Дьо Гол - под бронята на героя
De Gaulle: Under the Hero's Armour

Summary/Abstract: In his long political life: since he was the leader of the Free French Forces; during the time he was the Prime Minister of the Provisional government of the French Republic; in opposition as the leader of the Rally of the French People, and during the eleven years of his presidency, Charles de Gaulle received heavy blows from various sides that made him think more than once to retire to private life. On 18th June 1940 de Gaulle appealed to his nation to continue the war to the victorious end fighting side by side with their British allies. But between 3rd and 8th July the same year the Royal Navy killed within a week more French mariners than the enemy German navy killed during the entire war. The attack against the Algerian port Mers-El-Kebir which took the lives of 1327 people infuriated the nation. Almost all French people who were in the United Kingdom left the country and went back to the parent state. After that drama de Gaulle wondered whether to go on leading the Free French Forces, based on The Island or to withdraw from the political life all together and go to Canada. The general realized that in order to represent his country.s interests both in front of the allies and the French in the parent state he had to establish a government which should have its headquarters on independent French land. Dakar could ensure such a base and he defined the city as .the capital of the Empire during the war.. The Gaullian-British expedition from 23rd to 26th September 1940, whose aim was to conquer Dakar, was a débâcle. The failure was so humiliating that de Gaulle as he himself confided had thoughts of suicide...

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