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Charles de Gaulle
Person page: Charles de Gaulle →
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(34)
1940
June
18
Key event
General de Gaulle’s appeal
On 18 June 1940 General de Gaulle urged the French on BBC radio to fight on. On 28 June London recognised him as leader of the Free French.
August
02
De Gaulle sentenced to death
On 2 August 1940 a military court at Clermont-Ferrand sentenced General de Gaulle to death in absentia for treason, a month after Toulouse gave him four years.
27
The Free French take over Cameroon
On 27 August 1940 a handful of Leclerc’s men took Douala without a fight, and Yaoundé a day later. In three days nearly all Equatorial Africa joined de Gaulle.
September
23
The expedition to Dakar
On 23–25 September 1940 a British fleet and de Gaulle’s Free French tried to seize Dakar. Vichy’s defenders drove them off, a blow to de Gaulle’s prestige.
November
12
The Free French take Gabon
The surrender of Port-Gentil on 12 November 1940 ended the Gabon campaign. The Free French had taken Vichy's last colony in French Equatorial Africa.
1941
June
08
The invasion of Syria and Lebanon
On 8 June 1941 British, Australian, Indian and Free French troops entered Vichy Syria and Lebanon. On 9 June the Australians forced the Litani.
July
12
The Armistice of Acre
At midnight on 12 July 1941 fighting ceased in Syria and Lebanon. Armistice terms were initialled at Acre and signed on 14 July by Wilson and de Verdilhac.
November
24
Lend-Lease for the Free French
On 24 November 1941 it was announced that Roosevelt deemed the defence of Free French territory vital to the USA. Lend-Lease aid was to go via London.
December
24
The Free French on Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
On 24 December 1941 Admiral Muselier's ships took Saint-Pierre and Miquelon from Vichy without a shot. De Gaulle's move infuriated the State Department.
1942
March
12
Americans in New Caledonia
On 12 March 1942 a convoy carrying General Patch's American task force reached Nouméa. The Free French colony became a base on the route to Australia.
May
26
The Free French on Wallis and Futuna
In late May 1942 the aviso Chevreuil from Nouméa landed a Free French party on Wallis. The Vichy resident gave in without a fight; then the Americans came.
June
10
The defence of Bir Hakeim
On the night of 10–11 June 1942, after two weeks defending Bir Hakeim, General Koenig's 1st Free French Brigade broke out of encirclement to the British lines.
August
12
Americans in the New Hebrides
On 11 August 1942 a US Navy construction battalion landed on Espiritu Santo. The New Hebrides were becoming the rear base for the fight for Guadalcanal.
November
30
The Free French on Réunion
On 28 November 1942 the destroyer Léopard landed Free French at Saint-Denis. On 30 November the Vichy governor surrendered Réunion without further fighting.
December
24
Key event
The assassination of Admiral Darlan
On 24 December 1942 in Algiers, 20-year-old Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle shot Admiral Darlan. He was executed two days later; Giraud took power.
28
French Somaliland joins Free France
On 28 December 1942 Djibouti, Vichy's last colony in Africa, went over to Free France. After two years of blockade and hunger, not a single shot was fired.
1943
May
15
The founding of the National Council of the Resistance
On 15 May 1943 London announced the National Council of the Resistance, in which Jean Moulin united underground movements, unions and parties under de Gaulle.
June
04
The French Committee of National Liberation
On 3 June 1943 de Gaulle and Giraud set up the French Committee of National Liberation in Algiers – a joint authority for fighting France with two chairmen.
October
04
The liberation of Corsica
On 4 October 1943 French goumiers entered Bastia, abandoned by the Germans. Corsica became the first liberated département of France.
November
09
De Gaulle becomes sole President of the CFLN
On 9 November 1943 de Gaulle reshaped the Committee of National Liberation. Giraud left it, remaining only Commander-in-Chief of the French army.
1944
January
30
The Brazzaville Conference
On 30 January 1944 de Gaulle opened a conference on the future of French Africa at Brazzaville. It promised reform but rejected even distant self-government.
March
15
The programme of the National Council of the Resistance
On 15 March 1944 the National Council of the Resistance adopted a programme of struggle and reform – a purge, nationalisation and universal social security.
April
04
De Gaulle becomes commander-in-chief
On 4 April 1944 a CFLN decree abolished Giraud's post of commander-in-chief. De Gaulle became head of the armed forces, and Giraud went into retirement.
June
03
The Provisional Government of the French Republic
On 3 June 1944 de Gaulle's committee in Algiers renamed itself the Provisional Government of the French Republic. The United States refused to recognise it.
07
The liberation of Bayeux
On 7 June 1944 the British 50th Division from Gold Beach took Bayeux almost without a fight – the first major French town liberated after D-Day.
August
25
Key event
The liberation of Paris
On 25 August 1944 the French 2nd Armoured and US 4th Infantry Divisions entered Paris. Von Choltitz surrendered and de Gaulle spoke at the Hôtel de Ville.
26
The parade on the Champs-Élysées
On 26 August 1944 de Gaulle walked down the Champs-Élysées amid crowds of Parisians. Shots rang out on the Place de la Concorde and in Notre-Dame.
31
The Provisional Government in Paris
At the end of August 1944 the Provisional Government of the French Republic moved from Algiers to Paris and took over the administration of liberated France.
September
09
De Gaulle's government of national unity
On 9 September 1944 de Gaulle recast the Provisional Government as a “national unity” cabinet of Resistance leaders, communists and Bidault at foreign affairs.
October
23
The recognition of de Gaulle's government
On 23 October 1944 the USA, Britain, the USSR and Canada formally recognised de Gaulle's administration as the Provisional Government of the French Republic.
1945
January
07
Operation Sonnenwende in Alsace
On 7 January 1945 the Germans struck north from the Colmar Pocket towards Strasbourg. The French lost a battalion at Obenheim but halted the attack on the Ill.
08
The dispute over Strasbourg
In early January 1945 Eisenhower wanted to pull back from around Strasbourg. De Gaulle refused and forced a change on 3 January. The French defended the city.
February
09
The elimination of the Colmar Pocket
On 9 February 1945 the Germans blew the Rhine bridge at Chalampé. The French First Army and the US XXI Corps had eliminated the Colmar Pocket in Alsace.
May
29
The Levant crisis
On 29 May 1945 French troops attacked the parliament in Damascus and shelled the city. British intervention forced the French back to their barracks.