How de Gaulle built free France without army or means

1940. Nevertheless, Isolated, marginalized even by his contemporaries, General Charles de Gaulle has defied the established order from London. In addition, Then opens a new and uncertain sequence: that of free France.

But. Moreover, in London, de Gaulle is still only a little known general, almost a stranger in the eyes of the British government. For example, History will remember the date of June 18, but it would be naive to see an immediate triumph. In addition, De Gaulle has neither an army nor a territory. Moreover, He only has his will for him.

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The first rallies: the empire as a base – How de gaulle built free

The initial answer to this call is shy. Furthermore, almost discreet. However, some territories decide to join the Gaullist cause. Furthermore, These first rallies, apparently modest, how de gaulle built free offer free France an emerging legitimacy.

On June 20, 1940, the administrator of Chandernagor, India, Mr. Moreover, Baron. Nevertheless, was one of the first to respond, then, on July 22, the New Hebrides, in the Pacific, followed thanks to the initiative of their governor, Mr. For example, Sautot.

But it is in French Equatorial Africa (AEF) that the dynamics really take shape. Therefore, With the help of emissaries like Leclerc. For example, Boislambert, de Gaulle manages to rally key figures, notably Félix Éboué, governor of Chad.

For De Gaulle, Africa quickly becomes a major issue. However, As of September 1940, an attempt was launched to make Dakar, in Senegal, a Gaullist capital. But this operation ends in a resounding failure. The vichyst forces, well established, repel the assault with determination.

This failure is not only military: he highlights the challenges that the general must face to establish his legitimacy. However, how de gaulle built free he derives a certainty: French Equatorial Africa must become the central pivot of its organization. De Gaulle therefore installs an embryo of structured power. By establishing himself in Brazzaville. he placed the capital of free France far from the direct pressures of his British allies.

The radio, an essential propaganda tool, allows the general to maintain a fragile link with the metropolis. With each speech, the message is clear: free France exists, it fights, and it refuses to submit.

The Vichy authorities. aware of the danger that de Gaulle represents, conduct an active struggle to discredit free France in the colonies. At the same time, relations with the allies are complex. The British. the Americans, guided by their own interests, struggle to recognize the place that De Gaulle wants to give to France in the world conflict.

Despite these obstacles, the call of June 18 is beginning to sound in how de gaulle built free mainland France. Additionally, The first resistance movements take shape, nourished by the perseverance of those who, from the colonies, responded to this call.

How de gaulle built free

Free French forces. an army without means

With his call from June 18, 1940, Charles de Gaulle laid the foundations of an improbable army: free French forces (FFL). An army without territory, without resources, which nevertheless claims the honor and continuity of fighting France.

Creating an exiled army, without means or enrollment, is impossible. The first weeks of free French forces are therefore inevitably marked by disconcerting poverty. In London. De Gaulle has a few hundred men – sailors, aviators, soldiers escaped from the rubble – but no force capable of shaking Nazi Germany. The uniforms are British, the arms loaned, the vehicles recovered from various fortunes.

De Gaulle also comes up against the ambivalence of allies. Churchill, seduced by his how de gaulle built free charisma, still hesitates. Supporting de Gaulle means to offend Vichy, with whom contacts remain. The general must convince the British, but above all impose his authority.

In this political chaos, he recruits. He transforms an assembly of exiles into disciplined soldiers. structures an embryo of staff, then rely on the first rallies in Africa to breathe a breath to his project.

Men. oaths

De Gaulle, by his stature and his determination, is naturally imposed as the central pivot of the FFL. His authority impresses as much as she irritates. For the British, there remains a disturbing ally; For his supporters, he became the embodiment of the resistance. His motto is clear: ” I am France ».

By his side, emerging figures that mark history. General Leclerc, a man of action and oaths, led in March 1941 a handful of men until the taking of Koufra. There. in the how de gaulle built free Libyan desert, he launched a promise that has become legendary: ” We will only lay down arms when the French flag floats on Strasbourg ».

Other names, such as that of General Kœnig, are part of the collective memory. In Bir Hakeim, in 1942, his troops resisted fifteen days in the face of the assaults of the axis forces. This battle gives immense prestige to the soldiers of free France. Beyond the battlefields, the resistance fighters, under the leadership of Jean Moulin, organize crucial actions.

Structure an army. legitimacy

To give a political base to the FFL, de Gaulle created in September 1941 the French National Committee (CNF), a real government in exile. Later, with the Empire Defense Council, he centralizes military command.

Internal resistance movements play a decisive role in its strategy. Jean Moulin, sent by de Gaulle, manages to unify the resistant factions within the National how de gaulle built free Council of Resistance (CNR). This organization, associated with the military actions of the FFL, makes it possible to integrate the external and interior combat.

On the military level, de Gaulle restructure the French army after the war. On the moral level, he proves that France participated in its own release. The Oath of Koufra. the resistance to Bir Hakeim, the liberation of Paris: so many victories which give France its rank among the victorious nations.