Charles de Gaulle

1. Charles de Gaulle By: Camille(Ashley) ;) wifey was here

2. His Life • Charles de Gaulle was born in Lille, France on November 22nd 1890. • While in the Military Academy St. Cyr, he graduated 13th in his class of 1912. • He joined an infantry regiment commanded by Colonel Henri-Philippe Petain In 1913. • www.spartacus.schoolnet

3. War and Capture • In World War I Gaulle was wounded twice in the first months of battle. He was promoted to captain in February, 1915, Charles de Gaulle also fought at Verdun where he was wounded again. • On March 2nd,1916 he was captured by the German Army. Over the next 32 months he was held as prisoner of war camps and made 5 unsuccessful escape attempts. • www.spartacus.schoolnet

4. Red Army • After the Armistice, de Gaulle was assigned to a Polish division in France where he served under Maxime Weygand. He fought against the Red Army during the Civil War and he won Poland's highest military decoration. • www.spartacus.schoolnet

5. His Book • De Gaulle's military ideas appeared in his book, The Army of the Future in 1934. In the book he criticized the theories of war. The book was unpopular with the politicians and the military who favored the idea of a mass army of conscripts during war. In 1936 de Gaulle was punished for his views by having his name taken of the promotion list. • www.spartacus.schoolnet

6. German Army • When the German Army broke through at Sedan, he was given command of the Armored Division. With 200 tanks, de Gaulle attacked the German panzers at Montcornet on May 17th , 1940. Lacking air support, de Gaulle made little impact on halting the German advance. • www.spartacus.schoolnet

7. Death • Following student riots and bad results in a referendum against his government, de Gaulle resigned from office in April, 1969. During retirement he completed his memoirs • Charles De Gaulle died on November 9th, 1970. • www.spartacus.schoolnet