In 1940, France quickly surrendered to Germany. Pétain led the collaborationist Vichy regime, while de Gaulle refused to give up, rallied the Free French from London, and returned to liberate Paris in 1944.
2nW_from_Markus on
That’s not DeGaulle. At least, not his nose.
Jax_Dandelion on
There is context missing, namely that the French government had nothing else to really do, almost the entire army was encircled by the Germans, you had the lives of over a million men at stake
So the choice was surrender and get the men to survive while negotiating with Germany, or refuse to surrender and have your army cut off from supply with almost no communication annihilated by the German forces surrounding it
nikosas4 on
Charles my beloved
Toc_a_Somaten on
“Calls colonies to resist” whom?
Khalimdorh on
Was the free french army biger or smaller than the polish one? I find it a bit of an overstatement that de gaulle liberated france or paris
enthusiasm_gap on
I’ve heard it argued that the French weren’t really *defeated*, inasmuch as the military oligarchs surrendered on purpose because they saw the Nazis as less of a threat to their position than the popular front which included communists. Essentially an internal coup from the right, rather than France being genuinely conquered.
Zapan99 on
You forgot the part where De Gaulle made Churchill furious after he was asked “Who’s going to pay for all those loans contracted by Free France, if the fascists remain in control?” to which De Gaulle answered, “Why me, of course!”
PositiveMaster8236 on
Pétain was a closet Fascist, Vichy France was a little too enthusiastic about enforcing pro NAZI rules and attacking anti NAZI French factions, it even creeped out the Regular German army liaisons (who still definitely did not fight a clean war)
weltvonalex on
DeGaulle is the o.g. giga Chad. I doubt myself every day over about anything and here is that guy who is annoying but still egos himself into the allied high command and forges a French victory and a place at the winner table. I cannot even comprehend the amount of self believe to do that.
Easy-Frenchguy-1996 on
De Gaulle’s biggest is inon the long term he was 50 years ahead of everyone
DangerousEye1235 on
Pétain was a traitor to his country, not a victim. It’s one thing to surrender, but something else *entirely* to be a collaborator. He and his regime actively supported the Nazis and participated in the Holocaust.
KikKikKik36 on
France lost WWII, people tends to forget It for a reason.
Italy is even more hilarious, the genuinely think that they won WWII too (and WWI too btw)
SaraHHHBK on
The Spanish La Nueve forgotten again I see
redglol on
De gaulle, one of the most liberal non-dictator acting dictator there was.
Local-Echo-5613 on
One factor is that the French right (including Pétain) was fascist and generally preferred the Nazis to the socialists. They weren’t just quick to surrender they were happy to collaborate.
-I-Cato-Sicarius- on
Still crazy how fast they capitulated though. I know hindsight is 20/20 but you’d think France would have had at least a sizeable contingency in case they actually did do the same thing they did in WW1
17 Comments
In 1940, France quickly surrendered to Germany. Pétain led the collaborationist Vichy regime, while de Gaulle refused to give up, rallied the Free French from London, and returned to liberate Paris in 1944.
That’s not DeGaulle. At least, not his nose.
There is context missing, namely that the French government had nothing else to really do, almost the entire army was encircled by the Germans, you had the lives of over a million men at stake
So the choice was surrender and get the men to survive while negotiating with Germany, or refuse to surrender and have your army cut off from supply with almost no communication annihilated by the German forces surrounding it
Charles my beloved
“Calls colonies to resist” whom?
Was the free french army biger or smaller than the polish one? I find it a bit of an overstatement that de gaulle liberated france or paris
I’ve heard it argued that the French weren’t really *defeated*, inasmuch as the military oligarchs surrendered on purpose because they saw the Nazis as less of a threat to their position than the popular front which included communists. Essentially an internal coup from the right, rather than France being genuinely conquered.
You forgot the part where De Gaulle made Churchill furious after he was asked “Who’s going to pay for all those loans contracted by Free France, if the fascists remain in control?” to which De Gaulle answered, “Why me, of course!”
Pétain was a closet Fascist, Vichy France was a little too enthusiastic about enforcing pro NAZI rules and attacking anti NAZI French factions, it even creeped out the Regular German army liaisons (who still definitely did not fight a clean war)
DeGaulle is the o.g. giga Chad. I doubt myself every day over about anything and here is that guy who is annoying but still egos himself into the allied high command and forges a French victory and a place at the winner table. I cannot even comprehend the amount of self believe to do that.
De Gaulle’s biggest is inon the long term he was 50 years ahead of everyone
Pétain was a traitor to his country, not a victim. It’s one thing to surrender, but something else *entirely* to be a collaborator. He and his regime actively supported the Nazis and participated in the Holocaust.
France lost WWII, people tends to forget It for a reason.
Italy is even more hilarious, the genuinely think that they won WWII too (and WWI too btw)
The Spanish La Nueve forgotten again I see
De gaulle, one of the most liberal non-dictator acting dictator there was.
One factor is that the French right (including Pétain) was fascist and generally preferred the Nazis to the socialists. They weren’t just quick to surrender they were happy to collaborate.
Still crazy how fast they capitulated though. I know hindsight is 20/20 but you’d think France would have had at least a sizeable contingency in case they actually did do the same thing they did in WW1