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Charles de Gaulle: the general who refused defeat in 1940

Commander · 1890 to 1970 · ~9 min read · Updated October 2026

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General Charles de Gaulle in uniform walking at the head of a crowd of men in suits down the Champs-Élysées, with the Arc de Triomphe far behind and spectators on vehicles to the right, in black and white

US Army photograph, National Archives, 1944, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain (US government work).

At a glance

Born
22 November 1890, Lille, France
Died
9 November 1970, Colombey-les-Deux-Églises
Service
French Army from 1909 (Saint-Cyr, commissioned 1912); leader of the Free French from June 1940
Wars
World War I; Polish-Soviet War (French Military Mission); World War II
Rank
Temporary brigadier general (1940)
Polish honor
Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari
Known for
The 4th Armored Division at Montcornet; the Appeal of 18 June 1940; Free France; the Fifth Republic
Quick answer

Who was Charles de Gaulle?

Charles de Gaulle was a French army officer who led Free France in World War II. Wounded and captured at Verdun in 1916, he commanded the 4th Armored Division in May 1940, refused the armistice and called for resistance from London on 18 June 1940. He founded the Fifth Republic and was its president from 1959 to 1969.1

Before the broadcast that made him famous, de Gaulle spent three decades as a professional soldier. He was wounded at Dinant in August 1914 and again in the First Battle of Champagne in March 1915, was captured at Verdun in 1916, and in 1920 served as a French staff adviser to the Polish army during the Battle of Warsaw.2

  1. 1912Leaves Saint-Cyr for Colonel Pétain's regiment.
  2. 1916Captured at Douaumont, Verdun.
  3. 1920With the Polish army in the war with Soviet Russia.
  4. 1940Montcornet; the Appeal of 18 June.
  5. 1944Returns to liberated Paris.
  6. 1958Founds the Fifth Republic.

Lille, Saint-Cyr and Colonel Pétain

De Gaulle was born in Lille on 22 November 1890. He passed the entrance examination for the military academy of Saint-Cyr in 1908 and graduated in 1912. He left it 13th in his class in 1912 and joined the 33rd Infantry Regiment at Arras, then commanded by Colonel Philippe Pétain.3

Was Charles de Gaulle a prisoner of war?

Yes. Captain de Gaulle was wounded and taken prisoner on 2 March 1916 while defending the village of Douaumont early in the Battle of Verdun. He spent 32 months in German captivity, held among other places in the fortress of Ingolstadt in Bavaria, tried to escape five times and was freed only by the armistice of November 1918.4

Douaumont was his third wound of the war. He had been hit in the leg at Dinant in Belgium on 15 August 1914, his first day under fire, and in the left hand in Champagne in March 1915. After Douaumont he was at first reported missing and believed dead.5

What did de Gaulle do in Poland?

He served in Poland with the French Military Mission from April 1919 to May 1920 and from June 1920 to January 1921, as an instructor at the officers' school at Rembertów. In the summer of 1920 he joined the staff of General Joseph Bernard, adviser to General Edward Śmigły-Rydz, during the fighting that ended in the Battle of Warsaw.6

Śmigły-Rydz then commanded the Polish southern front. The Polish army gave de Gaulle the wartime rank of major, and on the proposal of the French Military Mission, which cited his conduct in the operations of July and August 1920, he received the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari.7

The interwar theorist

Between the wars he studied at the École supérieure de guerre from 1922, joined Marshal Pétain's staff in 1925 and worked at the secretariat general of national defense until 1937. In Le Fil de l'épée (1932) and other writings he made the case for armored forces, and he found a patron in the deputy Paul Reynaud, who defended his ideas in parliament. He then commanded the 507th Tank Regiment at Metz.8

What did de Gaulle do in the Battle of France?

In the Battle of France of May and June 1940, Colonel de Gaulle commanded the 4th Armored Division, created on 10 May 1940. On 17 May he attacked toward Montcornet, north of Laon, and at the end of May his division fought the Germans at Abbeville on the Somme. He was promoted temporary brigadier general during the campaign.9

Colored campaign map of northern France and Belgium with a pink German corridor from the Ardennes to the Channel, red attack arrows and a label for de Gaulle's counterattacks between Laon and Montcornet
Map 12 of the West Point atlas of World War II, prepared by the Department of History of the US Military Academy: the German drive to the Channel between 16 and 21 May 1940. Near the bottom a label marks de Gaulle's counterattacks of 17 to 19 May between Laon and Montcornet; Abbeville, where his division fought at the end of May, lies on the Somme at the far left. Public domain (US Military Academy)

The sources differ on dates. The Fondation Charles de Gaulle places the stand at Abbeville on 27 to 30 May, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces the counterattacks south of Abbeville on 28 to 31 May. The Élysée dates his promotion to general to 25 May, the Fondation and the ministry to 1 June.10

On 5 or 6 June Paul Reynaud, the prime minister, made him under-secretary of state for national defense and war. On 16 June he was in London discussing a Franco-British union with Churchill; back in Bordeaux that evening he learned that Reynaud's government had resigned and that its successor, under Pétain, would seek an armistice.11

What was the appeal of 18 June?

The appeal of 18 June 1940 was a BBC broadcast from London in which de Gaulle, a brigadier general of a few weeks, rejected the armistice that Pétain's new government was seeking. He told the French that the war was a world war, that France was not alone, and that the flame of French resistance must not go out.12

He had reached London on 17 June with his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Geoffroy de Courcel, and Churchill backed him at once. He spoke on the evening of 18 June and ended: "Quoi qu'il arrive, la flamme de la résistance française ne doit pas s'éteindre et ne s'éteindra pas." No recording was made and few people in France heard him, though newspapers printed the text the next day. The recording played today is of a later appeal, broadcast on 22 June.13

Vichy stripped him of his rank, and in August 1940 a military court sentenced him to death in absentia.14

What did de Gaulle do in World War II?

In World War II de Gaulle commanded a French armored division in May 1940, served briefly as under-secretary for war and then refused the armistice. From London he built Free France and its forces, rallied much of French Africa, brought the Resistance under one leadership and headed the provisional government that returned to liberated Paris in August 1944.15

Free France: Brazzaville, Dakar and Bir Hakeim

Churchill recognized de Gaulle as leader of the Free French on 28 June 1940, according to the Musée de l'Armée (the Élysée biography gives 27 June). Few of the French soldiers and sailors then in Britain joined him, but French Equatorial Africa and Cameroon rallied to Free France in 1940. The Anglo-Free French attempt to win over Dakar, Operation Menace, failed on 23 to 25 September. In November 1940, at Brazzaville, he founded the Order of the Liberation.16

In 1942 the 1st Free French Brigade under General Koenig held the desert position of Bir Hakeim in Libya against German and Italian attacks from 26 May to 11 June, and broke out only after covering the withdrawal of British forces.17

A general in a kepi and belted uniform climbs a ladder onto a ship's upper deck while French sailors with wide collars and officers in dark uniforms stand to attention
General de Gaulle climbs aboard a Free French Navy ship during a wartime visit to Free French naval units in Britain. British official photograph. The Free French Navy was one of the first forces he gathered in Britain. Public domain (Crown copyright expired)

Churchill, Roosevelt and Giraud

De Gaulle had to defend the independence of Free France before Churchill and against Franklin Roosevelt, who distrusted him. After the Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942, the Americans dealt first with Admiral François Darlan and then backed General Henri Giraud. On 3 June 1943 the French Committee of National Liberation (CFLN) was formed in Algiers under the joint presidency of de Gaulle and Giraud; by the autumn de Gaulle led it alone, and on 3 June 1944 it became the Provisional Government of the French Republic.18

Black and white studio portrait of a tall officer with a small mustache, arms folded, in a kepi with embroidered oak leaves and a belted uniform tunic with two stars on the cuff
General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French, in a portrait of about 1942 from the files of the US Office of War Information, now in the Library of Congress. Public domain (US Office of War Information)

The liberation of Paris, 25 and 26 August 1944

On 25 August 1944 General Leclerc's French 2nd Armored Division and the US 4th Infantry Division entered Paris. In the afternoon the German commander, General Dietrich von Choltitz, signed the surrender, and de Gaulle reached Leclerc's command post at Montparnasse station late in the afternoon. At the Hôtel de Ville that evening he declared: "Paris outragé, Paris brisé, Paris martyrisé, mais Paris libéré !"19

On 26 August he relit the flame on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champs-Élysées at the head of a procession, watched by some two million people.20

Allied tanks and half-tracks driving down the tree-lined Champs-Élysées from the Arc de Triomphe between dense crowds on 26 August 1944, with a banner reading Vive de Gaulle on the right, in color
Crowds line the Champs-Élysées as Allied tanks and half-tracks come down from the Arc de Triomphe on 26 August 1944, the day of de Gaulle's walk down the avenue. Color photograph by Jack Downey, US Office of War Information, Library of Congress. The banner on the right reads Vive de Gaulle. Public domain (US Office of War Information)

What was Charles de Gaulle famous for?

De Gaulle is best known as the man of the appeal of 18 June 1940 and the leader of Free France, who walked down the Champs-Élysées after the liberation of Paris in 1944. In 1958 he founded the Fifth Republic and was its president until 1969, years in which he ended the Algerian War.21

He resigned as head of the provisional government on 20 January 1946 after clashing with the Constituent Assembly, and in 1947 founded the Rally of the French People (RPF). Recalled during the Algerian crisis of May 1958, he had a new constitution approved by referendum on 28 September 1958 and was elected president that December. A referendum in January 1961 approved self-determination for Algeria, and the Évian Accords of March 1962 led to its independence. A referendum in 1962 introduced the direct election of the president, and in 1965 he was reelected against François Mitterrand. He resigned on 28 April 1969, the day after losing a referendum on regional and Senate reform.22

How did Charles de Gaulle die?

De Gaulle died on the evening of 9 November 1970 of a ruptured aneurysm at La Boisserie, his home at Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, some eighteen months after leaving office. As his will asked, there was no state funeral: he was buried at Colombey on 12 November, while a mass at Notre-Dame de Paris gathered foreign heads of state.23

More French soldiers: the greatest commanders of France.

Frequently asked questions

What did Charles de Gaulle do in World War II?

He commanded the French 4th Armored Division in May 1940 and served briefly as under-secretary for war. When Pétain sought an armistice, he went to London, called for resistance on 18 June 1940 and led Free France, whose provisional government returned to liberated Paris in August 1944.

What was de Gaulle's appeal of 18 June 1940?

A speech broadcast by the BBC from London on the evening of 18 June 1940. De Gaulle rejected the armistice sought by Pétain's government, said that France was not alone in a world war, and asked French soldiers and arms workers in Britain to contact him. The flame of resistance, he said, must not go out.

Is there a recording of the 18 June appeal?

No. The broadcast of 18 June 1940 was not recorded, and few people in France heard it live; its text survives because newspapers printed it the next day. The recording usually played today is of a later appeal that de Gaulle broadcast from London on 22 June 1940.

Was de Gaulle a prisoner of war?

Yes. He was wounded and captured on 2 March 1916 at Douaumont, early in the Battle of Verdun. He spent 32 months as a prisoner in Germany, including in the fortress of Ingolstadt, made five attempts to escape and was released only after the armistice of November 1918.

Did de Gaulle fight in Poland?

Yes, as an adviser. He served with the French Military Mission in Poland from 1919 to 1921, taught Polish officers at Rembertów and in the summer of 1920 joined a French general's staff attached to the Polish southern front. He received the wartime rank of major and the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari.

Was de Gaulle sentenced to death?

Yes, in absentia. After his appeal from London, the Vichy regime stripped him of his rank, and in August 1940 a military court sentenced him to death. By then he was in London at the head of the Free French, and Churchill had recognized him as their leader in late June 1940.

Where is Charles de Gaulle buried?

In Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, the village where his home, La Boisserie, stood and where he died on 9 November 1970. As his will asked, there was no state funeral: he was buried at Colombey on 12 November, while foreign heads of state attended a mass at Notre-Dame de Paris.

Notes

A number in the text points to a note; each note names the works that paragraph draws on, listed in full under Sources.

  1. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”; Musée de l'Armée, “« A dedicated life », episode 12”. ↩
  2. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Musée de l'Armée, “« A dedicated life », episode 12”; Mariusz Kwietniewski, “Major de Gaulle i wojna polsko-bolszewicka”; Frédéric Guelton, “L’engagement militaire français dans la guerre polono-bolchévique et le moment polonais dans la trajectoire de Charles de Gaulle”. ↩
  3. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Musée de l'Armée, “Charles de Gaulle en 24 objets”; Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”; Musée de l'Armée, “« A dedicated life », episode 12”; Présidence de la République, “Charles de Gaulle”. ↩
  4. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Musée de l'Armée, “« A dedicated life », episode 12”; Frédéric Guelton, “L’engagement militaire français dans la guerre polono-bolchévique et le moment polonais dans la trajectoire de Charles de Gaulle”; Krzysztof Kamiński and J. R. Kowalczyk, “Virtuti Militari dla de Gaulle'a”. ↩
  5. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Musée de l'Armée, “« A dedicated life », episode 12”; Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”. ↩
  6. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Mariusz Kwietniewski, “Major de Gaulle i wojna polsko-bolszewicka”; Frédéric Guelton, “L’engagement militaire français dans la guerre polono-bolchévique et le moment polonais dans la trajectoire de Charles de Gaulle”; Krzysztof Kamiński and J. R. Kowalczyk, “Virtuti Militari dla de Gaulle'a”. ↩
  7. Mariusz Kwietniewski, “Major de Gaulle i wojna polsko-bolszewicka”; Frédéric Guelton, “L’engagement militaire français dans la guerre polono-bolchévique et le moment polonais dans la trajectoire de Charles de Gaulle”; Krzysztof Kamiński and J. R. Kowalczyk, “Virtuti Militari dla de Gaulle'a”. ↩
  8. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”; Musée de l'Armée, “Fiche-objet”. ↩
  9. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Chemins de mémoire, “16 - 17 mai 1940. La bataille de Montcornet”; Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”. ↩
  10. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Chemins de mémoire, “Aux origines de la France Libre. L'Appel du 18 juin”; Présidence de la République, “Charles de Gaulle”. ↩
  11. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”; Musée de l'Armée, “« A dedicated life », episode 12”; Chemins de mémoire, “Aux origines de la France Libre. L'Appel du 18 juin”. ↩
  12. Chemins de mémoire, “Aux origines de la France Libre. L'Appel du 18 juin”; Présidence de la République, “Quand l’esprit de la République française trouvait refuge à Londres”; Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”. ↩
  13. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Chemins de mémoire, “Aux origines de la France Libre. L'Appel du 18 juin”; Présidence de la République, “Quand l’esprit de la République française trouvait refuge à Londres”. ↩
  14. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Présidence de la République, “Quand l’esprit de la République française trouvait refuge à Londres”; Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”. ↩
  15. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”. ↩
  16. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Musée de l'Armée, “Fiche-objet”; Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”; Chemins de mémoire, “Les Forces navales françaises libres (FNFL)”; Ordre de la Libération, “Historique”; Présidence de la République, “Charles de Gaulle”. ↩
  17. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Chemins de mémoire, “26 mai - 11 juin 1942. La bataille de Bir Hakeim”. ↩
  18. Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”; Sylvain Cornil-Frerrot, “La création et l'action du Comité français de la Libération nationale (CFLN)”; Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”. ↩
  19. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Sylvie Zaidman, “La libération de Paris”; Ville de Paris, “Dans les pas de Charles de Gaulle à Paris”; Présidence de la République, “Charles de Gaulle”. ↩
  20. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Sylvie Zaidman, “La libération de Paris”; Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”; Ville de Paris, “Dans les pas de Charles de Gaulle à Paris”. ↩
  21. Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”; Musée de l'Armée, “« A dedicated life », episode 12”; Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”. ↩
  22. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”; Présidence de la République, “Charles de Gaulle”. ↩
  23. Fondation Charles de Gaulle, “Frise chronologique”; Encyclopédie Larousse, “Charles de Gaulle”; Ordre de la Libération, “Je me souviens… 9 novembre 1970 - 9 novembre 2020”. ↩

Sources

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