France would be lost forever if in this world war France alone surrenders and reconciles with such an outcome. For in this case, no matter how the war ends , regardless of whether a defeated nation was freed from invaders by foreign armies or remained enslaved, the contempt that it would instill in other nations would permanently poison its soul and the lives of many generations of the French. " He was convinced: "Before philosophizing, you need to win the right to life, that is, to win."
After leaving for England (for negotiations with Churchll, in order to gain support), he learns about the armistice of the French government with Hitler.
An aura of mystery has surrounded de Gaulle since his voice first sounded on British radio in 1940 in Nazi-occupied France (De Gaulle was calling on the radio to fight against fascism), and for many French de Gaulle for several years so and remained only a voice - a voice of freedom, delivering five-minute speeches twice a day, remained the name of hope that the members of the Resistance movement conveyed to each other. De Gaulle himself used this mystery more than once to achieve certain political goals. However, in practice, Charles de Gaulle was not at all such a mysterious person. Ambiguous - yes. But all the "secrets" of the general are hidden in his biography. After all, first of all, the figure of the great general was the product of extraordinary circumstances in which the whole of France found itself. And one of her soldiers in particular.
De Gaulle himself remains in England (his family is also moving there). The organization "Free French" (later renamed "Fighting France") was formed, the motto of which was the words "Honor and Homeland". De Gaulle is doing an enormous amount of work to develop the Resistance movement, negotiations to unite various groups. The indefatigable general, together with Giraud, the "civil and military commander-in-chief", establishes the French Committee for National Liberation (FKLN), forms the Provisional Government of France. The committee and the government were recognized as allies by anti-Hitler coalition: England, USSR and USA.
From 1940 to 1942, the number of soldiers alone who fought under the banner of "Free (later - Fighting) France" increased from 7 to 70 thousand. The Americans had already stamped the occupation currency and hoped to transfer power to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, General Eisenhower, but as a result of the political and military struggle by the time of D-Day, as the Allies called the day of the landing in Normandy on June 7, 1944, de Gaulle achieved international recognition of his subordinate Committee for National Liberation as the interim government of France. Moreover, thanks to the efforts of this man, France, formally under the leadership of the Vichy government, a union with Nazi Germany, practically "occupied" by the allies, received the right to its own occupation zone in Germany as a victorious country, and a little later - a place in the UN Security Council. Without exaggeration, such successes can be called phenomenal, given that at the beginning of this struggle he was just a deserter of the French army warmed by Britain, who was sentenced to death for treason by a military tribunal at home.
To what was Brigadier General de Gaulle indebted for such successes? First, the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a "Free France" and daily broadcasting in the occupied territory. Free French emissaries traveled to all the free French colonies and countries of the current Third World, trying to get de Gaulle to be recognized as a representative of the Free French. And, I must say, the methodical work of de Gaulle's secret agents finally yielded results. Secondly, de Gaulle immediately established close contact with the Resistance, supplying it with the little means that he had. Thirdly, from the very beginning, he positioned himself as an equal in relation to the allies. Often, de Gaulle's arrogance infuriated Churchill. Everything went well if their positions converged, but if disagreements arose, they began to argue. At the same time, de Gaulle accused Churchill that he drank too much and whiskey hit him in the head. Churchill responded by stating that de Gaulle imagined himself as Jeanne d'Arc. Once this almost ended in de Gaulle's deportation from the island. However, the stubbornness and arrogance that gave the figure of de Gaulle authority in the eyes of his fellow citizens helped him to defend France's rights to former colonies, to avoid literally their rejection.
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was born in Lille on November 22, 1890 and died in Colombay-les-Deux-Eglise on November 9, 1970. For eighty years of his life, this man managed to become greatest hero France after Jeanne d'Arc. He managed to lead the country twice, both times taking leadership at the peak of the national catastrophe and leaving the state in a state of economic recovery and growth of international prestige. At the same time he wrote more than a dozen books - memoirs and theoretical works on the art of war, part which to this day remain bestsellers.
Being himself, admittedly, an utterly authoritarian man, de Gaulle, possessing, in fact, sovereign powers, twice voluntarily relinquished his power and resigned. Moreover, this man, whom the Allies feared, considering him a potential new dictator of the Hitler type, left a legacy to descendants of one of the most stable political systems among European democracies, called the Fifth Republic, according to the constitution of which France lives today.
The mysterious, mystical hero de Gaulle - the savior of France, the unifier of the French people, the liberator of Algeria and other colonies of the empire - is still one of the most controversial figures in recent history Europe. Many political figures have used his techniques more than once, his life, attitude to himself, to duty, aspirations and convictions have become a model for many generations.
An aura of mystery has surrounded de Gaulle since his voice first sounded on British radio in 1940 in Nazi-occupied France, and for many French people de Gaulle remained just a voice for several years - the voice of freedom, uttering twice a day five-minute speeches, remained the name of hope that the members of the Resistance movement conveyed to each other. De Gaulle himself used this mystery more than once to achieve certain political goals. However, in practice, Charles de Gaulle was not at all such a mysterious person. Ambiguous - yes. But all the "secrets" of the general are hidden in his biography. After all, first of all, the figure of the great general was the product of extraordinary circumstances in which the whole of France found itself. And one of her soldiers in particular.
Complex of Jeanne d "Ark
Charles de Gaulle was born into a wealthy family, his parents were right-wing Catholics. His father, Henri de Gaulle, was a professor of philosophy and history at the Jesuit College in rue Vaugirard. Charles received a religious education, read a lot, from childhood showed great interest in literature, even wrote poetry. Having become the winner of the school poetry competition, young de Gaulle chose the latter out of two possible prizes - a cash prize or a publication. De Gaulle was fond of history, especially since the de Gaulle family was proud not only of their noble origin and deep roots, but also of the exploits of their ancestors: according to family legend, one of the de Gaulle family, Jegan, participated in the campaign of Jeanne d'Arc. Little de Gaulle listened the father's stories of the glorious past of his family with burning eyes.Many, for example, Winston Churchill, subsequently laughed at de Gaulle, saying that he suffers from the "Jeanne d'Arc complex." But the most revered French saint dreamed of the future general as a child, in a dream he fought side by side with her to save France.
Even in childhood, de Gaulle's character showed obsessive perseverance and the ability to manage people. So, he learned himself and made his brothers and sister learn an encrypted language in which words were read backwards. It must be said that this is much more difficult for French orthography than for Russian, English or German, and nevertheless Charles could speak such a language in long phrases without hesitation. He constantly trained his memory, the phenomenal qualities of which amazed those around him later, when he recited speeches of 30-40 pages by heart, without changing a single word in comparison with the text sketched the day before.
From his youth, de Gaulle had an interest in four disciplines: literature, history, philosophy, and the art of war. The philosopher who had the greatest influence on him was Henri Bergson, from whose teachings the young man could learn two important points that determined not only his general outlook, but also practical actions in everyday life. The first is what Bergson considered a natural, natural division of people into a privileged class and an oppressed people, on which he based the advantages of dictatorship over democracy. The second is the philosophy of intuitionism, according to which human activity was a combination of instinct and reason. The principle of intuitive action, after accurate calculation, was applied by de Gaulle many times when making the most important decisions that brought him to the heights, as, incidentally, overthrew him from them.
The family environment and hobbies shaped de Gaulle's attitude to his homeland, to its history, to his mission. However, the craving for military affairs forced de Gaulle in practice to fulfill that duty to his homeland, which for many generations of de Gaulle's philosophers and teachers remained a pure theorem. In 1909, Charles goes to the Military Academy in Saint-Cyr.
It is widely believed that military service deprives a person of the ability to think independently, teaches him only to follow orders that are not subject to discussion, prepares martyrs. There is hardly a more graphic refutation of such nonsense than the example of Charles de Gaulle. Every day of the service was not wasted for him. Without ceasing to read, educate himself, he carefully watched the life of the French army, noting all the shortcomings in its structure. Being a diligent cadet, without violating the charter, he remained a strict judge of what he saw. Classmates at the academy considered de Gaulle arrogant. For his tall growth and character he was dubbed "long asparagus". The same growth, I think, played a significant role in his self-awareness. And then to say: every day at the formation, when the corporal shouted "equal!", He was the only one who did not turn his head - everyone looked up to him.
In 1913, with the rank of junior lieutenant, he entered service in an infantry regiment under the command of the then Colonel Philippe Petain (who was destined to raise de Gaulle to commanding heights, so that later, in 1945, he would be pardoned by his former protégé and thereby avoid death. executions). At the very beginning of the war, Charles was wounded twice, after which he was captured, where he remained until the conclusion of an armistice and from where he tried to escape five times - each time unsuccessfully.
After the war, de Gaulle took part in the intervention in Soviet Russia as an officer-instructor in the Polish troops. After that, he served in the occupation forces in the Rhineland and participated in the operation to invade the French troops in the Ruhr, in an adventure that he warned his superiors against and which ended in a deafening failure - under pressure from Germany and the allies, France was forced to retreat, and its share in the reparations payout has been reduced. At this time, he wrote several books, among which it is worth highlighting "Discord in the Camp of the Enemy", a commentary on the actions of the German army and government during the First World War, begun in captivity. The actions of the German headquarters in this work were sharply criticized. De Gaulle did not dwell on the objective reasons for the defeat of Germany, but gave an analysis, from which it followed that the internal and military policy of the German government and the General Staff led, almost in the first place, to the defeat. It must be said that at that time in France, paradoxically, the organization of the Wehrmacht's military machine was considered a model. De Gaulle, however, pointed to the significant miscalculations of the Germans.
The book was subsequently appreciated for its many fresh ideas. For example, de Gaulle argued that even in times of war, the military administration of the state must obey the civil one. Now this statement, which follows directly from the thesis that wars are won in the rear, seems obvious enough. In the 1920s, it was sedition in France. It was not useful for a career military man to make such judgments. De Gaulle, in his views on the structure of the army, on the tactics and strategy of war, was very different from the mass of the French military establishment. At that time, its former commander, the victor at Verdun, Marshal Pétain, was an indisputable authority in the army. In 1925, Pétain turned his attention to the fact that de Gaulle had not taken a worthy place in the headquarters, and appointed him his adjutant, instructing him to soon prepare a report on the system of defensive measures in France.
De Gaulle prepared this report, but it came as a surprise to the patron, since he was completely at odds with his own views. Where the protagonists of the marshal relied on the line of fortified defense, based on the strategic and tactical lessons learned from the "positional" First World War, de Gaulle spoke of the need to create mobile tactical formations, arguing the uselessness of defensive structures in the context of modern technological development, especially considering the fact that the borders of France were completely unprotected by nature, passing mostly along the open plains. As a result, relations with Pétain were ruined, and the headquarters headed for the infamous Maginot Line. The very first days a new war proved that de Gaulle was right.
At the same time, de Gaulle first showed himself as a politician: despite the fact that unofficially he was in disgrace, he managed to continue the implementation of his undertakings and, at the same time, career growth. First, he was the only career military man who allowed himself to speak openly in print. This was by no means welcomed by the military authorities, but it was noticeably increasing in popularity in the country. Secondly, faced with obstacles in the military environment, he immediately turned to politicians, and did not at all find it difficult to compromise his principles in order to achieve his goals. In 1934, he turned to the far-right politician Paul Reynaud, who liked de Gaulle's draft army reform. Reynaud tried to push the project through parliament, but did not succeed. Then, in 1936, Captain de Gaulle, with the same initiative, went personally to the leader of the socialists, Leon Blum. It is difficult for us now to imagine how much this step at that time contradicted the very essence of a person of such upbringing and habits as de Gaulle. Nevertheless, Leon Blum, although he became interested in the captain's projects, practically did not resort to his capabilities in parliament for their implementation.
Already at this stage, at least two features of de Gaulle can be identified, which manifested themselves even more fully in his management practice: this is the desire to bypass small tactical defeats to victory in the main thing and the passion for innovation as an administrative tool. Perseverance, energy, inflexibility of will, loyalty to convictions (however, doubtful) - all these qualities have been repeatedly described and praised by historians. However, the most important and often overlooked components of de Gaulle's methodology are undoubtedly the breadth of strategic intent and innovation. For him, there was one scale - the scale of France.
De Gaulle's efforts were not in vain, but their effect was scanty: in general, the insignificant reorganization carried out did not affect the state of the army. De Gaulle, after moving up the staff career ladder, achieved that in the rank of colonel he was appointed to command the only tank regiment, for the formation of which he so advocated. The regiment was incomplete. The tanks were completely outdated. On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland, and France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. In a matter of days, a significant part of French territory was occupied.
This affected de Gaulle's career. He was immediately promoted to brigadier general (he preferred to keep this rank for the rest of his life) and headed the hastily formed 4th tank division... At the cost of incredible efforts, de Gaulle even managed to stop the enemy's offensive from the north and turn some of his units to flight, but this could not affect the general course of the war. In June 1940, in a situation where surrender was almost inevitable, Paul Reynaud appointed him to high position to the Ministry of Defense. But it was too late. Despite de Gaulle's efforts to continue France's struggle, the Reynaud government resigned, and Marshal Pétain, who took his place, signed a surrender.
While the British were negotiating with the French government, which was preparing to surrender, about the fate of its colonies, de Gaulle first met Churchill. After the surrender, de Gaulle flew to London, where he immediately created the Free France organization and demanded to provide him with air on British radio broadcasting in the occupied territory and in the possession of the Vichy regime. On June 18, 1940, de Gaulle's first appeal to the nation was made.
Absurd Frenchman
The French say: "De Gaulle will remain in French history as a sacred person, since he was the first to take out the sword." However, the situation in which de Gaulle found himself was not easy. According to the historian Grosse, "Free France" fought on three fronts: against German and Japanese enemies, against Vichy, whose spirit of surrender she exposed, and against the Anglo-Americans. Sometimes it was unclear who the main enemy was. "
Churchill hoped, having sheltered the fugitive general, to get his hands on a man with the help of whom he could influence the policy of internal resistance, the free colonies, but this was a cruel delusion. With astonishing speed, de Gaulle practically from scratch created a centralized organization, completely independent of the allies and anyone else, with its own information headquarters and armed forces. Around himself, he gathered people who were practically not familiar to him before. At the same time, everyone who signed the Act of Accession, which meant joining the "Free France", necessarily signed an obligation to unconditionally obey de Gaulle.
“I believed,” de Gaulle wrote in his War Memoirs, that the honor, unity and independence of France would be lost forever if in this world war France alone surrenders and reconciles with such an outcome. For in this case, no matter how the war ends , regardless of whether a defeated nation was liberated from invaders by foreign armies or remained enslaved, the contempt that it would instill in other nations would permanently poison its soul and the lives of many generations of French. " He was convinced: "Before philosophizing, you need to win the right to life, that is, to win."
From 1940 to 1942, the number of soldiers alone who fought under the banner of "Free (later - Fighting) France" increased from 7 to 70 thousand. The Americans had already stamped the occupation currency and hoped to transfer power to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, General Eisenhower, but as a result of the political and military struggle by the time of D-Day, as the Allies called the day of the landing in Normandy on June 7, 1944, de Gaulle achieved international recognition of his subordinate Committee for National Liberation as the interim government of France. Moreover, thanks to the efforts of this man, France, formally under the leadership of the Vichy government, a union with Nazi Germany, practically "occupied" by the allies, received the right to its own occupation zone in Germany as a victorious country, and a little later - a place in the UN Security Council. Without exaggeration, such successes can be called phenomenal, given that at the beginning of this struggle he was just a deserter of the French army warmed up by Britain, who was sentenced to death by a military tribunal in his homeland for treason.
To what was Brigadier General de Gaulle indebted for such successes? First, the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a "Free French" and daily broadcasting in the occupied territory. Free French emissaries traveled to all the free French colonies and countries of the current Third World, trying to get de Gaulle to be recognized as a representative of the Free French. And, I must say, the methodical work of de Gaulle's secret agents finally yielded results. Secondly, de Gaulle immediately established close contact with the Resistance, supplying it with the little means that he had. Third, from the very beginning, he positioned himself as an equal in relation to the allies. Often, de Gaulle's arrogance infuriated Churchill. Everything went well if their positions converged, but if disagreements arose, they began to argue. At the same time, de Gaulle accused Churchill of drinking too much and whiskey hit him in the head. Churchill responded by stating that de Gaulle imagined himself as Jeanne d'Arc. Once this almost ended in de Gaulle's deportation from the island. literally their rejection.
Churchill and Roosevelt were extremely irritated by the obstinate general. Roosevelt called him a "capricious bride" and angrily suggested that Churchill send de Gaulle "governor to Madagascar." Churchill shared Roosevelt's dislike for the "arrogant Frenchman", calling him a "hidden fascist", "a foolish person who imagines himself the savior of France", saying that "the unbearable rudeness and insolence in this man's behavior are complemented by active Anglophobia." Recently, the secret English archives were opened, and it turned out that Churchill even sent an encrypted message from Washington to London: “I ask my colleagues to immediately answer whether we can, without delaying this question, eliminate de Gaulle as a political force ... Personally I am ready to defend this position in parliament and can prove to everyone that the French Resistance movement, around which the legend of de Gaulle was created, and he himself - a vain and malicious person - have nothing in common ... He hates England and sows this hatred ... Therefore, based on our vital interests, which are to maintain good relations with the United States, it seems to me unacceptable to allow this quarrelsome and hostile person to continue to do evil in the future. " Further, Churchill substantiates his attitude towards de Gaulle (it should be noted that it was Roosevelt who supplied Churchill with compromising evidence on de Gaulle - information from the American special services): dictatorial manners, hidden fascist tendencies in actions and designs, the desire behind the backs of the allies to come to an agreement with Moscow and in a separate way " settle things with Germany. " Allegedly, de Gaulle was especially fond of the USSR, and Stalin twice suggested that he move his residence from London to Moscow. However, Roosevelt's play, who pitted Churchill against de Gaulle, stumbled upon the position of the British Cabinet, which replied to its prime minister: “It is likely that de Gaulle as a person is actually very far from the idealized mythical figure that the French see before them. the account is that any propaganda efforts on our part against de Gaulle will not convince the French that their idol is on feet of clay.Moreover, we run the risk of allowing completely unjustified interference from any point of view in the purely internal affairs of the French, and we are simply accused of seeking to turn France into an Anglo-American protectorate. "
The "Anglophobe with dictatorial manners" himself always emphasized his respect for Churchill. Only once did he slip in irritation. Offended that he had not been invited to a conference of three leaders in Yalta, when asked which of them he would like to spend the weekend with, he replied: "Of course, with Roosevelt! Or, in extreme cases, with Stalin ..." he later told Eisenhower: "Churchill believes that I take myself for Jeanne d" Ark. But he is wrong. I only take myself for General de Gaulle. "
When American and British troops occupied Algeria, they attempted to remove de Gaulle from power and form a government in exile led by General Giraud. De Gaulle acted swiftly. Relying on the forces of the Resistance and, importantly, Moscow, he immediately flew to Algeria, where he proposed to organize a Committee of National Liberation under the co-chairmanship of Giraud and himself. Giraud agreed. Churchill and Roosevelt were also forced to agree. Soon de Gaulle pushes Giraud into the background, and then, without any problems, removes him from the leadership.
In general, de Gaulle constantly played on the contradictions of his allies. In particular, both the occupation zone and the seat on the Security Council went to France mainly thanks to the support of Stalin. De Gaulle, who sympathized with Stalin, convinced him that France would help establish a balance of power in the UN, which was inclined rather towards the Soviets.
After the interim government came to power in France under the leadership of de Gaulle, he proclaimed the slogan in domestic policy: "Order, law, justice", in foreign - the greatness of France. De Gaulle's tasks included not only economic recovery, but also the political restructuring of the country. De Gaulle achieved the first: he nationalized the largest enterprises, carried out social reforms, while deliberately developing the most important industries. The second was worse. From the very beginning, de Gaulle resorted to a political device "above the battle." He did not openly support any of the parties, including the Gaullists, the movement of the general's supporters, believing that, being above the political struggle, he would be able to win the sympathy of all voters. However, despite his high personal authority among the people, he was defeated in the main battle - the battle for a new constitution.
The "Gaullist" party, not personally supported by the general, did not receive a majority in the elections to the Constituent Assembly, which was called upon to draft a constitution. The interim parliament, through compromises, developed the constitution of the Fourth Republic, which had a unicameral parliament that appointed a government and a president with limited powers. De Gaulle waited until recently and in the end proposed his own version of the constitution with a strong executive power in the person of the president. He hoped to outplay the parliamentarians with massive propaganda and the effect of surprise. But the version of the Constitution of the Fourth Republic proposed by the parliament at a referendum gathered 52.5% in favor and 45.5% against. So de Gaulle himself became a victim of "supra-class arbitration," as he called it. In the elections to the National Assembly, the Gaullists won only 3% of the vote. In January 1946, de Gaulle resigned, and his political leave lasted 12 years.
Solitaire is patience
To say that at the age of 68 de Gaulle came back to politics from complete social non-existence is an exaggeration. Of course, in retirement, he led social activities... But the main thing was still waiting. De Gaulle lived in the family house in Colombey-le-Deuze-Eglise with his wife: he wrote memoirs, gave interviews, and walked a lot. In 1947 he tried to organize a new political movement using the old coalition "over parties and movements" trick, but the movement was unsuccessful, and in 1953 he completely retired. De Gaulle loved to play solitaire. "Solitaire" in French means patience.
Many say that Colombey was Napoleonic Elbe for de Gaulle. In this case, we can say that the time in power is in progressive proportion in relation to the time in exile. Napoleon spent a year on Elba and stayed in power for 100 days. De Gaulle spent 12 years in Colombey. He remained in power from 1958 to 1969, after which he voluntarily resigned, earning general respect.
In the 1950s, France was torn apart by crises. In 1954, France suffered a severe defeat in Indochina from national liberation movements. De Gaulle did not comment. Unrest began in Algeria and other countries of North Africa, where the bulk of the former or de facto French colonies were located. Despite the economic growth, the population suffered severely from the devaluation of the franc, from inflation. Waves of strikes swept across the country. Governments replaced each other. De Gaulle was silent. By 1957, the situation worsened: both left and right-wing extremist tendencies in society intensified. Fascist military in Algeria leading fighting against the rebels, threatened with a coup. On May 13, 1958, such a coup almost happened. Newspapers began to write about the "need for responsibility." In the midst of an acute government crisis, on May 16, the president turned to de Gaulle with a proposal to take the post of prime minister with parliamentary approval. After that, in December 1958, de Gaulle himself was elected president with an unusually wide (for France at that time) terms of reference: he could, in the event emergency dissolve parliament and call new elections, and personally oversaw defense, foreign policy and key internal ministries. Interestingly, the text of the Russian constitution, approved by citizens in a referendum in 1993, largely coincides with de Gaulle's constitution, which, by all accounts, Russian reformers took as a model.
Despite the seeming swiftness and ease with which de Gaulle came to power for the second time, this event was preceded by the intense work of the general himself and his supporters. De Gaulle constantly conducted secret negotiations through intermediaries with the political leaders of the ultra-right parties, with parliamentarians, and organized a new "Gaullist" movement. Finally, choosing the moment when the threat civil war reached its climax, de Gaulle spoke on May 15 on the radio, and on the 16th in front of parliament. The first of these speeches was full of fog: "Once, in a difficult hour, the country trusted me so that I would lead it to salvation. Today, when the country faces new trials, let it know that I am ready to assume all the powers of the Republic." Even the word "Algeria" was never found in the texts of both speeches. If the first was frightening, then the speech in parliament could even be called amiable. This was the "carrot and stick" method - for the people and for the leaders of the socialists, who were to approve his candidacy for the post of prime minister in parliament and then elect him as president.
Mystery, secrecy, brevity, emotionality - this was also de Gaulle's weapon this time. He relied not on certain political inclinations, but on the psychology of the submission of the crowd to the mysterious charm of the leader. Economists, lawyers and managers have replaced politicians in the government and the presidential staff. "I am a lonely man," de Gaulle said to the people in front of the parliament building, "who does not confuse himself with any of the parties, with any organization. I am a person who does not belong to anyone and belongs to everyone." This is the whole point of the general's tactics. Considering that at this time, in parallel with the demonstrations of the ultra-right all over Paris, rallies of "Gaullists" were taking place, directly calling on the government to resign in favor of the general, there was a fair amount of guile in his words.
In the relations between de Gaulle and the Gaullists, as in de Gaulle himself of 1958, one can see similarities with Vladimir Putin and the Unity movement. Nevertheless, such an analogy seems like a stretch, given that both came to power with an urgent need of society for an immediate solution to colonial problems and with the growth of nationalist sentiments in society.
The new constitution, approved in a referendum by a majority of almost 80%, introduced a presidential system of government for the first time in French history. With the strengthening of the executive power, the parliament was limited in legislative rights. It was supposed to work 2 sessions a year: the autumn (October-December) was devoted to the consideration of the budget, the spring (April-June) - to legislative activity. The agenda was determined by the government. Voting was carried out on the budget as a whole; when discussing the draft, the deputies had no right to make amendments that would reduce revenues or increase government spending.
Parliament was "pushed back": de Gaulle communicated directly with the people through referendums, which he could appoint independently.
Gold instead of dollars
De Gaulle's authority was quite high. Without looking up from the resolution of the domestic political crisis, he took up the economy and foreign policy, where he achieved certain successes. He was concerned not with problems, but with the problem: how to make France a great power. One of the measures of a psychological nature was denomination: de Gaulle issued a new franc in denominations of 100 old ones. De Gaulle did not have a central bank. Money multiplied by issuing credit. A handful of bankers were feeding on inflation. De Gaulle suggested that French banks should not exceed the 10% lending level. The franc has become a hard currency for the first time in a long time.
At the end of 1960, the economy showed rapid growth, the fastest in all the post-war years. De Gaulle's course in foreign policy was aimed at Europe's gaining independence from two superpowers: the USSR and the USA. The European Common Market was created, but de Gaulle blocked the admission of Great Britain into it. Apparently, Churchill's wartime words, thrown during one of the disputes over the status of France and its colonies, - “Remember, whenever I have to choose between a free Europe and the sea, I will always choose the sea. Roosevelt and you, I will choose Roosevelt! " - deeply sunk into de Gaulle's soul, and now he refused to recognize the British islanders as Europeans.
In 1960 in Pacific France successfully tested atomic bomb... During these years, de Gaulle's administrative abilities did not manifest themselves in all their glory - the general needed a crisis to show the whole world what he was really capable of. He easily held a referendum on the election of the president by direct universal suffrage, although he had to dissolve parliament to do so. In 1965, he was re-elected, although this time the voting took place in two rounds - a direct consequence of the new electoral system.
On February 4, he announces that his country will henceforth switch to real gold in international settlements. De Gaulle's attitude to the dollar as a "green paper" was formed under the impression of an anecdote told to him long ago by the Minister of Finance in the Clemenceau government. "The auction sells a painting of Raphael. The Arab offers oil, the Russian offers gold, and the American puts out a bundle of one hundred dollar bills and buys Raphael for $ 10,000. As a result, the American got Raphael for three dollars, because the cost of paper for one hundred dollar bill is three cents!" ".
De Gaulle called the de-dollarization of France his "economic Austerlitz." He stated: “We consider it necessary that international exchange should be established, as it was before the great misfortunes of the world, on an indisputable basis that does not bear the stamp of any particular country. On what basis? some other standard, except for gold. Yes, gold does not change its nature: it can be in bars, bars, coins; it has no nationality, it has long been accepted by the whole world as an invariable value. Undoubtedly, even today the value of any currency is determined on the basis of direct or indirect, real or perceived ties with gold In international exchange, the highest law, the golden rule (here it is appropriate to say), the rule that should be restored, is the obligation to ensure the balance of payments of the different currency zones through actual receipts and gold costs ".
And he demanded living gold from the United States in accordance with the Bretton Woods agreement: to exchange $ 1.5 billion at $ 35 per ounce. In case of refusal, de Gaulle's military argument was the threat of France's withdrawal from NATO, the elimination of all 189 NATO bases on French territory and the withdrawal of 35,000 NATO soldiers. The militant general invited other countries to follow the example of France - to turn dollar reserves into gold. The United States surrendered. The general in power, even in the economy, acted by military means. He said, "The Quartermasteries will follow."
Impossible to edit with "but"
However, his "dirigism" in the economy, which led to the 1967 crisis, and aggressive foreign policy - opposition to NATO, Great Britain, harsh criticism of the Vietnam war, support for the Quebec separatists, sympathy for the Arabs in the Middle East - undermined his position in the domestic political arena. During the "revolution" in May 1968, when Paris was blocked by barricades and posters hung on the walls "13.05.58 - 13.05.68 - it's time to leave, Charles!", De Gaulle was at a loss. He was rescued by the faithful Prime Minister Georges Pompidou, a supporter of a softer, recommendatory policy of the state in the economy, the unrest more or less subsided, new social reforms were carried out, but after that de Gaulle for some reason dismissed Pompidou. When the next legislative initiatives of the general were rejected by parliament, he could not stand it and on April 28, 1969, ahead of schedule, voluntarily resigned from his post.
Summarizing the information that can be obtained from a brief analysis of the biography of Charles de Gaulle, we see several prerequisites that from his youth determined his career. First of all, a brilliant education and a constant craving for knowledge, for self-improvement in an intellectual sense. De Gaulle himself once said: "The true school, which gives the ability to command, is a common culture." As examples, he cited Alexander the Great, whose teacher was Aristotle, and Caesar, brought up on the writings and speeches of Cicero. De Gaulle could repeat: "To manage is to foresee, and to foresee is to know a lot." Another prerequisite, of course, is purposefulness, belief in one's own destiny, born in childhood. In Saint-Cyr, a classmate told him before graduation: "Charles, I feel that you are destined for great destiny." Another in de Gaulle's place, naturally, would have joked, but he replied without a shadow of a smile: "Yes, I think so too." Most of these people make up the clientele of psychiatric clinics, but some of them succeed - they become de Gaulles.
De Gaulle earned the ironic nickname "king in exile" from his boss at the Military Academy for his dryness, demeanor and "turn up his nose." Later, a biographer, describing de Gaulle in Britain in the 1940s, used the same expression without any irony, rather with admiration. Of course, to be de Gaulle, you had to look like de Gaulle. Here is what Jacques Chastenay writes: “Very tall, thin, of a monumental build, with a long nose over a small mustache, a slightly escaping chin, an imperious gaze, he seemed much younger than fifty years old. Dressed in a khaki uniform and a headdress of the same color, decorated two stars of a brigadier general, he always walked with a wide step, holding, as a rule, his hands at the seams. He spoke slowly, sharply, sometimes with sarcasm. His memory was amazing. He simply smelled of the power of the monarch, and now, more than ever, he justified the epithet "king in exile".
"Arrogant" - they said about de Gaulle. Here is what he himself wrote about this in the 30s: “A person of action cannot be imagined without a fair amount of selfishness, arrogance, cruelty and cunning, but all this is forgiven him, and he even somehow rises more if he uses these qualities for doing great things. " And later: "A true leader keeps others at a distance, since there is no power without prestige, and there is no prestige without distance." It is characteristic that de Gaulle sympathized with Stalin. Although he understood that they had little in common in political, social convictions, he believed that as leaders, as people, they were similar to each other.
As for de Gaulle's qualities as a leader and politician, to the extent that political activity is the art of managing people, then here we can distinguish five defining features, five properties of de Gaulle, which first of all allowed him to become one of the greatest figures in France.
First, de Gaulle was both phenomenally authoritarian as a leader and overly independent as a subordinate. It is worth noting, however, that this authoritarianism was strictly related to action. De Gaulle the boss never asked - he ordered. Independence was entirely related to the area that lay outside the military regulations. He carried out orders unquestioningly, everything that was outside of them - at his discretion. De Gaulle, the guest, did not ask the British government - he demanded and achieved his goal.
Secondly, de Gaulle was never outdated. Both his rationalization proposals and his methods of political and military struggle were characterized by freshness and novelty. As already mentioned, innovation was the hallmark of his method. He remained faithful to this principle both when he turned from a promising officer into a free-thinker and oppositionist, in order to soon take one of the leading posts in the headquarters and confirm his innocence, and when in 1968, a few days before his resignation, he tried to achieve the adoption of a new law on Senate, which radically changed the relationship between the central and municipal authorities in the Republic.
Thirdly, de Gaulle combined a long waiting for the moment with the swiftness of initiative, hidden hard, painstaking work to prepare every serious step with truly hussar pressure and the apparent ease with which he was given the assault on each new bastion, be it the organization of the National Liberation Committee, a triumph in Paris or return to big politics in 1958. This lightness gave him a romantic, heroic halo with a mystical tinge, raised his already high authority, instilled faith in his power.
Fourth, de Gaulle was distinguished by his secrecy and secrecy, very few people initiating into his plans, performing inexplicable, from the point of view of an outsider, actions, carefully listening to his comrades-in-arms, but never consulting and, finally, uttering exciting speeches, being able to say everything and nothing at the same time. ...
And, finally, fifthly, de Gaulle always tried to stay above the situation, giving himself the status of a "superclass arbiter": on the one hand, he never openly took someone's side, allowing the situation to be resolved without his intervention; on the other hand, he sought support at the same time from everyone who could support him, and in general diligently cared about the prestige of a person who rises above the vanity of this world. Even towards allies, on whom he was completely dependent, he behaved not only as an equal, but even sometimes condescending. Their goal was to win the war, his goal was to elevate France to a pedestal of greatness. In the end, this method played a bad game with him twice: during the 1946 elections and in 1968, when he himself did not find support from any of the political groups.
Much can be said about de Gaulle's services to his fatherland, as well as about his mistakes. He, being a talented theorist of military art, did not fight a single historically important battle, but managed to lead his country to victory where it was threatened with defeat from everywhere. Not being closely acquainted with the economy, he twice successfully ruled the country and twice brought it out of a deep crisis - I think, solely thanks to his ability to competently organize the work of the structure entrusted to him, be it a rebel committee or the government of a multimillion state.
Charles de Gaulle quit smoking at 63. He was very proud of both this fact itself and the method that helped him get rid of the bad habit. General Guichard's personal secretary decided to follow the example of his patron and asked him how he had succeeded. De Gaulle replied: "It's very simple: tell your boss, your wife, your secretary that you will not smoke from tomorrow. That is enough."
Algeria: Between Two Fires.
De Gaulle began to understand that sooner or later France would have to part with the Maghreb. Algeria is too expensive for Paris. On September 19, 1959, the president recognized Algeria's right to self-determination, but did not say anything specific about the timing of granting independence. The response was the toughening of the actions of the FLN rebels and the rebellion of the French "ultra", whose leaders were military generals, recent war heroes, the once loyal soldiers of the republic - Salan, Challe, Jouhaux and Zeller. The military, who had ceased to hope for help from Paris, themselves switched to the tactics of retaliatory terror. The Secret Armed Organization (SLA) created by the Alan was a real army: 110 battle groups, 60 weapons depots, 119 safe houses. The SLA began to use scorched earth tactics in Algeria. The SLA soldiers now considered de Gaulle their blood enemy, a traitor to France. But the independence of Algeria was already decided by that time. The referendum held in France only confirmed this. On March 18, 1962, in the resort town of Eviana, agreements were signed that guaranteed (under a number of conditions, it is true) full independence of Algeria. The SLA responded by sentencing General de Gaulle to death. There were six "big" assassination attempts against de Gaulle. The most famous is the "case of the Bastien-Thierry group." On 22 August 1962, two groups of SLA activists took up positions on rue Petit-Clomar. The first detachment was supposed to stop the presidential motorcade, the second to shoot de Gaulle and his bodyguards point-blank. The organizer of the assassination attempt, Lieutenant Colonel Bastien, measured the angles of fire, calculated the speed of the motorcade, distributed everything in seconds, but used the old calendar in preparation. On August 22, it got dark in Paris 25 minutes earlier than Bastien believed, so at dusk the terrorists did not see the approaching cortege and began to shoot too late. De Gaulle was also saved by the mistake of his own security service. Usually in front of the motorcade there were two motorcyclists with their headlights on. The terrorists would see them from afar. This time, the moto-escort group somehow ended up behind. And when de Gaulle's car rushed forward at high speed, the militants barely had time to fire at the wheels and the rear window. The car skidded, and some of the bullets passed by. Saved the president and chauffeur Francois Marroux, who managed to steer the car aside. Colonel Alain de Boissier, sitting in front of the president, shouted to Yvonne and Charles de Gaulle: "Quickly, head down!" It seemed that the president was really expecting an assassination attempt, when the first shots rang out, he grumbled to his wife: "What, again?" The main organizers and perpetrators of the assassination attempt were soon captured. Some managed to escape abroad. But the fifth department of the special service SDEKE ("Counteraction Service") worked with its own methods, and if an SLA activist suddenly died in some European country under mysterious circumstances, it was clear to everyone whose hands it was. Charles de Gaulle himself seriously thought about the guarantees of his security. The main bodyguard of the president was Victor Lucien Ott, a hero of Indochina, a landing officer who was captured at Dien Bien Phu and escaped from captivity six months later. The young veteran was downright obsessed with safety. "The first weapon of a bodyguard is his brain," said Major Ott. According to his directives, all "siloviks" - from guards in the provinces to prefects of the gendarmerie - were supposed to feel like "secret agents." Ott's tactics paid off. In February 1963, Bastienne-Thierry's successor in the SLA, Antoine Argaud, organized a new assassination attempt. Sniper Georges Vatin was supposed to shoot at the president, leaving the central entrance of the Military Academy on the Champ de Mars. To get on the roof, the OAS members "recruited" the academy's security guard. He, naturally, turned out to be "Ott's man". The murder scheme failed again. All the main leaders of the SLA were killed and executed (as, for example, who appeared to the guillotine in the Orders of Bastien-Thierry) or sat under heavy guard in prison (as Captain Antoine Argaud). With the destruction of the SLA, "patriotic terror" in Europe became history for some time. Pavel Chernomorsky |
Algeria was not just a French colony. The north of the country is practically Europeanized, the main civil and military positions here were occupied by immigrants from Europe. De Gaulle promised the Algerian French what they expected of him: "Algeria will remain French forever." All over Algeria, demonstrations of the French and loyal Algerians took place in support of the general. But the supporters of independence (FLN) started a guerrilla war, attacked Biography and episodes of life Charles de Gaulle. When born and died Charles de Gaulle, memorable places and dates of important events in his life. Quotes from a politician, Photo and video.
Charles de Gaulle's life years:
born November 22, 1890, died November 9, 1970
Epitaph
We love you, we are proud of you,
And in our memory you are always alive.
Biography
He was an outstanding person and, like any person of this magnitude, he has generated much controversy over his personality and methods of government. And yet, the biography of Charles de Gaulle is the biography of an undoubtedly great politician and military commander. The goal of de Gaulle's whole life was the liberation of France and the return to her former greatness, and he did everything to achieve it.
Charles de Gaulle was born into an aristocratic, patriotic Catholic family. Military biography de Gaulle was predetermined - first the School of Saint-Cyr, and then participation in the First World War. At the beginning of World War II, de Gaulle had already received the rank of general. It was a war that turned de Gaulle's whole life, a war in which he showed all his leadership qualities and declared himself to the whole country as a decisive politician. Thus, Charles de Gaulle categorically abandoned the defeatist policy towards fascism, which was led by the then French Prime Minister Henri Petain. De Gaulle headed the Free France movement and became the head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic. True, not all of de Gaulle's views were shared by his contemporaries, and after serving as prime minister for two years, the ambitious general temporarily retired from politics. But he returned later, when “Gaullism” had already been formed as a political trend and the number of de Gaulle's supporters was impressive.
De Gaulle became the first president of the Fifth Republic and in this post did a lot of important things for his country: he was able to resolve the Algerian crisis, make serious amendments to the Constitution, achieve good results in relations with the Federal Republic of Germany, the USSR, China, third world countries, to carry out a number of other significant reforms. It was President de Gaulle who came up with the idea of \u200b\u200bthe greatness of not only France, but the whole of Europe; he was the first to put forward a proposal to create a "united Europe" in which each country would retain its independence. De Gaulle voluntarily resigned from the presidency when he began to realize that he was losing the support of his people. After de Gaulle's death, the French were still able to rethink the role of their former ruler and appreciate it. Today in France in honor of "General de Gaulle" (otherwise his name is not) named the airport in Paris, in memory of de Gaulle a monument to the general was erected not far from the Champs Elysees. Today de Gaulle is considered one of the most significant people in the history of France, along with the emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
He stepped down as president in April 1969. For some time he traveled, and then settled in the small French commune of Colombey-les-Deux-Eglise with his wife, where he worked on his memoirs. Alas, a quiet life, apparently, did not suit de Gaulle. De Gaulle's death came a year and a half after his retirement from politics. De Gaulle's cause of death was aortic rupture. De Gaulle's funeral took place there, in Colombey, de Gaulle's grave is in the village cemetery.
Throughout his life, de Gaulle was devoted to two women - France and his wife Yvonne. In the photo on the left - a bronze monument to the de Gaulles in front of the cathedral in Calais, where their wedding took place.
Life line
November 22, 1890 Date of birth of Charles de Gaulle (full name Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle).
1921 g. Marriage to Yvonne de Gaulle, birth of Philip's son.
1924 g. Birth of daughter Elizabeth.
1928 g. Birth of daughter Anna.
1940 g. Obtaining the rank of brigadier general.
1941 g. De Gaulle chaired the French National Committee.
July 3, 1944 Chairman of the Provisional Government of the French Republic.
June 1, 1958 Prime Minister of France, Minister national defense France.
January 8, 1959 President of the Fifth Republic, President of France, Prince of Andorra.
April 28, 1969Resign from the presidency.
November 9, 1970 Date of de Gaulle's death.
November 12, 1970 The funeral of de Gaulle.
Memorable places
1. City of Lille, birthplace of Charles de Gaulle.
2. House of de Gaulle in Lille, where he spent his childhood, today de Gaulle's house-museum.
3. Notre Dame Cathedral in Calais, where de Gaulle married his wife and in front of which a monument to the spouses is erected today.
4. Military Academy Saint-Cyr, where de Gaulle studied.
5. Higher military school in Paris, where de Gaulle taught.
6. Monument to de Gaulle in Paris.
7. Monument to de Gaulle in Warsaw.
8. Memorial de Gaulle in Colombey-les-des-Eglise, where Charles de Gaulle died and was buried.
Episodes of life
When de Gaulle was studying at the Saint-Cyr academy, one of his friends told him that, they say, a great destiny was predetermined for Charles. The young man answered quite seriously: "Yes, I think so too." It is not surprising that at the academy de Gaulle was considered an arrogant young man and an asshole, for which they even called him "the king in exile." De Gaulle himself would later say: “The real leader keeps the others at a distance. There is no power without authority, and there is no authority without distance. "
De Gaulle was famous for his excellent oratory skills. People close to de Gaulle claimed that the general was able to easily memorize large speeches. During his speeches, he almost never used written text and always spoke very fluently. Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR Andrei Gromyko recalled that de Gaulle never answered sensitive questions directly, preferring to avoid answering with the words “anything can be,” which baffled his opponents.
Charles de Gaulle passed away while working on his memoirs, just a few days before his 80th birthday. Before his death, de Gaulle bequeathed to be buried modestly in a small cemetery and not to hold public ceremonies. In accordance with his will, only members of his family and comrades in the Resistance were invited to the funeral of Charles de Gaulle. But when the funeral bells sounded from the small church where the former French president was bidding farewell, thousands of church bells echoed across the country.
Covenant
"Always choose the most difficult path - you will not meet any competitors on it."
The documentary “Charles de Gaulle. His Majesty the President "
Condolences
"General de Gaulle is dead, France is widowed."
Georges Pompidou, 19th President of France