France entered World War II. June, the Germans entered the declared "open city" Paris

By May 10, 1940, 93 French divisions, 10 British divisions and 1 Polish division were stationed in northeastern France.

By May 10, 1940, the French troops consisted of 86 divisions and numbered more than 2 million people and 3609 tanks, about 1700 guns and 1400 aircraft.

Germany kept 89 divisions on the border with the Netherlands, Belgium and France [ ] .

French campaign of 1940

On June 17, the French government asked Germany for an armistice. On June 22, 1940, France capitulated to Germany and the Second Compiègne Armistice was concluded in the Compiegne Forest. The result of the armistice was the division of France into an occupation zone of German troops and a puppet state ruled by the Vichy regime.

Officially hostilities ended on 25 June. The French army as a result of the war lost 84,000 people killed and more than a million prisoners. German troops lost 45,074 killed, 110,043 wounded and 18,384 missing.

Occupation of France

German occupation of France

During the occupation of France, the only magazine that did not stop publishing was Historia. All other magazines have closed.

Italian occupation of France

Resistance

On the other hand, immediately after the German occupation, the "Resistance Movement" unfolded in France. Part of the French helped the Soviet Union and the allies. At the end of 1942, the Normandy squadron (later the Normandy-Niemen air regiment) was formed on the territory of the USSR, consisting of French pilots and Soviet aircraft mechanics. French citizens served in the Royal Air Force, as well as in other units of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.

The French in the war against the Anti-Hitler coalition

Vichy regime in Southern France

The Vichy regime was established in the unoccupied zone of France and its colonies in July 1940. Even during the period of its creation, the French government broke off diplomatic relations with Great Britain as a result of the British attack on the French fleet. The USSR and the USA initially established diplomatic relations with the Vichy regime and only moved their ambassadors to London in 1941, after the German attack on the Soviet Union. Formally, the Vichy regime pursued a policy of neutrality, but actually collaborated with Nazi Germany and Japan.

All French warships stationed in the British ports of Plymouth and Portsmouth were captured. In Alexandria, a compromise was reached, the French ships were disarmed and deprived of fuel, but were not captured. At the French base of Mers-el-Kebir, the refusal of the French to comply with the British ultimatum led to a naval battle. The obsolete French battleship Brittany was sunk and several other French ships were seriously damaged. French losses exceeded 1,200. The British lost only a few aircraft. After several more clashes of a smaller scale, on July 12, the parties ceased hostilities.

The main goal of the British was not achieved. The main force of the French fleet, including three modern ships of the line, was concentrated in the port of Toulon. This fleet was scuttled by the French themselves only in November 1942, when there was a threat of its capture by the Germans.

On the other hand, the attack of the British, “treacherous” from the point of view of the French, increased anti-British sentiment and led to the consolidation of the Vichy regime, which was being formed at the same time, in France itself and its colonies. General De Gaulle's positions were greatly weakened.

War in Africa and the Middle East

In September 1940, the British and "Fighting France" attempted a landing at Dakar with the aim of capturing the French colony of Senegal. However, contrary to De Gaulle's assumptions, the French fleet and army turned out to be loyal to the Vichy regime and gave a tough rebuff to the attackers. After a two-day battle, the significantly superior Anglo-Australian fleet could not achieve almost anything, the landings failed and the Senegalese operation ended in complete failure. This dealt another blow to De Gaulle's reputation.

In November 1940, with the support of the British, De Gaulle launched a successful attack on the French colony of Gabon in equatorial Africa. As a result of the Gabon operation, Libreville was taken and all equatorial French Africa was captured. However, due to the economic underdevelopment and strategic insignificance of the region, this success did not compensate for the failure in Senegal. Most of the French prisoners of war refused to join the "Fighting France" and preferred captivity until the end of the war in Brazzaville.

On June 8, 1941, British, Australian troops and "Fighting France" launched a ground operation to capture Syria and Lebanon, controlled by the Vichy government. At the first stage, the Vichyists offered stubborn resistance, carried out several successful counterattacks and inflicted significant losses on the enemy in aviation. However, within a month, the Allies managed to break the resistance of the enemy, and on July 14, an agreement on surrender was signed in Acre. Under its terms, the Anti-Hitler coalition gained control over Syria and Lebanon, and all soldiers and officers of the Vichy regime were offered the choice of repatriating to France or joining the Free French troops. As in Gabon, the overwhelming majority of the Vichy refused to join General De Gaulle. The French also retained their fleet and air force and managed to sink the captured British ships.

On May 5, 1942, Great Britain launched an operation to occupy Madagascar in order to prevent the establishment of a Japanese naval base on this island. Insignificant French forces (8000 people) resisted for more than six months and surrendered only on November 8.

On November 8, 1942, the Americans and the British landed in Morocco and Algiers. For political reasons, the operation was carried out under the flag of the United States. The troops of the Vichy regime by this point were demoralized and did not offer organized resistance. The Americans won a quick victory with minimal losses within a few days. French forces in North Africa defected to the Allies.

War on the Eastern Front

On February 10, 1945, the 33rd Grenadier Division of the SS troops "Charlemagne" (1st French) was formed from the previously existing eponymous French brigade of the SS troops that fought against the USSR. The French SS division fought on the Eastern Front. In March 1945, it was defeated by the Red Army in Pomerania and its remnants were withdrawn to the rear. The battalion of this division (300 people) in the Berlin operation, together with the Nordland division, defended the Reichstag area. According to some French sources, the heroically defending French destroyed 60 "Russian" tanks, were the last defenders of Hitler's bunker and prevented the "Soviets" from taking it to the May 1 holiday.

The number of French prisoners of war in captivity of the USSR in 1945 reached 23136 people, which is three times the number of the Charlemagne division.

Liberation

Landing in Normandy

After landing in Normandy, American, British, Canadian and Polish troops captured Paris (August 25, 1944). This gave a serious impetus to the development of the Resistance Movement, Charles de Gaulle, who lived in London, began to be considered a national hero.

Results

France was allocated a zone of occupation of Germany and was given a place as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Effects

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Literature

Mark Levy "Children of Liberty"

Notes



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An excerpt characterizing France in World War II

“I want to try singing again,” she said. “It’s still a job,” she added, as if apologizing.
- And fine.
- I'm glad you've come! I am so happy today! she said with that former animation, which Pierre had not seen in her for a long time. - You know, Nicolas received the George Cross. I'm so proud of him.
- Well, I sent the order. Well, I don’t want to disturb you,” he added, and wanted to go into the drawing room.
Natasha stopped him.
- Count, what is it, bad, that I sing? she said, blushing, but without taking her eyes off her, looking inquiringly at Pierre.
- No ... why? On the contrary... But why do you ask me?
“I don’t know myself,” Natasha answered quickly, “but I wouldn’t want to do anything that you don’t like. I believe in everything. You don’t know how important you are to grinding and how much you have done for me! .. - She spoke quickly and without noticing how Pierre blushed at these words. - I saw in the same order he, Bolkonsky (quickly, she uttered this word in a whisper), he is in Russia and is serving again. What do you think,” she said quickly, apparently in a hurry to speak, because she was afraid for her strength, “will he ever forgive me?” Will he not have an evil feeling against me? What do you think? What do you think?
“I think…” said Pierre. - He has nothing to forgive ... If I were in his place ... - According to the connection of memories, Pierre was instantly transported by imagination to the time when, consoling her, he told her that if he were not him, but the best person in the world and free , then he would ask for her hand on his knees, and the same feeling of pity, tenderness, love seized him, and the same words were on his lips. But she didn't give him time to say them.
- Yes, you - you, - she said, pronouncing this word you with delight, - is another matter. Kinder, more generous, better than you, I do not know a person, and cannot be. If you were not there then, and even now, I don’t know what would have happened to me, because ... - Tears suddenly poured into her eyes; she turned, raised the notes to her eyes, began to sing, and went back to walking around the hall.
At the same time, Petya ran out of the living room.
Petya was now a handsome, ruddy fifteen-year-old boy with thick, red lips, like Natasha. He was preparing for the university, but lately, with his comrade Obolensky, he secretly decided that he would go to the hussars.
Petya ran out to his namesake to talk about the case.
He asked him to find out if he would be accepted into the hussars.
Pierre walked around the living room, not listening to Petya.
Petya tugged at his hand to draw his attention to himself.
- Well, what's my business, Pyotr Kirilych. For God's sake! One hope for you, - said Petya.
“Oh yes, your business. In the hussars then? I'll say, I'll say. I'll tell you everything.
- Well, mon cher, well, did you get the manifesto? asked the old count. - And the countess was at the mass at the Razumovskys, she heard a new prayer. Very good, she says.
“Got it,” Pierre replied. - Tomorrow the sovereign will be ... An extraordinary meeting of the nobility and, they say, ten thousand a set. Yes, congratulations.
- Yes, yes, thank God. Well, what about the army?
Ours retreated again. Near Smolensk already, they say, - answered Pierre.
- My God, my God! the count said. - Where is the manifesto?
- Appeal! Oh yes! Pierre began looking in his pockets for papers and could not find them. Continuing to pat his pockets, he kissed the hand of the countess as she entered and looked around uneasily, obviously expecting Natasha, who did not sing anymore, but did not come into the drawing room either.
“By God, I don’t know where I’ve got him,” he said.
“Well, he will always lose everything,” said the countess. Natasha entered with a softened, agitated face and sat down, silently looking at Pierre. As soon as she entered the room, Pierre's face, previously cloudy, shone, and he, continuing to look for papers, looked at her several times.
- By God, I'll move out, I forgot at home. Certainly…
Well, you'll be late for dinner.
- Oh, and the coachman left.
But Sonya, who went into the hall to look for the papers, found them in Pierre's hat, where he carefully put them behind the lining. Pierre wanted to read.
“No, after dinner,” said the old count, apparently foreseeing great pleasure in this reading.
At dinner, at which they drank champagne for the health of the new Knight of St. George, Shinshin told the city news about the illness of the old Georgian princess, that Metivier had disappeared from Moscow, and that some German had been brought to Rostopchin and announced to him that it was champignon (as Count Rastopchin himself said), and how Count Rostopchin ordered the champignon to be released, telling the people that it was not a champignon, but just an old German mushroom.
“They grab, they grab,” said the count, “I tell the countess even so that she speaks less French.” Now is not the time.
– Have you heard? Shinshin said. - Prince Golitsyn took a Russian teacher, he studies in Russian - il commence a devenir dangereux de parler francais dans les rues. [It becomes dangerous to speak French on the streets.]
- Well, Count Pyotr Kirilych, how will they gather the militia, and you will have to get on a horse? said the old count, turning to Pierre.
Pierre was silent and thoughtful throughout this dinner. He, as if not understanding, looked at the count at this appeal.
“Yes, yes, to the war,” he said, “no!” What a warrior I am! And yet, everything is so strange, so strange! Yes, I don't understand myself. I do not know, I am so far from military tastes, but in these times no one can answer for himself.
After dinner, the count sat quietly in an armchair and with a serious face asked Sonya, who was famous for her skill in reading, to read.
– “To the capital of our capital, Moscow.
The enemy entered with great forces into the borders of Russia. He is going to ruin our dear fatherland, ”Sonya diligently read in her thin voice. The Count, closing his eyes, listened, sighing impetuously in some places.
Natasha sat stretched out, searchingly and directly looking first at her father, then at Pierre.
Pierre felt her eyes on him and tried not to look back. The countess shook her head disapprovingly and angrily at every solemn expression of the manifesto. She saw in all these words only that the dangers threatening her son would not end soon. Shinshin, folding his mouth into a mocking smile, obviously prepared to mock at what would be the first to be mocked: at Sonya's reading, at what the count would say, even at the very appeal, if no better excuse presented itself.
Having read about the dangers threatening Russia, about the hopes placed by the sovereign on Moscow, and especially on the famous nobility, Sonya, with a trembling voice, which came mainly from the attention with which she was listened to, read the last words: “We ourselves will not hesitate to stand among our people in this capital and in other states of our places for conference and leadership of all our militias, both now blocking the path of the enemy, and again arranged to defeat it, wherever it appears. May the destruction into which he imagines to cast us down upon his head turn, and may Europe, liberated from slavery, glorify the name of Russia!
- That's it! cried the count, opening his wet eyes and halting several times from snuffling, as if a flask of strong acetic salt was being brought to his nose. “Just tell me, sir, we will sacrifice everything and regret nothing.”
Shinshin had not yet had time to tell the joke he had prepared on the count's patriotism, when Natasha jumped up from her seat and ran up to her father.
- What a charm, this dad! she said, kissing him, and she again looked at Pierre with that unconscious coquetry that returned to her along with her animation.
- That's so patriotic! Shinshin said.
“Not a patriot at all, but simply ...” Natasha answered offendedly. Everything is funny to you, but this is not a joke at all ...
- What jokes! repeated the Count. - Just say the word, we will all go ... We are not some kind of Germans ...
“Did you notice,” said Pierre, “that he said: “for a meeting.”
“Well, whatever it is…
At this time, Petya, whom no one paid any attention to, went up to his father and, all red, in a breaking voice, now rough, now thin, said:
“Well, now, papa, I will say decisively - and mother too, as you wish, - I will say decisively that you let me go into military service, because I can’t ... that’s all ...
The countess raised her eyes to heaven in horror, clasped her hands and angrily turned to her husband.
- That's the deal! - she said.
But the count recovered from his excitement at the same moment.
“Well, well,” he said. "Here's another warrior!" Leave the nonsense: you need to study.
“It’s not nonsense, daddy. Obolensky Fedya is younger than me and also goes, and most importantly, anyway, I can’t learn anything now, when ... - Petya stopped, blushed to a sweat and said the same: - when the fatherland is in danger.
- Full, full, nonsense ...
“But you yourself said that we would sacrifice everything.
“Petya, I’m telling you, shut up,” the count shouted, looking back at his wife, who, turning pale, looked with fixed eyes at her younger son.
- I'm telling you. So Pyotr Kirillovich will say ...
- I'm telling you - it's nonsense, the milk has not dried up yet, but he wants to serve in the military! Well, well, I'm telling you, - and the count, taking the papers with him, probably to read it again in the study before resting, left the room.
- Pyotr Kirillovich, well, let's go for a smoke ...
Pierre was confused and indecisive. Natasha's unusually brilliant and lively eyes incessantly, more than affectionately addressed to him, brought him to this state.
- No, I think I'm going home ...
- Like home, but you wanted to have an evening with us ... And then they rarely began to visit. And this one is mine ... - the count said good-naturedly, pointing to Natasha, - it’s only cheerful with you ...
“Yes, I forgot ... I definitely need to go home ... Things ...” Pierre said hastily.
“Well, goodbye,” said the count, leaving the room completely.
- Why are you leaving? Why are you upset? Why? .. - Natasha asked Pierre, defiantly looking into his eyes.
"Because I love you! he wanted to say, but he did not say it, blushed to tears and lowered his eyes.
“Because it’s better for me to visit you less often ... Because ... no, I just have business to do.”
- From what? no, tell me, - Natasha began decisively and suddenly fell silent. They both looked at each other in fear and embarrassment. He tried to smile, but could not: his smile expressed suffering, and he silently kissed her hand and went out.
Pierre decided not to visit the Rostovs with himself anymore.

Petya, after receiving a decisive refusal, went to his room and there, locking himself away from everyone, wept bitterly. Everyone did as if they had not noticed anything when he came to tea silent and gloomy, with tearful eyes.
The next day the Emperor arrived. Several of the Rostovs' servants asked to go and see the tsar. That morning, Petya spent a long time dressing, combing his hair and arranging his collars like the big ones. He frowned in front of the mirror, made gestures, shrugged his shoulders, and finally, without telling anyone, put on his cap and left the house from the back porch, trying not to be noticed. Petya decided to go straight to the place where the sovereign was, and directly explain to some chamberlain (it seemed to Petya that the sovereign was always surrounded by chamberlains) that he, Count Rostov, despite his youth, wants to serve the fatherland, that youth cannot be an obstacle for devotion and that he is ready ... Petya, while he was getting ready, prepared many beautiful words that he would say to the chamberlain.
Petya counted on the success of his presentation to the sovereign precisely because he was a child (Petya even thought how surprised everyone would be at his youth), and at the same time, in the arrangement of his collars, in his hairstyle and in a sedate, slow gait, he wanted to present himself as an old man. But the farther he went, the more he entertained himself with the people arriving and arriving at the Kremlin, the more he forgot to observe the degree and slowness characteristic of adults. Approaching the Kremlin, he already began to take care that he was not pushed, and resolutely, with a menacing look, put his elbows on his sides. But at the Trinity Gate, in spite of all his determination, people who probably did not know for what patriotic purpose he was going to the Kremlin pressed him against the wall so that he had to submit and stop, while at the gate with a buzzing under the arches the sound of carriages passing by. Near Petya stood a woman with a footman, two merchants and a retired soldier. After standing for some time at the gate, Petya, without waiting for all the carriages to pass, wanted to move on before the others and began to work decisively with his elbows; but the woman standing opposite him, on whom he first directed his elbows, angrily shouted at him:
- What, barchuk, pushing, you see - everyone is standing. Why climb then!

The 20th century in world history was marked by important discoveries in the field of technology and art, but at the same time it was the time of two World Wars that claimed the lives of several tens of millions of people in most countries of the world. The decisive role in the Victory was played by such states as the USA, the USSR, Great Britain and France. During World War II, they defeated world fascism. France was forced to capitulate, but then revived and continued to fight against Germany and its allies.

France in the prewar years

In the last pre-war years, France experienced serious economic difficulties. At that time, the People's Front was at the helm of the state. However, after Blum's resignation, the new government was headed by Shotan. His policy began to deviate from the program of the Popular Front. Taxes were raised, the 40-hour work week was abolished, and industrialists had the opportunity to increase the duration of the latter. A strike movement immediately swept across the country, however, to pacify the dissatisfied, the government sent police detachments. France before the Second World War pursued an anti-social policy and every day had less and less support among the people.

By this time, the military-political bloc "Berlin-Rome Axis" had been formed. In 1938, Germany invaded Austria. Two days later, her Anschluss took place. This event dramatically changed the state of affairs in Europe. A threat loomed over the Old World, and first of all it concerned Great Britain and France. The population of France demanded that the government take decisive action against Germany, especially since the USSR also expressed such ideas, offering to join forces and stifle the growing fascism in the bud. However, the government still continued to follow the so-called. "appeasement", believing that if Germany was given everything she asked for, war could be avoided.

The authority of the Popular Front was fading before our eyes. Unable to cope with economic problems, Shotan resigned. After that, the second Blum government was installed, which lasted less than a month until its next resignation.

Daladier government

France during the Second World War could have appeared in a different, more attractive light, if not for some actions of the new chairman of the Council of Ministers, Edouard Daladier.

The new government was formed exclusively from the composition of democratic and right-wing forces, without communists and socialists, however, Daladier needed the support of the latter two in the elections. Therefore, he designated his activities as a sequence of actions of the Popular Front, as a result he received the support of both the communists and the socialists. However, immediately after coming to power, everything changed dramatically.

The first steps were aimed at "improving the economy." Taxes were raised and another devaluation was carried out, which eventually gave its negative results. But this is not the most important thing in the activities of Daladier of that period. Foreign policy in Europe was at that time at the limit - one spark, and the war would have begun. France in World War II did not want to take the side of the defeatists. Inside the country there were several opinions: some wanted a close alliance with Britain and the United States; others did not rule out the possibility of an alliance with the USSR; still others strongly opposed the Popular Front, proclaiming the slogan "Better Hitler than the Popular Front." Separate from those listed were the pro-German circles of the bourgeoisie, who believed that even if they managed to defeat Germany, the revolution that would come with the USSR to Western Europe would not spare anyone. They offered to pacify Germany in every possible way, giving her freedom of action in an easterly direction.

A black spot in the history of French diplomacy

After the easy accession of Austria, Germany is increasing its appetites. Now she swung at the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. Hitler made the mostly German-populated area fight for autonomy and virtual separation from Czechoslovakia. When the country's government gave a categorical rebuff to the fascist tricks, Hitler began to act as a savior of the "infringed" Germans. He threatened the government of Beneš that he could bring in his troops and take the region by force. In turn, France and Great Britain supported Czechoslovakia in words, while the USSR offered real military assistance if Beneš applied to the League of Nations and officially appealed to the USSR for help. Beneš, however, could not take a step without the instructions of the French and British, who did not want to quarrel with Hitler. The international diplomatic events that followed after that could greatly reduce France's losses in World War II, which was already inevitable, but history and politicians decreed differently, strengthening the main fascist many times over with military factories in Czechoslovakia.

On September 28, 1938, a conference of France, England, Italy and Germany was held in Munich. Here the fate of Czechoslovakia was decided, and neither Czechoslovakia nor the Soviet Union, which expressed a desire to help, were invited. As a result, the next day, Mussolini, Hitler, Chamberlain and Daladier signed the protocols of the Munich Agreements, according to which the Sudetenland was now the territory of Germany, and the areas dominated by Hungarians and Poles were also to be separated from Czechoslovakia and become the lands of the titular countries.

Daladier and Chamberlain guaranteed the inviolability of the new frontiers and peace in Europe for "an entire generation" of returning national heroes.

In principle, this was, so to speak, the first capitulation of France in World War II to the main aggressor in the history of mankind.

The beginning of World War II and the entry of France into it

According to the strategy of the attack on Poland, Germany crossed the border in the early morning of the year. World War II has begun! with the support of its aviation and having a numerical superiority, it immediately took the initiative into its own hands and quickly captured Polish territory.

France in World War II, as well as England, declared war on Germany only after two days of active hostilities - September 3, still dreaming of appeasing or "pacifying" Hitler. In principle, historians have reason to believe that if there had not been an agreement, according to which the main patron of Poland after the First World War was France, which, in the event of open aggression against the Poles, was obliged to send its troops and provide military support, most likely, there would be no declaration of war did not follow either two days later or later.

A strange war, or how France fought without fighting

France's involvement in World War II can be divided into several phases. The first is called "The Strange War". It lasted about 9 months - from September 1939 to May 1940. It is named so because in the conditions of the war by France and England against Germany, no military operations were carried out. That is, the war was declared, but no one fought. The agreement under which France was obliged to organize an offensive against Germany within 15 days was not fulfilled. The German war machine calmly "dealt" with Poland, not looking back at its western borders, where only 23 divisions were concentrated against 110 French and English, which could dramatically change the course of events at the beginning of the war and put Germany in a difficult situation, if not lead to it at all. defeat. Meanwhile, in the east, beyond Poland, Germany had no rival, it had an ally - the USSR. Stalin, without waiting for an alliance with England and France, concluded it with Germany, securing his lands for some time from the onset of the Nazis, which is quite logical. But England and France in the Second World War, and specifically at its beginning, behaved rather strangely.

The Soviet Union at that time occupied the eastern part of Poland and the Baltic states, presented an ultimatum to Finland on the exchange of territories of the Karelian Peninsula. The Finns opposed this, after which the USSR unleashed a war. France and England reacted sharply to this, and preparing for war with him.

A completely strange situation has developed: in the center of Europe, at the very border of France, there is a world aggressor that threatens all of Europe and, first of all, France itself, and she declares war on the USSR, which simply wants to secure its borders, and offers an exchange of territories, and not perfidious capture. This state of affairs continued until the Benelux countries and France suffered from Germany. The period of the Second World War, marked by oddities, ended there, and the real war began.

At this time in the country ...

Immediately after the outbreak of war in France, a state of siege was introduced. All strikes and demonstrations were banned, and the media were subject to strict wartime censorship. With regard to labor relations, wages were frozen at pre-war levels, strikes were banned, vacations were not granted, and the law on the 40-hour work week was repealed.

During the Second World War, France pursued a rather tough policy within the country, especially with regard to the PCF (French Communist Party). The communists were declared practically outlaws. Their mass arrests began. The deputies were deprived of immunity and were put on trial. But the apogee of the "fight against aggressors" was the document dated November 18, 1939 - "Decree on Suspicious". According to this document, the government could imprison almost any person in a concentration camp, considering him suspicious and dangerous to the state and society. In less than two months of this decree, more than 15,000 communists found themselves in concentration camps. And in April of the following year, another decree was adopted, which equated communist activity with treason, and citizens convicted of this were punished by death.

German invasion of France

After the defeat of Poland and Scandinavia, Germany began the transfer of the main forces to the Western Front. By May 1940, there was no longer the advantage that countries such as England and France had. World War II was destined to move to the lands of "peacekeepers" who wanted to appease Hitler by giving him everything he asked for.

On May 10, 1940, Germany launched an invasion of the West. In less than a month, the Wehrmacht managed to break Belgium, Holland, defeat the British Expeditionary Force, as well as the most combat-ready French forces. All Northern France and Flanders were occupied. The morale of the French soldiers was low, while the Germans believed even more in their invincibility. The matter remained small. In ruling circles, as well as in the army, fermentation began. On June 14, Paris was surrendered to the Nazis, and the government fled to the city of Bordeaux.

Mussolini also did not want to miss the division of trophies. And on June 10, believing that France no longer poses a threat, he invaded the territory of the state. However, the Italian troops, almost twice as numerous, were not successful in the fight against the French. France in World War II managed to show what she is capable of. And even on June 21, on the eve of the signing of the surrender, 32 Italian divisions were stopped by the French. It was a complete failure of the Italians.

French surrender in World War II

After England, fearing that the French fleet would fall into the hands of the Germans, scuttled most of it, France severed all diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom. On June 17, 1940, her government rejected the British offer of an inviolable alliance and the need to continue the struggle to the last.

On June 22, in the forest of Compiègne, in the carriage of Marshal Foch, an armistice was signed between France and Germany. France, it promised serious consequences, primarily economic. Two-thirds of the country became German territory, while the southern part was declared independent, but obliged to pay 400 million francs a day! Most of the raw materials and finished products went to support the German economy, and primarily the army. More than 1 million French citizens were sent as labor force to Germany. The country's economy and economy suffered huge losses, which would subsequently have an impact on the industrial and agricultural development of France after the Second World War.

Vichy mode

After the capture of northern France in the resort town of Vichy, it was decided to transfer the authoritarian supreme power in southern "independent" France to Philippe Pétain. This marked the end of the Third Republic and the establishment of the Vichy government (from location). France in the Second World War showed itself not from the best side, especially during the years of the Vichy regime.

At first, the regime found support among the population. However, it was a fascist government. Communist ideas were banned, Jews, just like in all the territories occupied by the Nazis, were driven to death camps. For one killed German soldier, death overtook 50-100 ordinary citizens. The Vichy government itself did not have a regular army. There were few armed forces necessary to maintain order and obedience, while the soldiers did not have any serious military weapons.

The regime existed for quite a long time - from July 1940 to the end of April 1945.

Liberation of France

On June 6, 1944, one of the largest military-strategic operations started - the opening of the Second Front, which began with the landing of the Anglo-American allied forces in Normandy. Fierce battles began on the territory of France for its liberation, together with the allies, the actions to liberate the country were carried out by the French themselves as part of the resistance movement.

France in World War II dishonored itself in two ways: firstly, by being defeated, and secondly, by collaborating with the Nazis for almost 4 years. Although General de Gaulle tried with all his might to create a myth that the entire French people as a whole fought for the country's independence, not helping Germany in anything, but only weakening it with various sorties and sabotage. "Paris has been liberated by French hands," de Gaulle asserted confidently and solemnly.

The surrender of the occupying troops took place in Paris on August 25, 1944. The Vichy government then existed in exile until the end of April 1945.

After that, something unimaginable began in the country. Face to face met those who were declared bandits under the Nazis, that is, partisans, and those who lived happily under the Nazis. Often there was a public lynching of the henchmen of Hitler and Pétain. The Anglo-American allies, who saw this with their own eyes, did not understand what was happening, and urged the French partisans to come to their senses, but they were simply furious, believing that their time had come. A large number of French women, declared fascist whores, were publicly disgraced. They were dragged out of their houses, dragged to the square, where they were shaved and led along the main streets so that everyone could see, often while all their clothes were torn off. The first years of France after the Second World War, in short, experienced remnants of that recent, but such a sad past, when social tension and at the same time the revival of the national spirit intertwined, creating an uncertain situation.

End of the war. Outcomes for France

The role of France in World War II was not decisive for its entire course, but there was still a certain contribution, at the same time there were negative consequences for it.

The French economy was practically destroyed. Industry, for example, produced only 38% of the output of the pre-war level. About 100 thousand French did not return from the battlefields, about two million were held captive until the end of the war. Military equipment was mostly destroyed, the fleet was sunk.

The policy of France after the Second World War is associated with the name of the military and political figure Charles de Gaulle. The first post-war years were aimed at restoring the economy and social welfare of French citizens. The losses of France in World War II could have been much lower, or perhaps they would not have happened at all if, on the eve of the war, the governments of England and France had not tried to “appease” Hitler, but would have immediately dealt with the not yet strong German army with one hard blow. a fascist monster that almost swallowed the whole world.

France in World War II took a direct part from the very first days of September 1939. As a result of hostilities, the northern half of France and the Atlantic coast were occupied.

Encyclopedic YouTube

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France during the occupation in World War II.

France in the second half of the 20th - early 21st centuries

The fall of France in 1940 (narrated by Vladislav Smirnov and Oleg Budnitsky)

A strange war and the defeat of France.

The Vichy regime (narrated by historian Evgenia Obichkina)

Subtitles

The French in the war against the Hitler coalition

Entry into the war

France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, but did not conduct active hostilities (the so-called Strange War). The only attempt to influence the course of the war was the Saar offensive operation.

By May 10, 1940, 93 French divisions were deployed in the northeast of France [ ], 10 British divisions and 1 Polish division.

By May 10, 1940, the French troops consisted of 86 divisions and numbered more than 2 million people and 3609 tanks, about 1700 guns and 1400 aircraft.

Germany kept 89 divisions on the border with the Netherlands, Belgium and France [ ] .

French campaign of 1940

On June 17, the French government asked Germany for an armistice. On June 22, 1940, France capitulated to Germany, and the Second Compiegne Armistice was concluded in the Compiègne forest. The result of the armistice was the division of France into an occupation zone of German troops and a puppet state controlled by the Vichy regime.

Occupation of France

German occupation of France

During the occupation of France, the only magazine that did not stop publishing was Historia. All other magazines have closed.

Italian occupation of France

Resistance

The French in the war against the Anti-Hitler Coalition

Vichy regime in Southern France

War in Africa and the Middle East

In September 1940, the British and "Fighting France" attempted a landing in Dakar with the aim of capturing the French colony of Senegal. However, contrary to De Gaulle's assumptions, the French fleet and army turned out to be loyal to the Vichy regime and gave a tough rebuff to the attackers. After a two-day battle, the vastly superior Anglo-Australian fleet was unable to achieve almost anything, the landings failed, and the Senegalese operation ended in complete failure. This dealt another blow to De Gaulle's reputation.

In November 1940, with the support of the British, De Gaulle launched a successful attack on the French colony of Gabon in equatorial Africa. As a result of the Gabonese operation, Libreville was taken and all of equatorial French Africa was captured. However, due to the economic underdevelopment and strategic insignificance of the region, this success did not compensate for the failure in Senegal. Most of the French prisoners of war refused to join the "Fighting France" and preferred captivity until the end of the war in Brazzaville.

On June 8, 1941, British, Australian troops and "Fighting France" launched a ground operation with the aim of capturing Syria and Lebanon, controlled by the Vichy government. At the first stage, the Vichyists offered stubborn resistance, carried out several successful counterattacks and inflicted significant losses on the enemy in aviation. However, within a month, the Allies managed to break the resistance of the enemy, and on July 14, an agreement on surrender was signed in Acre. Under its terms, the Anti-Hitler coalition gained control over Syria and Lebanon, and all soldiers and officers of the Vichy regime were offered the choice of repatriating to France or joining the Free French troops. As in Gabon, the overwhelming majority of the Vichy refused to join General De Gaulle. The French also retained their fleet and air force and managed to sink the captured British ships.

On November 8, 1942, the Americans and the British landed in Morocco and Algeria. For political reasons, the operation was carried out under the flag of the United States. The troops of the Vichy regime by this point were demoralized and did not offer organized resistance. The Americans won a quick victory with minimal losses within a few days. French forces in North Africa defected to the Allies.

War on the Eastern Front

On the Eastern Front, at least two units were formed from French volunteers, who fought as part of

CHAPTER III. FRANCE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

The beginning of the war

On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany attacked Poland. France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. The Second World War began. Poland did not receive any real military assistance from its "guarantors", France and England. As a result, the Polish army was defeated by Germany in two weeks. On the Western Front, the Germans did not take any decisive action. Great Britain and France did not take the military initiative, hoping that Germany would strike the main blow in the East. Since there was no fighting on the Western Front from September 1939 to May 1940, this time was called the "strange war" in France.

In the autumn of 1939, Edouard Daladier's cabinet was still in power. In March 1940 he was replaced by a government headed by the well-known right-wing politician Paul Reynaud (March - June 1940).

The cabinets of Daladier and Reynaud, citing wartime conditions, gradually eliminated democratic freedoms. In September 1939, martial law was introduced in France. Rallies, meetings, demonstrations and strikes were prohibited. The press and radio were heavily censored. The 40-hour work week and holidays were cancelled. Wages were "frozen" at pre-war levels.

The conclusion of the Soviet-German non-aggression pact served as a pretext for launching an anti-communist campaign in France. The Communists were declared "agents of Moscow and Berlin." At the end of September 1939, the PCF was banned and began to operate underground.

Capitulation of France and the Vichy regime

In May 1940, Germany launched a swift offensive on the Western Front. The Germans delivered the first blow to French territory through neutral countries - Belgium and Holland. Then the main forces of the Nazi army attacked in the Sedan area, where the fortifications of the Maginot Line ended. The front was broken through, the Germans went to the rear of the Anglo-French troops and surrounded them near Dunkirk. The Anglo-French fleet with great difficulty managed to evacuate the British Expeditionary Force without heavy weapons. The main body of the French army, having lost the support of the British, hastily retreated. On June 10, Italy declared war on France, and German troops were already near Paris. The Reynaud government left the capital and moved south, first to Tours and then to Bordeaux. On June 16, Reynaud's cabinet resigned. The new government was formed by 84-year-old Marshal Philippe Petain, a supporter of ending the war and concluding a truce with Germany. He immediately turned to the Germans with a request to stop hostilities and communicate peace terms.

The Franco-German armistice was signed on June 22, 1940 in Compiègne, the Franco-Italian - on June 25 in Rome.

Under the terms of the armistice, the French army and navy were disarmed and demobilized. France had to pay huge occupation payments of 400 million francs (from November 1942 - 500 million francs) daily. Two thirds of the country, including Paris, were occupied by Germany. The southern part of France (the so-called free zone) and the colonies were not occupied and were controlled by the Petain government. It settled in the small resort town of Vichy.

Formally, the Petain government retained the entire navy of the country. Great Britain, which continued the war, fearing that the French fleet might be captured by Germany, decided to disable it. On July 3, 1940, the British fleet attacked a French squadron stationed in the harbor of Mers-el-Kebir (Algeria). Most of the ships were sunk or damaged. At the same time, the British seized French ships that ended up in British ports and blocked the French squadron in the port of Alexandria (Egypt).

On the territory of France, both in the occupied and in the non-occupied zones, all political parties and major trade union associations were dissolved. Gatherings, demonstrations and strikes were strictly prohibited.

In July 1940, in the unoccupied zone, Marshal Petain published "constitutional acts" that effectively abolished the constitution of the Third Republic. The posts of President of the Republic and Chairman of the Council of Ministers were abolished. Parliamentary sessions were suspended. All the fullness of the executive and legislative power was transferred to Petain, who was declared the "head of state." The second person in the Vichy government was Pierre Laval.

The Catholic Church gained great influence in the country. Religious congregations were given back the right to teach in private schools, abolished by the 1905 law on the separation of church and state. Public funding for private schools was also restored. Vichy propaganda quickly created for Marshal Petain the halo of the "savior of France", who saved the French from continuing the war and returned peace and tranquility to the country.

Almost the entire French economy was placed at the service of Germany. By the beginning of 1944, 80% of French enterprises were fulfilling German military orders, which were paid for by occupation payments. Germany exported up to three-quarters of French raw materials and from 50 to 100% of the finished products of the main branches of French industry. Since 1942, the export of French workers for forced labor to Germany has become widespread. The occupiers deported to Germany about 1 million French.

"Free France"

Simultaneously with the defeat of France, the history of her resistance to the invaders began. It is connected, first of all, with the name of the outstanding French military, political and statesman of the 20th century. General Charles de Gaulle.

De Gaulle was born on November 22, 1890 into an aristocratic family and brought up in the spirit of patriotism and Catholicism. After graduating from the Saint-Cyr Higher Military School, he fought on the fields of the First World War and graduated with the rank of captain. During the interwar period, de Gaulle continued his military career. However, since the mid-1920s, his activities went far beyond the scope of military service. He wrote extensively and made presentations. In four books by de Gaulle - "Discord in the camp of the enemy" (1924), "On the edge of the sword" (1932), "For a professional army" (1934) and "France and its army" (1938) ) - reflected the author's own military doctrine and his life credo. He was essentially the first in France to predict the decisive role of tank troops in a future war and presented himself as an adherent of French nationalism and a supporter of strong executive power.

De Gaulle was a staunch opponent of the defensive tactics developed at the General Staff of the French Army, which was based on the idea of the impregnability of the Maginot Line. He warned of the destructiveness of such views and called for strengthening the country's defense capability. De Gaulle considered it necessary, first of all, to form additional tank corps in France, equipped with the latest vehicles. He sought supporters in military and political circles. In 1934, he even managed to get acquainted with Paul Reynaud, but de Gaulle did not achieve effective support for his ideas.

At the beginning of World War II, de Gaulle, who served with the rank of colonel, was appointed commander of tank forces in Alsace. When Germany launched a swift offensive on the Western Front in 1940, he was ordered to lead an urgently formed armored division. Throughout May, she fought selflessly, suffering heavy losses. The enemy had a huge advantage in tanks, artillery and aircraft. For military merit, de Gaulle was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.

In Paris, Paul Reynaud, while reorganizing his cabinet, appointed de Gaulle deputy minister of war. The general immediately arrived in the capital. He stubbornly insisted on continuing the war and tried to convince Reino of this. De Gaulle suggested that the government move to the North African possessions of France and fight, relying on the country's huge colonial empire. However, the chairman of the council of ministers preferred to transfer power to Marshal Petain. Then de Gaulle made an unprecedented act. He resolutely refused to submit to the new French authorities, who took a course of surrender, and on June 17, 1940, he flew on a military plane to London.

In the British capital, the rebellious general immediately met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and assured him of his firm intention to continue the fight. On June 18, de Gaulle delivered a famous speech to his compatriots on London radio. In it, he argued that the position of France is far from hopeless, because the war that has begun has a global character and its outcome will not be decided only by the battle for France. The speech ended with the following words: “I, General de Gaulle, now in London, invite French officers and soldiers who are on British territory or can be there to establish contact with me. Whatever happens, the flame of the French Resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished.” So already in June 1940 the flag of French resistance to the enemy was raised.

In London, de Gaulle founded the Free France organization, designed to fight against Nazi Germany on the side of Great Britain. The Vichy government sentenced de Gaulle to death in absentia for "desertion" and "treason". Nevertheless, both military and civilians of various political views and beliefs began to join the Free French. At the end of 1940 there were only 7,000 of them; in less than two years, this number had grown tenfold.

On August 7, 1940, de Gaulle and Churchill signed an agreement regarding the organization and use of French volunteer forces in England. De Gaulle undertook to form these forces and exercise supreme command over them in accordance with the general directives of the British Government. Great Britain did not recognize the rights of de Gaulle to exercise state power and considered the "free French" only as volunteers in their service. However, it provided de Gaulle with regular financial support and gave him the opportunity to create a civilian body in addition to the military. An English BBC radio station was also placed at de Gaulle's disposal. Through her, the "Free France" carried out propaganda broadcasting to France.

First of all, de Gaulle directed his efforts to mastering the French colonies, mainly African ones. With the help of his supporters, he began active propaganda there in favor of continuing the war and joining the Free French. The North African administration categorically rejected such proposals and remained loyal to the Vichy government. The colonies of French Equatorial Africa behaved differently. Already in August 1940, Chad joined de Gaulle. After some time, the Congo, Ubangi-Shari, Gabon, Cameroon went over to the side of the general. Several small French possessions in the Pacific announced his recognition. It was the first big success. True, in September 1940 the Gaullists also suffered a serious defeat. The expedition of the Anglo-French squadron, which had the goal of capturing the most important port of French West Africa - Dakar, ended in failure. The garrison of the city remained on the Vichy side. Yet the Free French now have their own territorial base on the African continent. This allowed de Gaulle to start creating his own "state apparatus" and decisively dissociate himself from the Vichy government.

On October 27, 1940, de Gaulle issued a Manifesto regarding the leadership of the French during the war. In it, he condemned the activities of the Petain cabinet, spoke of the illegality of its existence and called collaborators "accidental leaders" who submitted to the enemy. De Gaulle declared that on behalf of France he would exercise power for the sole purpose of protecting the country from the enemy.

At the very end of 1940, the Free French Political Affairs Office was created. Its work was supervised by de Gaulle himself. He also defined the tasks of the Office: “To create and use information services that collect materials on the political situation in France and the Empire. Organize and support the Free French movement in France and the Empire and try to extend its activities to old and new political, social, religious, economic, professional and intellectual organizations and convince them of the need at the moment to subordinate all personal interests to one - national " . The Directorate consisted of the General Staff and the Information Service. Three bureaus were subordinate to them. The first defined specific tasks. The second was to carry them out on the territory of France and the colonial empire. Subsequently, it developed into the well-known Central Bureau of Awareness and Action (BSRA). The third was engaged in establishing contacts with foreign countries. Its representatives were sent by de Gaulle to various regions of the world in order to achieve recognition of the "Free France" by the governments of foreign states.

In September 1941, de Gaulle issued an ordinance on the "Free France". He established the National Committee, which temporarily exercised the functions of state power. It was called upon to exist until "until a representation of the French people is created, capable of expressing the will of the nation independently of the enemy." The National Committee included commissioners appointed by its chairman, General de Gaulle: Rene Pleven (for coordinating the activities of the committee), Maurice Dejan (for foreign affairs), Rene Cassin (for justice and public education), General Legantiom (for military affairs), Admiral Muselier ( military and merchant fleet), General Valen (for aviation), Andre Dietelme (internal affairs). The commissars headed the national commissariats. Thus, within the framework of the Free French, some semblance of a government was created.

The cooperation of the "Free France" (since July 1942 - "Fighting France") with the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition was not easy at first. First of all, this concerned the development of de Gaulle's relations with the British government, before which he defended the French national interests. The head of the "Free French" sought to prevent the spread of British influence in the French colonial possessions.

In the summer of 1941, as a result of a joint British military operation with the "free French", the Vichy regime was overthrown in the French colonies in the Middle East - Syria and Lebanon. In the spring of 1942, Great Britain captured the island of Madagascar and eliminated the Vichy administration there. The British wanted to establish their power in these French possessions. De Gaulle categorically prevented this and, at the cost of great efforts and difficult diplomatic negotiations, joined Syria, Lebanon and Madagascar to the Free French movement.

Immediately after the start of the Great Patriotic War, de Gaulle, on behalf of the Free French, initiated cooperation with the USSR, which had previously maintained diplomatic relations with Vichy.

The events of June 22, 1941 found the general in Africa. On June 30, the Vichy government announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. Plenipotentiary representative of the USSR under Vichy A.E. Bogomolov was immediately recalled from France. But already on July 1, the Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Great Britain, I. M. Maisky, telegraphed from London to Moscow that even before the break with Vichy, he was privately visited by the representative of de Gaulle Cassin, “who, on behalf of the general, conveyed the sympathies and best wishes of the USSR” and at the same time "raised the question of establishing certain relations between the Soviet government and de Gaulle's forces." In August, Cassin and Dejean posed the same question to IM Maisky for the second time. And on September 26, 1941, the USSR ambassador to Great Britain gave de Gaulle an official written response: “On behalf of my government, I have the honor to inform you that it recognizes you as the leader of all free French, wherever they are, who rallied around you supporting the allied cause.

Both sides decided to exchange official representatives. In early November 1941, A.E. Bogomolov was sent to Great Britain with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the USSR to the allied governments in London. The Soviet government entrusted him with the functions of maintaining communication with the Free France. Roger Garraud, Raymond Schmittlen, appointed by de Gaulle, and the military representative, General Ernest Petit, also left for Moscow.

The United States maintained diplomatic relations with Vichy prior to entering World War II. However, the Americans were interested in using the French island colonies in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, controlled by the Free French, as their military naval and air bases.

After the US entered the war on the side of the Allies in December 1941, de Gaulle approached the United States with a proposal to establish diplomatic relations. Official Washington did not give a positive answer to the head of the "Freedom of France" for a long time. Only in March 1942 did the United States recognize the authority of the de Gaulle National Committee in the Pacific Islands. In July 1942, the US government issued a communiqué recognizing the organization headed by de Gaulle.

Resistance movement

From the second half of 1940, the first resistance groups began to form on the territory of occupied France and in the so-called free zone.

The most active role in the process of countering the invaders was played by the French Communist Party. In the Manifesto she published on July 10, illegally distributed throughout the country, the main goals of the struggle under the created conditions were defined - the national and social liberation and revival of France, the conquest of freedom and independence by the French people. The communists launched a wide-ranging underground publication of the newspaper L'Humanite, pamphlets and leaflets. They organized acts of sabotage and assassination attempts on the invaders.

In 1941, in some cities of the country (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Clermont-Ferrand, etc.), in addition to the communist groups, groups of the bourgeois-patriotic direction of the Resistance also operated. They conducted anti-fascist propaganda, published illegal leaflets and newspapers, and collected intelligence data.

By the end of 1941, the resistance movement in France had become an impressive force. Almost all sectors of French society were represented in it.

General de Gaulle set himself the task of uniting the scattered forces of the Resistance around the Free French. In this regard, he made a number of speeches, where he outlined the program of the organization he leads. In one of them, he stated that in addition to the original motto of the Free France, "Honor and Motherland", another one is now being added: "Freedom. Equality. Brotherhood". “We want to remain true,” de Gaulle stressed, “to the democratic principles that the genius of our nation gave our ancestors and which are the stake in this war not for life, but for death.” In order to practically begin to unite the various groups of the Resistance under his leadership, the general began to send special "political missions" to France. The main one was entrusted to the outstanding figure of the French Resistance, Jean Moulin.

In October 1941, Moulin, on his own initiative, came to see de Gaulle in London. He presented him with a report on the situation in France. Moulin considered the decisive condition for all further successes of the Resistance to be immediate and comprehensive assistance from the British government and General de Gaulle. He asked to provide political and moral support to the Resistance organizations, to provide them with means of communication and financial assistance. Moulin made a strong impression on the head of the Free French. Thanks to him, for the first time, he received reliable information about the movement unfolding in his homeland. De Gaulle decided to entrust this man with a responsible mission - to unite all the Resistance groups and ensure their submission to his leadership. In January 1942, Moulin parachuted into southern France.

Beginning in 1942, the connections of the London organization with the resistance movement began to acquire a systematic character. Under the London National Committee, a commissariat for information was created, headed by Jacques Soustelle. Its functions were mainly to supply information about the activities of the "Free France" to various radio stations of the world, as well as underground publications that appeared on French territory.

At first, not all the leaders of the Resistance stood up for the subjugation of the Free French. However, gradually many began to lean towards this. The leaders of various resistance groups sought to get to London in order to personally get to know de Gaulle. During 1942, he was visited by representatives of political parties that had gone underground, the socialists Pierre Brossolet, Felix Gouin, Christian Pinault, André Philip, and the radical Pierre Mendes-France.

Pino's visit to the British capital in the spring of 1942 was of great importance. In the draft of the Manifesto he compiled, the head of the Free French was called the representative of the French people. De Gaulle personally revised the Manifesto, and Pino took it to France. In June 1942 it was published in the underground press. The Manifesto condemned the regime of the Third Republic, which led the country to disaster, and the Vichy regime, collaborating with the Nazis. The restoration of the integrity of the territory of France and its empire at the end of the war was declared. “As soon as the French are freed from enemy oppression,” the document emphasized, “all their internal freedoms must be returned to them. After the enemy has been expelled from our territory, all men and women will elect a National Assembly, which will decide the fate of our country.” In essence, the text testified to the recognition by the head of the "Free France" of the basic democratic principles. It promised to convene, after the liberation, a competent parliament and restore democratic freedoms in the country.

The appearance of the Manifesto had the most positive effect on the relations of the Free French with the internal Resistance. Non-communist organizations now sided with de Gaulle one after another. The general also sought to enlist the support of the communists, realizing that it was the PCF that was the effective force of the Resistance. At the insistence of de Gaulle, the Communists sent their representative Fernand Grenier to him in London at the end of 1942. The general did not share many of the views of the communists, but agreed to cooperate with them, realizing that at the moment it was absolutely necessary.

French Committee of National Liberation

After the defeat of the Nazi troops near Stalingrad, there was a radical change in the course of the war. The defeat of Germany and its allies on the Eastern Front created favorable conditions for the opening of a second front in Western Europe, which England and the United States promised to do back in 1942. However, instead they decided to land troops in Algiers and Morocco, where the Vichy troops were stationed. The Americans believed that it was necessary to act in agreement with the Vichy authorities, and sought to find some high-ranking French military man who could carry the Vichy administration and army with him. The commander of the French fleet, Admiral Darlan, was quite suitable for such a role. In early November, he was in Algiers. The Americans also worried about a fallback - another French military man, General of the Army Giraud, was at the ready. The allies predicted one or the other to take the place of de Gaulle, who, in their opinion, was too intractable and ambitious. He was not even warned about the upcoming military operation.

On November 8, 1942, large Anglo-American forces landed on the territory of Algeria and Morocco. The Vichy troops laid down their arms after a short resistance. In response, Germany occupied the southern, "free" zone of France. The American command proclaimed Admiral Darlan the high commissioner of North Africa. However, on December 24, he was shot dead. A few days later, General Giraud was appointed to replace Darlan, who received the title of "civilian and military commander in chief." His entourage consisted mainly of the Vichy who had defected to the United States. The general himself was clearly sympathetic to the Vichy regime. He saw his main task only in winning the war.

Giraud did not object to joining with the Fighting France, but, commanding a large army and far superior in rank to Brigadier General de Gaulle, he took it for granted that the comparatively weak forces of the Fighting France should come under his command. Giraud took a clearly pro-American position, acted on orders from US President Franklin Roosevelt and was supported by him in his intentions regarding the London organization. In January 1943 Roosevelt and Churchill held a conference in Casablanca (Morocco). On it, in particular, the "French question" was considered. The American President and the British Prime Minister decided to unite the groups led by de Gaulle and Giraud, but faced serious difficulties. Both generals met in Casablanca, but did not come to an agreement, since de Gaulle categorically refused to have the National Committee headed by him be in a subordinate position. Thus, Giraud continued to be the only head of administration in North Africa, and de Gaulle had to return to London.

As a result, in the spring of 1943, the head of the "Fighting France" again began to fight for his recognition. He decided that he could count on success only by enlisting the support of his most important ally in the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR - and the resistance movement.

De Gaulle wanted to visit the Soviet Union and see I.V. Stalin. Moscow has so far refused to accept the head of the Fighting France. However, the Soviet government made it clear that it preferred de Gaulle over Giraud.

De Gaulle's contacts with representatives of various groups and political directions of the Resistance were constantly expanding. In the first half of 1943, the general was visited in London by the socialists Vincent Auriol and André Le Trocker, the radical Henri Kay, and the leader of the Republican Federation, Louis Marin.

A new important political mission was entrusted by de Gaulle to Moulin. He was supposed to unite all the organizations of the Resistance and the parties that opposed the occupiers and Vichy, in a single National Council of the Resistance. He managed to do this in May 1943. The National Council of the Resistance included representatives of 16 major organizations that fought for the liberation of France. Among them were the Communist and Socialist parties, the General Confederation of Labor, Christian trade unions, and the main bourgeois-patriotic groups. Jean Moulin became the first chairman of the council. After his arrest and tragic death in the dungeons of the Gestapo, this post was taken by the head of the Combat Resistance group, Georges Bidault.

Enlisting the support of the internal Resistance, de Gaulle began negotiations with Giraud about the need for their meeting and unification. The US and British governments advised Giraud to agree, and he invited de Gaulle to Algeria. Just before leaving London, the head of the "Fighting France" received a telegram from Moulin, which said that the preparations for the creation of the National Council of the Resistance were completed. It also stated that "the French people will never allow General de Gaulle to be subordinated to General Giraud and demand the swiftest establishment of a Provisional Government in Algiers under the chairmanship of General de Gaulle." Thus, having appeared before public opinion as a national leader supported by the Resistance movement, the general appeared in Algeria at the end of May 1943.

De Gaulle and his supporters initiated the creation of a government body headed by two chairmen. The leaders of the United States and England, as well as General Giraud, agreed to such a proposal. As a result, on June 3, 1943, in Algiers, de Gaulle and Giraud signed an ordinance establishing the French Committee of National Liberation (FKNO). The committee included de Gaulle and Giraud as chairmen, as well as 5 more people - Generals Catrou and Georges, André Philip, Rene Massigli and Jean Monnet.

The FKNO saw its tasks in continuing the struggle together with the allies "until the complete liberation of the French territories and the territories of the allies, until victory over all hostile powers." The FCL undertook to "restore all French freedoms, the laws of the republic and the republican regime".

On June 7, the commissariats (ministries) of the FKNO were formed, and its composition was expanded. At the suggestion of de Gaulle, it included Rene Pleven, Henri Bonnet, André Diethelme and Adrien Tixier, at the suggestion of Giraud - Maurice Couve de Murville and Jules Abadie. Now there are 14 members of the committee, and 9 of them belonged to the "Fighting France". Monnet and Couve de Murville also declared support for de Gaulle. Thus, the balance of power was in his favor. During 1943, de Gaulle gradually removed Giraud from business and became the sole chairman of the FKNO.

Under the leadership of de Gaulle, the FKNO took a number of measures to eliminate the Vichy order in French North Africa. This increased his prestige in the eyes of the members of the Resistance. This circumstance predetermined the question of his diplomatic recognition. At the end of August 1943, declarations of recognition of the FKNO were simultaneously published by the USSR, England, the USA, and in the following weeks by 19 more states.

On the initiative of de Gaulle, in September 1943, the FKNO adopted an ordinance on the establishment in the Algerian capital of a representative body like a parliament - the Provisional Consultative Assembly. It was formed from 94 people, representatives of resistance organizations, former parliamentarians and delegates from the population of the liberated territories.

In early November, the FKNO decided to introduce representatives of the main political movements and organizations of the Resistance into its membership. It now included from the Resistance organizations Emmanuel d "Astier, Francois de Manton, Henri Frenet, Rene Capitan, André Philip, André Le Trocker, Pierre Mendes-France, Henri Kay and others. The question of joining the FKNO of the Communists was discussed. But he FKP representatives François Billoud and Fernand Grenier did not become members of the committee until mid-1944.

At the first meeting of the assembly in early November 1943, de Gaulle delivered a speech to the assembled deputies. In it, he announced the reform program that he was going to implement after the liberation of France.

In January 1944, de Gaulle signed an ordinance on the creation of the institution of regional commissioners of the republic, which authorized the division of the entire territory of France into regional commissariats headed by commissioners, corresponding to the pre-existing regional prefectures. “The regional commissioners,” the ordinance stated, “are entrusted with taking all necessary measures, with the exception of the functions that fall within the competence of the military authorities, to ensure the security of the French and allied armies, to organize the administration of the territory, restore republican legality, and also take care of meeting the needs population". The commissioners were to replace the Vichy prefects throughout the country. It was on them that de Gaulle hoped to rely in the provinces.

The chairman of the FKNO was finally recognized by the National Council of the Resistance, which published its program in March. In it, together with an indication of the need for fundamental democratic reforms in France, a demand was put forward for the creation of a Provisional Government of the Republic headed by de Gaulle.

The general, while in Algeria, also outlined his political program of action. Addressing the deputies of the assembly in March 1944, he declared that “the essence and form of the French society of tomorrow ... can only be determined by the representative body of the nation, elected on the basis of universal, direct and free elections ... As for the government, which If the national representation entrusts the functions of the executive power, then for their implementation it must have strength and stability, as required by the authority of the state and the role of France in international affairs. Four months later, on the eve of the liberation of the country, de Gaulle defined the immediate tasks for France even more specifically. “As regards the political system,” he stressed, “we have made our choice. We have chosen democracy and republic. To give the people their say, in other words, to lay in the shortest possible time the foundations of freedom, order and respect for rights, and thereby create the conditions for the holding of general elections, as a result of which the National Constituent Assembly will be convened - this is the goal to which we aspire.

In June 1944, groups of Anglo-American troops under the command of General Eisenhower landed in northern France, and in August - in the south. De Gaulle obtained the consent of England and the United States to participate in the liberation of the country by the troops of the FKNO and received the opportunity to introduce their representatives into the inter-allied command. They were the French generals Koenig, Cochet and Leclerc. For the Anglo-American troops, military units of the FKNO entered the soil of France. The French Committee of National Liberation itself was renamed in August 1944 into the Provisional Government of the French Republic. De Gaulle became its chairman.

The news of the landing of the allied armies served as a signal for a national uprising advocated by the French Communist Party. This idea was also supported by General de Gaulle, who feared that otherwise the Allies would want to control liberated France with the help of their military administration. The national uprising quickly engulfed 40 of the country's 90 departments.

Under the leadership of the Communists, an armed uprising was also being prepared in Paris. This fact excited de Gaulle, who believed that the PCF would be able to "stand at the head of an uprising like a kind of Commune." De Gaulle's representatives operating in France also feared this. They concentrated combat groups of bourgeois-patriotic organizations in Paris and agreed on their support by the forces of the Parisian police and gendarmerie, who had already agreed to go over to the side of the Provisional Government. De Gaulle's supporters wanted the Allied troops to approach Paris as quickly as possible and prevent the uprising. Nevertheless, it began before their appearance in the French capital.

On August 24, when Leclerc's tanks entered Paris, the bulk of it had already been liberated by the French patriots. The next day, the commander of the troops of the Paris region, the Communist Rolle-Tanguy, and General Leclerc, accepted the official surrender of the German garrison. On the same day, de Gaulle arrived in Paris.

From the station, the head of the Provisional Government went to the Ministry of War to meet with the official authorities of the city and from there to issue an order to restore public order and supplies in the capital. After that, he went to the town hall, where representatives of the National Council of the Resistance and the Paris Liberation Committee were waiting for him.

On August 26, Paris rejoiced. A grand demonstration took place on the Champs Elysees on the occasion of the liberation. A crowd of thousands filled the entire avenue. De Gaulle, accompanied by General Leclerc, drove up to the Arc de Triomphe, where, in the presence of members of the government and the National Council of the Resistance, he lit a fire on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, extinguished more than four years ago by the invaders.

During the autumn, almost the entire territory of France was liberated. In October 1944, the Provisional Government headed by de Gaulle was recognized by the USSR, Britain and the USA. After that, de Gaulle directed his efforts to strengthening France's position on the world stage.

In November-December 1944, a French government delegation headed by de Gaulle paid an official visit to the Soviet Union. The negotiations between the chairman of the Provisional Government of France and JV Stalin ended with the signing of the Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance between the two countries.

At the conference of the three victorious countries in Yalta, held in February 1945, it was decided to allocate an occupation zone in Germany for France and include it in the Allied Control Council along with the USSR, the USA and England. France also received one of the five seats of permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations being created. At the Berlin (Potsdam) conference (July-August 1945), France, together with the three great powers, was included in the Council of Foreign Ministers, which was supposed to solve the problems of a peaceful settlement.

On the eve of World War II, the French army was considered one of the most powerful in the world. But in a direct clash with Germany in May 1940, the French were enough for a few weeks of resistance.

Useless superiority

By the beginning of World War II, France had the 3rd largest army in the world in terms of the number of tanks and aircraft, second only to the USSR and Germany, as well as the 4th navy after Britain, the USA and Japan. The total number of French troops numbered more than 2 million people. The superiority of the French army in manpower and equipment over the forces of the Wehrmacht on the Western Front was undeniable. For example, the French Air Force included about 3,300 aircraft, of which half were the latest combat vehicles. The Luftwaffe could only count on 1,186 aircraft. With the arrival of reinforcements from the British Isles - an expeditionary force in the amount of 9 divisions, as well as air units, including 1,500 combat vehicles - the advantage over the German troops became more than obvious. However, in a matter of months, there was no trace of the former superiority of the allied forces - the well-trained and tactically superior army of the Wehrmacht forced France to capitulate in the end.

The line that didn't defend

The French command assumed that the German army would act as it had during the First World War - that is, it would launch an attack on France from the northeast from Belgium. The entire load in this case was to fall on the defensive redoubts of the Maginot Line, which France began to build in 1929 and improved until 1940. For the construction of the Maginot Line, which stretches for 400 km, the French spent a fabulous amount - about 3 billion francs (or 1 billion dollars).

Massive fortifications included multi-level underground forts with living quarters, ventilation systems and elevators, electrical and telephone stations, hospitals and narrow gauge railways. Gun casemates from air bombs were supposed to be protected by a concrete wall 4 meters thick. The personnel of the French troops on the Maginot Line reached 300 thousand people. According to military historians, the Maginot Line, in principle, coped with its task. There were no breakthroughs of German troops on its most fortified sections. But the German army group "B", having bypassed the line of fortifications from the north, threw the main forces into its new sections, which were built on swampy terrain, and where the construction of underground structures was difficult. There, the French could not hold back the onslaught of the German troops.

Surrender in 10 minutes

On June 17, 1940, the first meeting of the collaborationist government of France, headed by Marshal Henri Petain, took place. It lasted only 10 minutes. During this time, the ministers unanimously voted for the decision to turn to the German command and ask him to end the war on French territory. For these purposes, the services of an intermediary were used. The new Minister of Foreign Affairs, P. Baudouin, through the Spanish Ambassador Lekeric, transmitted a note in which the French government asked Spain to turn to the German leadership with a request to stop hostilities in France, and also to find out the terms of the armistice. At the same time, a proposal for a truce was sent to Italy through the papal nuncio. On the same day, Petain turned on the radio to the people and the army, urging them to "stop the fight."

Last stronghold

When signing the armistice agreement (act of surrender) between Germany and France, Hitler was wary of the vast colonies of the latter, many of which were ready to continue resistance. This explains some relaxations in the treaty, in particular, to maintain "order" in their colonies. England was also vitally interested in the fate of the French colonies, since the threat of their capture by German forces was highly valued.

Churchill hatched plans for a French government in exile that would grant virtual control of Britain's French overseas possessions. General Charles de Gaulle, who created a government in opposition to the Vichy regime, directed all his efforts to seizing the colonies. However, the North African administration turned down an offer to join the Free French. A completely different mood reigned in the colonies of Equatorial Africa - already in August 1940, Chad, Gabon and Cameroon joined de Gaulle, which created the conditions for the general to form the state apparatus.

Fury of Mussolini

Realizing that the defeat of France from Germany was inevitable, Mussolini on June 10, 1940 declared war on her. The Italian Army Group "West" of Prince Umberto of Savoy, with forces of over 300 thousand people, with the support of 3 thousand guns, launched an offensive in the Alps. However, the opposing army of General Aldry successfully repelled these attacks. By June 20, the offensive of the Italian divisions became more fierce, but they managed to advance only slightly in the Menton area. Mussolini was furious - his plans to seize a large piece of its territory by the time of France's surrender had failed. The Italian dictator has already begun to prepare an airborne assault, but has not received approval for this operation from the German command. On June 22, an armistice was signed between France and Germany, and two days later a similar agreement was signed between France and Italy. So, with a "victorious embarrassment" Italy entered the Second World War.

Victims

During the active phase of the war, which lasted from May 10 to June 21, 1940, the French army lost about 300 thousand people killed and wounded. Half a million were taken prisoner. The tank corps and the French Air Force were partially destroyed, the other part went to the German armed forces. At the same time, Britain will liquidate the French fleet in order to avoid it falling into the hands of the Wehrmacht.

Despite the fact that the capture of France took place in a short time, its armed forces gave a worthy rebuff to the German and Italian troops. For a month and a half of the war, the Wehrmacht lost more than 45 thousand people killed and missing, about 11 thousand were wounded. The French sacrifices of German aggression could not have been in vain if the French government had made a number of concessions put forward by Britain in exchange for the entry of the royal armed forces into the war. But France chose to capitulate.

Paris - a place of convergence

According to the armistice agreement, Germany occupied only the western coast of France and the northern regions of the country, where Paris was located. The capital was a kind of place of "French-German" rapprochement. Here, German soldiers and Parisians coexisted peacefully: they went to the cinema together, visited museums, or simply sat in a cafe. After the occupation, theaters also revived - their box office receipts tripled compared to pre-war years. Paris very quickly became the cultural center of occupied Europe. France lived as before, as if there were no months of desperate resistance and unfulfilled hopes. German propaganda managed to convince many French people that capitulation is not a disgrace to the country, but a road to the “bright future” of a renewed Europe.

Portal for the student. Self-training

French campaign of 1940

Occupation of France

German occupation of France

Italian occupation of France

Resistance

The French in the war against the Anti-Hitler coalition

Vichy regime in Southern France

War in Africa and the Middle East

War on the Eastern Front

Liberation

Landing in Normandy

Results

Effects

see also

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Literature

Links

Notes

An excerpt characterizing France in World War II

France in the prewar years

Daladier government

A black spot in the history of French diplomacy

The beginning of World War II and the entry of France into it

A strange war, or how France fought without fighting

At this time in the country ...

German invasion of France

French surrender in World War II

Vichy mode

Liberation of France

End of the war. Outcomes for France

Encyclopedic YouTube

Subtitles

The French in the war against the Hitler coalition

Entry into the war

French campaign of 1940

Occupation of France

German occupation of France

Italian occupation of France

Resistance

The French in the war against the Anti-Hitler Coalition

Vichy regime in Southern France

War in Africa and the Middle East

War on the Eastern Front

CHAPTER III. FRANCE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

The beginning of the war

Capitulation of France and the Vichy regime

"Free France"

Resistance movement

French Committee of National Liberation

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