During World War II, there was a very strange thing, that is, the rapid surrender of France. The French Empire was once the hegemon of Europe, and in the distant past, Napoleon swept across the European continent, and no one dared to stop it. But what is wrong with France today?
Before the fighting began, he surrendered. In fact, the surrender of France was already expected by a person, who was the sober de Gaulle in the chaotic world. De Gaulle, who had been in the army for a long time, had always called for France to build a strong mobile corps, at least the French army could not be worse than Germany's, and he even demanded a strong air force, because Germany already had an air force.
However, the leaders who ruled France at that time were drunk and dreamed of death, thinking that with the Maginot Line, everything could sit back and relax. And when the war was getting more and more intense, the rulers of France could not defeat others, and there was nothing they could do, so they had to surrender on their knees.
France surrendered, but de Gaulle ran to England, where he was to carry the banner of Free France and continue the struggle. But what was de Gaulle's identity at that time? Why did he raise the banner of Free France? Many people may not think of it.
De Gaulle was a soldier who once led an armored division, and because of his excellent command skills, de Gaulle was promoted to the Ministry of Defence, as a secretary, and later to deputy minister of defense, and it should be said that he could not be counted as the leader of the French state.
The perceptive charles de Gaulle believed that he had to make his voice known to the French, to let the whole world know that although France had surrendered, he de Gaulle continued to fight. So de Gaulle and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill discussed using British broadcasts.
Churchill agreed.
On 18 June 1940, the Government of Pétain in France renounced resistance, and on the evening of that day, charles de Gaulle used the British broadcasting company to read out his manifesto. De Gaulle, who was nearly half a hundred years old, read the "Letter to the French People" with a deep voice and a firm tone.
De Gaulle said France had only lost one battle, not the whole war. He called on the French people, wherever they were, to unite and fight with him until the final victory was ushered in.
In those days, there were no mobile phones, no televisions, and one of the most important ways people could get information was to listen to the radio. France announced that it would no longer resist, using radio, and later the Japanese Emperor announced his unconditional surrender, also using radio.
Therefore, de Gaulle's broadcast was very strong. Charles de Gaulle soon received a large number of enthusiastic letters. Someone sent him a picture from France with the words: Charles de Gaulle! We heard you, and now we are waiting for you.
Of course, de Gaulle also received a notice from the French government that had sentenced him to death. So de Gaulle had reason to think that all the French people had heard his broadcasts and knew that he was leading the Free French movement.
De Gaulle was penniless at the time, in his own words, nothing, resources, hopelessness, and an army. However, he resolutely moved forward. Slowly, a group of people gathered around him, and all the French who were not willing to be slaves to the country were moving closer to him, and Churchill's government was the first to recognize him as the leader of the Free France.
De Gaulle was like this, gradually recovering France, and eventually becoming the prime minister and president of France.