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Charles de Gaulle was born in Northern France to a Catholic family with a history of serving in the military. His parents were supportive of the traditional French monarchy; however, de Gaulle would become president of France and one of the most prominent leaders of French republicanism.
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Charles De Gaulle received his education at the military academy at Saint-Cyr. After graduation in 1912, he joined Pétain's 33rd Infantry Regiment. (Photo: Saint-Cyr Military Academy)
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After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, a series of European alliances caused Germany to declare war against France.
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For the rest of the war, de Gaulle would remain a prisoner of war in a German POW camp. De Gaulle allegedly made five failed attempts to escape captivity. Later in life, he would state that he was treated fairly by the Germans.
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In the 1930s, de Gaulle spoke about his worries that the Maginot Line was susceptible to a German invasion. France was still reeling from the first world war, and there was little interest in activities that might provoke another war.
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In the span of a month, France was overrun by Nazi Germany. On June 14, German troops entered Paris, and on June 22, the French Government formally surrendered.
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De Gaulle began his efforts to organize the French government-in-exile. This BBC radio address from London call for the people of France to not surrender and was a call to action for the French Resistance. De Gaulle address came three days after the resignation of the French Prime Minister.
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Allied forces liberated Paris in August 1944. Charles de Gaulle returned from exile and received a hero's welcome; however, American and British command wanted to only present white divisions liberating the city, and so the majority of Free French forces who were from West Africa were not allowed to participate in the liberation.
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After World War II, Vietnam and many other European Colonies demanded independence. Rule over French Indochina was already greatly weakened after surrendering the colony to Japan during World War II. (Photo of Ho Chi Minh in 1920)
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In President Truman's address to the United States Congress, he outlined the plan to push back against the spread of communism and requested $400 million in aid to Turkey and Greece. This was one of the earliest stages of the Cold War.
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Charles De Gaulle left the political limelight after disagreeing with the newly elected National Assembly on the weak executive branch of the Fourth French Republic. De Gaulle attempted to create a new political party, but it gained little traction nationally.
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NATO was established for the western powers to unite their military efforts and strengthen alliances with non-communist states. Its main purpose was to confront the ever-growing expansion of the Soviet Union and to ensure the containment of communism. Some Europeans feared that NATO would make them dependent on the United States and that their foreign policy would merge with the US.
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Increasing anti-imperialist sentiment grew to a point where it could not be ignored. The anti-French rule faction "Front de libération Nationale" was rapidly gaining support. (Photo: November 1954)
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Six member states, including France, agree to an economic zone with united trade goals.
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Social unrest and political upheaval caused by the Algerian War led to the collapse of the Fourth French Republic. Sitting President René Coty asked de Gaulle to return to public life to help create and lead a new government.
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The development of nuclear weapons helped advance de Gaulle's agenda for France to remain independent of American and Soviet influence. De Gaulle was a staunch nationalist and feared that France's reliance on NATO would make them beholden to the United States.
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The French Government was facing pressure from the United Nations to come to a peaceful resolution. De Gaulle was generally a believer in self-determination and supported the idea of granting independence to French colonies. He signed the Évian Accords on March 18, 1962, despite political opposition in France. (Photo: French troops in Oran, Algeria. Jan 1962)
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Charles de Gaulle retired from the presidency after eleven years in office. The move came after rising protests and worker strikes. De Gaulle put forward a referendum on constitutional issues with the intent to decentralize the government. After the voters narrowly defeated the referendum, de Gaulle immediately stepped down as president.
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Charles de Gaulle moved to a small town in France and began writing his memoir which he did not live long enough to complete. He died of a stroke only a year after resigning from the presidency. In 1974, the Aéroport de Paris Nord was renamed to Paris-Charles de Gaulle. (Photo: A statue of Charles De Gaulle in London.)
