What happened 1940 AD in France, French Republic

Charles de Gaulle took on ministerial responsibilities in 1940.

In 1940 it would be German panzer units that would be used like what de Gaulle had advocated.

Early in 1940 de Gaulle proposed to Reynaud that he be appointed Secretary-General of the War Council.

In late-February 1940, Reynaud told de Gaulle that he had been earmarked for command of an armored division as soon as one became available.

Reynaud demanded that France be released from the agreement which he had made with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in March 1940, so that France could seek an armistice.

In May 1940, Germany attacked France. and conquered Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

Germany launched an offensive against France. To circumvent the strong Maginot Line fortifications on the Franco-German border, Germany directed its attack at the neutral nations of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

De Gaulle activated his new division on 12 May. which gave him command of the 4th Armoured Division.

When Germany invaded the north of France in May 1940, the Windsors fled south, first to Biarritz, then in June to Francoist Spain. In July the pair moved to Portugal, where they lived at first in the home of Ricardo Espírito Santo, a Portuguese banker with both British and German contacts. Under the code name Operation Willi, Nazi agents, principally Walter Schellenberg, plotted unsuccessfully to persuade the Duke to leave Portugal and return to Spain, kidnapping him if necessary.

In late-March de Gaulle was told by Reynaud that he would be given command of the 4th Armoured Division, due to form by 15 May.

The Germans broke through at Sedan on 15 May 1940.

On 18 May he was reinforced by two fresh regiments of armored cavalry, bringing his strength up to 150 vehicles.

Charles attacked again on 19 May and his forces were once again devastated by German Stukas and artillery. He ignored orders from General Georges to withdraw, and in the early afternoon demanded two more divisions from Touchon, who refused his request.

Charles delayed his retreat until 20 May.

On 21 May, at the request of propaganda officers, he gave a talk on French radio about his recent attack.

In recognition of his efforts de Gaulle was promoted to the rank of temporary (acting, in Anglophone parlance) brigadier-general on 23 May 1940.

At the end of May, with the British Expeditionary Force in retreat to Dunkirk and the Fall of France seemingly imminent, Halifax proposed that the government should explore the possibility of a negotiated peace settlement using the still-neutral Mussolini as an intermediary. There were several high-level meetings from 26 to 28 May, including two with the French premier Paul Reynaud.

On 28–29 May, de Gaulle attacked the German bridgehead south of the Somme at Abbeville, taking around 400 German prisoners in the last attempt to cut an escape route for the Allied forces falling back on Dunkirk.

De Gaulle's rank of brigadier-general became effective on 1 June 1940.UTC (GMT -00:00)

On 2 June he sent a memo to Weygand vainly urging that the French armored divisions be consolidated from four weak divisions into three stronger ones and concentrated into an armored corps under his command. He made the same suggestion to Reynaud.

Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of 338,226 Allied servicemen from Dunkirk, ended on Tuesday, 4 June when the French rearguard surrendered. The total was far in excess of expectations and it gave rise to a popular view that Dunkirk had been a miracle, and even a victory. Churchill himself referred to "a miracle of deliverance" in his "we shall fight on the beaches" speech to the Commons that afternoon, though he shortly reminded everyone that: "We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations". The speech ended on a note of defiance coupled with a clear appeal to the United States: We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

On 8 June, de Gaulle visited Weygand, who believed it was "the end" and that after France was defeated Britain would also soon sue for peace. He hoped that after an armistice the Germans would allow him to retain enough of a French Army to "maintain order" in France. He gave a "despairing laugh" when de Gaulle suggested fighting on.

On 10 June, Italy invaded France, declaring war on both France and the United Kingdom. It was the first major engagement of the World War II.

On 11 June, Charles de Gaulle drove to Arcis-Sur-Aube and offered General Hunziger (Commander of the Central Army Group) Weygand's job as Commander-in-Chief.

Later on, 11 June de Gaulle attended the meeting of the Anglo-French Supreme War Council at the Chateau du Muguet at Briare. The British were represented by Churchill, Anthony Eden, John Dill, General Ismay, and Edward Spears, and the French by Reynaud, Pétain, Weygand, and Georges.

On 13 June de Gaulle attended another Anglo-French conference at Tours with Churchill, Lord Halifax, Lord Beaverbrook, Spears, Ismay, and Alexander Cadogan. This time few other major French figures were present apart from Reynaud and Baudoin.

Upon the German occupation of Paris in 1940, the lift cables were cut by the French. The tower was closed to the public during the occupation and the lifts were not repaired until 1946. In 1940, German soldiers had to climb the tower to hoist a swastika-centered Reichskriegsflagge, but the flag was so large it blew away just a few hours later, and was replaced by a smaller one. When visiting Paris, Hitler chose to stay on the ground.

De Gaulle arrived at Bordeaux on 14 June and was given a new mission to go to London to discuss the potential evacuation to North Africa.

German soldiers marched past the Arch de Triomphe after the surrender of Paris.

De Gaulle landed at Bordeaux at around 22:00 to be told that he was no longer a minister, as Reynaud had resigned as prime minister after the Franco-British Union had been rejected by his cabinet.

The armistice of 22 June 1940 was signed.

France and Germany signed an armistice on 22 June.

The Bordeaux government declared him compulsorily retired from the French Army (with the rank of colonel) on 23 June 1940.

On 30 June 1940 Admiral Muselier joined the Free French.

Prime Minister Pétain moved the government to Vichy (2 July) and had the National Assembly (10 July) vote to dissolve itself and give him dictatorial powers, making the beginning of his Révolution Nationale (National Revolution) intended to "reorient" French society. This was the dawn of the Vichy regime.

In July 1940, the Jews in the parts of Alsace-Lorraine that had been annexed to Germany were expelled into Vichy France.

The Vichy regime had already sentenced de Gaulle to four years' imprisonment; on 2 August 1940, he was condemned to death by court-martial in absentia, although Pétain commented that he would ensure that the sentence was never carried out.

On 23 October 1940, Hitler and Franco met in Hendaye in France to discuss the possibility of Spain's entry on the side of the Axis. Franco's demands, including supplies of food and fuel, as well as Spanish control of Gibraltar and French North Africa, proved too much for Hitler.

Charles de Gaulle took on ministerial responsibilities in 1940.

In 1940 it would be German panzer units that would be used like what de Gaulle had advocated.

Early in 1940 de Gaulle proposed to Reynaud that he be appointed Secretary-General of the War Council.

In late-February 1940, Reynaud told de Gaulle that he had been earmarked for command of an armored division as soon as one became available.

Reynaud demanded that France be released from the agreement which he had made with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in March 1940, so that France could seek an armistice.

In May 1940, Germany attacked France. and conquered Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

Germany launched an offensive against France. To circumvent the strong Maginot Line fortifications on the Franco-German border, Germany directed its attack at the neutral nations of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

De Gaulle activated his new division on 12 May. which gave him command of the 4th Armoured Division.

When Germany invaded the north of France in May 1940, the Windsors fled south, first to Biarritz, then in June to Francoist Spain. In July the pair moved to Portugal, where they lived at first in the home of Ricardo Espírito Santo, a Portuguese banker with both British and German contacts. Under the code name Operation Willi, Nazi agents, principally Walter Schellenberg, plotted unsuccessfully to persuade the Duke to leave Portugal and return to Spain, kidnapping him if necessary.

In late-March de Gaulle was told by Reynaud that he would be given command of the 4th Armoured Division, due to form by 15 May.

The Germans broke through at Sedan on 15 May 1940.

On 18 May he was reinforced by two fresh regiments of armored cavalry, bringing his strength up to 150 vehicles.

Charles attacked again on 19 May and his forces were once again devastated by German Stukas and artillery. He ignored orders from General Georges to withdraw, and in the early afternoon demanded two more divisions from Touchon, who refused his request.

Charles delayed his retreat until 20 May.

On 21 May, at the request of propaganda officers, he gave a talk on French radio about his recent attack.

In recognition of his efforts de Gaulle was promoted to the rank of temporary (acting, in Anglophone parlance) brigadier-general on 23 May 1940.

At the end of May, with the British Expeditionary Force in retreat to Dunkirk and the Fall of France seemingly imminent, Halifax proposed that the government should explore the possibility of a negotiated peace settlement using the still-neutral Mussolini as an intermediary. There were several high-level meetings from 26 to 28 May, including two with the French premier Paul Reynaud.

On 28–29 May, de Gaulle attacked the German bridgehead south of the Somme at Abbeville, taking around 400 German prisoners in the last attempt to cut an escape route for the Allied forces falling back on Dunkirk.

De Gaulle's rank of brigadier-general became effective on 1 June 1940.UTC (GMT -00:00)

On 2 June he sent a memo to Weygand vainly urging that the French armored divisions be consolidated from four weak divisions into three stronger ones and concentrated into an armored corps under his command. He made the same suggestion to Reynaud.

Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of 338,226 Allied servicemen from Dunkirk, ended on Tuesday, 4 June when the French rearguard surrendered. The total was far in excess of expectations and it gave rise to a popular view that Dunkirk had been a miracle, and even a victory. Churchill himself referred to "a miracle of deliverance" in his "we shall fight on the beaches" speech to the Commons that afternoon, though he shortly reminded everyone that: "We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations". The speech ended on a note of defiance coupled with a clear appeal to the United States: We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

On 8 June, de Gaulle visited Weygand, who believed it was "the end" and that after France was defeated Britain would also soon sue for peace. He hoped that after an armistice the Germans would allow him to retain enough of a French Army to "maintain order" in France. He gave a "despairing laugh" when de Gaulle suggested fighting on.

On 10 June, Italy invaded France, declaring war on both France and the United Kingdom. It was the first major engagement of the World War II.

On 11 June, Charles de Gaulle drove to Arcis-Sur-Aube and offered General Hunziger (Commander of the Central Army Group) Weygand's job as Commander-in-Chief.

Later on, 11 June de Gaulle attended the meeting of the Anglo-French Supreme War Council at the Chateau du Muguet at Briare. The British were represented by Churchill, Anthony Eden, John Dill, General Ismay, and Edward Spears, and the French by Reynaud, Pétain, Weygand, and Georges.

On 13 June de Gaulle attended another Anglo-French conference at Tours with Churchill, Lord Halifax, Lord Beaverbrook, Spears, Ismay, and Alexander Cadogan. This time few other major French figures were present apart from Reynaud and Baudoin.

Upon the German occupation of Paris in 1940, the lift cables were cut by the French. The tower was closed to the public during the occupation and the lifts were not repaired until 1946. In 1940, German soldiers had to climb the tower to hoist a swastika-centered Reichskriegsflagge, but the flag was so large it blew away just a few hours later, and was replaced by a smaller one. When visiting Paris, Hitler chose to stay on the ground.

De Gaulle arrived at Bordeaux on 14 June and was given a new mission to go to London to discuss the potential evacuation to North Africa.

German soldiers marched past the Arch de Triomphe after the surrender of Paris.

De Gaulle landed at Bordeaux at around 22:00 to be told that he was no longer a minister, as Reynaud had resigned as prime minister after the Franco-British Union had been rejected by his cabinet.

The armistice of 22 June 1940 was signed.

France and Germany signed an armistice on 22 June.

The Bordeaux government declared him compulsorily retired from the French Army (with the rank of colonel) on 23 June 1940.

On 30 June 1940 Admiral Muselier joined the Free French.

Prime Minister Pétain moved the government to Vichy (2 July) and had the National Assembly (10 July) vote to dissolve itself and give him dictatorial powers, making the beginning of his Révolution Nationale (National Revolution) intended to "reorient" French society. This was the dawn of the Vichy regime.

In July 1940, the Jews in the parts of Alsace-Lorraine that had been annexed to Germany were expelled into Vichy France.

The Vichy regime had already sentenced de Gaulle to four years' imprisonment; on 2 August 1940, he was condemned to death by court-martial in absentia, although Pétain commented that he would ensure that the sentence was never carried out.

On 23 October 1940, Hitler and Franco met in Hendaye in France to discuss the possibility of Spain's entry on the side of the Axis. Franco's demands, including supplies of food and fuel, as well as Spanish control of Gibraltar and French North Africa, proved too much for Hitler.