Pétain admitted Darnand into his government as Secretary of the Maintenance of Public Order (Secrétaire d'État au Maintien de l'Ordre). His important success that year was in getting Daladier's previous proposal to reduce the number of officers repealed. French commander-in-chief Maxime Weygand expressed his fury at British retreats and the unfulfilled promise of British fighter aircraft. "), the other famous quotation often attributed to him – "Ils ne passeront pas!" "[55], On 11 November 1942, German forces invaded the unoccupied zone of Southern France in response to the Allies' Operation Torch landings in North Africa and Admiral François Darlan's agreement to support the Allies. On 17 August 1944, the Germans, in the person of Cecil von Renthe-Fink, "special diplomatic delegate of the Führer to the French Head of State", asked Pétain to allow himself to be transferred to the northern zone. or "firepower kills! De Gaulle, who was President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic at the end of the war, commuted the sentence to life imprisonment due to Pétain's age and his military contributions in World War I. On 26 October 1931, Pétain was honored with a ticker-tape parade down Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes. Gilbert and Bernard find multiple causes: The immediate cause was the extreme optimism and subsequent disappointment at the Nivelle offensive in the spring of 1917. Among a vast number of books and articles about Pétain, the most complete and documented biographies are: French general officer and leader of Vichy France. [40], That afternoon the British Government offered joint nationality for Frenchmen and Britons in a Franco-British Union. He was, however, opposed to the policy of close Franco-German collaboration advocated by his vice premier Pierre Laval, whom he dismissed in December 1940, replacing him with Admiral François Darlan. Pétain's government was nevertheless internationally recognised, notably by the U.S., at least until the German occupation of the rest of France. What was left was a rump French state headquartered in Vichy and headed by World War I hero Marshal Philippe Petain. [12] He was summoned to be present at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919. Pétain had previously expressed interest in being named Minister of Education (as well as of War), a role in which he hoped to combat what he saw as the decay in French moral values. The government later transferred him to the Fort de Pierre-Levée citadel on the Île d'Yeu, a small island off the French Atlantic coast. Weygand had been at the British Army 1934 manoeuvres at Tidworth Camp in June and was appalled by what he had seen. His father, Omer-Venant, was a farmer. Although holding the position until 17 April 1942, the executive power was exercised by the Deputy Prime Ministers from 11 July 1940. After lunch, Churchill’s telegram arrived agreeing to an armistice provided the French fleet was moved to British ports, a suggestion which was not acceptable to Darlan, who argued that it would leave France defenceless. that while Pétain supported the massive use of tanks he saw them mostly as infantry support, leading to the fragmentation of the French tank force into many types of unequal value spread out between mechanised cavalry (such as the SOMUA S35) and infantry support (mostly the Renault R35 tanks and the Char B1 bis). Although the French government nominally remained in existence, civilian administration of almost all France being under it, Pétain became nothing more than a figurehead, as the Germans had negated the pretence of an "independent" government at Vichy. After successively commanding a brigade, a corps, and an army, Pétain in 1916 was charged with stopping the German attack on the fortress city of Verdun. During a cabinet meeting that day, Reynaud argued that before asking for an armistice, France would have to get Britain's permission to be relieved from their accord of March 1940 not to sign a separate cease-fire. [54] Furthermore, France even remained formally at war with Germany, albeit opposed to the Free French. After Allied landings in November 1942 in North Africa, Pétain secretly ordered Admiral Darlan, then in Algeria, to merge the French forces in Africa with those of the Allies. By May, Pétain required constant nursing care, and he was often suffering from hallucinations, e.g. Édouard Daladier's new government retaliated against Weygand by reducing the number of officers and cutting military pensions and pay, arguing that such measures, apart from financial stringency, were in the spirit of the Geneva Disarmament Conference.[25]. [63], Over the following years Pétain's lawyers and many foreign governments and dignitaries, including Queen Mary and the Duke of Windsor, appealed to successive French governments for Pétain's release, but given the unstable state of Fourth Republic politics, no government was willing to risk unpopularity by releasing him. French industrial efforts in fighter aircraft were dispersed among several firms (Dewoitine, Morane-Saulnier and Marcel Bloch), each with its own models. Pétain then replied that it would mean the destruction of the country. Historical Events. Here he met Hermann Göring and the two men reminisced about their experiences in the Great War. He was summoned to be present at the signing of the Treaty of Versailleson 28 June 1919. Due to his advanced age, the court asked that the sentence not be carried out. (AP) (AP) Addressing the Conseil on the 23rd, Pétain claimed that it would be fruitless to look for assistance to Britain in the event of a German attack. Pétain responded by again petitioning the government for further funds for the army. Colonel de Villelume subsequently stated before a parliamentary commission of inquiry in 1951 that Reynaud, as Premier of France, said to Pétain on that day that they must seek an armistice. [66], On 8 June 1951, President Auriol, informed that Pétain had little longer to live, commuted his sentence to confinement in hospital; the news was kept secret until after the elections on 17 June, but by then, Pétain was too ill to be moved to Paris. Highly impressed by the tales told by his uncle, his destiny was from then on determined by the army. Pétain, of course, disapproved of the whole thing, pointing out that North Africa still had to be defended and in itself required a substantial standing army. However, when Hitler met Pétain at Montoire in October 1940 to discuss the French government's role in the new European Order, the Marshal "listened to Hitler in silence. No reply ever came. In 1938 Pétain encouraged and assisted the writer André Maurois in gaining election to the Académie française – an election which was highly contested, in part due to Maurois' Jewish origin. His journey from military obscurity, to hero of France during World War I, to collaborationist dictator during World War II, led his successor Charles de Gaulle to write that Pétain’s life was "successively banal, then glorious, then deplorable, but never mediocre". After leading his corps in the spring 1915 Artois Offensive, in July 1915 he was given command of the Second Army, which he led in the Champagne Offensive that autumn. Pétain proved a capable opponent of the Germans both in defence and through counter-attack. Pétain had been made, briefly, Minister of War in 1934. Marshal Philippe Pétain Philippe Pétain was the hero of the Battle of Verdun in World War One. Reynaud hoped that the hero of Verdun might instill a renewed spirit of resistance and patriotism in the French Army. Pétain commanded the Second Army at the start of the Battle of Verdun in February 1916. Pétain's government acquiesced to the Axis forces demands for large supplies of manufactured goods and foodstuffs, and also ordered French troops in France's colonial empire (in Dakar, Syria, Madagascar, Oran and Morocco) to defend sovereign French territory against any aggressors, Allied or otherwise. Brought to trial in France for his behaviour after 1940, he was condemned to death in August 1945. At the end of Pétain's trial, he was convicted on all charges. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). At the start of WWI, Pétain was a 58-year-old colonel on the verge of retirement after an undistinguished career. "When Goering returned to Germany he spoke admiringly of Pétain, describing him as a 'man of honour'". A modern infantry rifle was adopted in 1936 but very few of these MAS-36 rifles had been issued to the troops by 1940. "[citation needed]. Making Paris into a ruin would not affect the final event. Updates? Churchill returned to France on the 13th for another conference at Tours. A Certain idea of France The life of Charles de Gaulle, Julian Jackson, p. 58. It is impossible for the government to abandon French soil without emigrating, without deserting. Pétain's motives are a topic of wide conjecture. [21] Pétain had based his strong support for the Maginot Line on his own experience of the role played by the forts during the Battle of Verdun in 1916. Admiral Darlan, who had been opposed to an armistice until 15 June, now became a key player, agreeing provided the French fleet was kept out of German hands. [30] Fascistic and revolutionary conservative factions within the new government used the opportunity to launch an ambitious programme known as the "National Revolution", which rejected much of the former Third Republic's secular and liberal traditions in favour of an authoritarian, paternalist, Catholic society. His regime soon took on clear authoritarian—and in some cases, fascist—characteristics. He remained on the Conseil superieur. President Lebrun invited 71-year-old Doumergue to come out of retirement and form a new "government of national unity". He held 3400 courts martial; 554 mutineers were sentenced to death but over 90% had their sentences commuted. On 29 June, the French Government moved to Clermont-Ferrand where the first discussions of constitutional changes were mooted, with Pierre Laval having personal discussions with President Lebrun, who had, in the event, not departed France. After the war ended Pétain was made Marshal of France on 21 November 1918. He, Baudouin, and several members of the government were already set on an armistice. On 22 June, France signed an armistice at Compiègne with Germany that gave Germany control over the north and west of the country, including Paris and all of the Atlantic coastline, but left the rest, around two-fifths of France's prewar territory, unoccupied. The first of these, Operation Michael in March 1918, threatened to split the British and French forces apart, and, after Pétain had threatened to retreat on Paris, the Doullens Conference was called. Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856[1] – 23 July 1951), generally known as Philippe Pétain (/peɪˈtæ̃/, French: [filip petɛ̃]), Marshal Pétain (Maréchal Pétain) and sometimes, The Old Marshal (Le Vieux Maréchal), was a French general officer who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World War I, during which he became known as The Lion of Verdun (Le Lion de Verdun). Bentley B. Gilbert and Paul P. Bernard, "The French Army Mutinies of 1917". Henri Pétain was a military and political leader and France´s greatest hero in World War I (1914-1918). De Gaulle refused to receive the envoy. A new commission for this purpose was established, under Joseph Joffre, and called for reports. After the failed Nivelle Offensive and subsequent mutinies he was appointed Commander-in-Chief and succeeded in repairing the army's confidence. Yet his short period of total responsibility could not reverse 15 years of inactivity and constant cutbacks. However, aged 58 and having been told he would never become a general, Pétain had bought a villa for retirement.[7]. "Flawed saviours: the myths of Hindenburg and Pétain". Two days later he crossed the French frontier.[60]. Between 1878 and 1899, he served in various garrisons with different battalions of the Chasseurs à pied, the elite light infantry of the French Army. The Vichy regime was ultra-conservative, anti-democratic, anti-semitic, and strongly authoritarian, with the 84-year old Petain at the top. As colonel, he commanded the 33rd Infantry Regiment at Arras from 1911; the young lieutenant Charles de Gaulle, who served under him, later wrote that his "first colonel, Pétain, taught (him) the Art of Command". They involved, to various degrees, nearly half of the French infantry divisions stationed on the Western Front. Marshal Philippe Pétain. Reserves could be called up when needed. At 12:30 am, Pétain made his first broadcast to the French people. Philippe Pétain was a French general who was declared a national hero in World War I but was later discredited and sentenced to death. Battle of Britain. Find the perfect Marshal Philippe Pétain stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. He secretly sent an emissary to London, met with the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, whom he urged to refuse free passage of Adolf Hitler’s army to North Africa, and maintained a cordial relationship with Admiral William Leahy, the U.S. ambassador to Vichy until 1942. 1914-12-16 French offensive in Artois, Northern France led by Philippe Pétain; 1940-05-31 Winston Churchill flies to Paris to meet with French Marshal Philippe Pétain who announces he is willing to make a separate peace with Germany; 1940-07-11 Marshall Philippe Pétain, French hero of World War I, becomes head of the Vichy collaborationist government of France Omissions? [35] Weygand said that he was in favor of saving the French army and that he "wished to avoid internal troubles and above all anarchy". Philippe Pétain, in full Henri-Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain, (born April 24, 1856, Cauchy-à-la-Tour, France—died July 23, 1951, Île d’Yeu), French general who was a national hero for his victory at the Battle of Verdun in World War I but was discredited as chief of state of … Following the liberation of France, on 7 September 1944, Pétain and other members of the French cabinet at Vichy were relocated by the Germans to the Sigmaringen enclave in Germany, where they became a government-in-exile until April 1945. Haig recorded that Pétain had "a terrible look. De Gaulle later conceded that Pétain was right about that much at least.[38]. On April 24, 1956, a solemn ceremony took place in Paris to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of France’s greatest soldiers: Marshal Philippe Pétain. [27], In November the Doumergue government fell. The next day, 20 August 1944, Pétain was taken against his will by the German army to Belfort and then, on 8 September, to Sigmaringen in southwestern Germany,[58] where dignitaries of his regime had taken refuge. Paul Baudouin met his plane and immediately spoke to him of the hopelessness of further French resistance. [3] She had no children by Pétain but already had a son from her first marriage, Pierre de Hérain, whom Pétain strongly disliked.[4]. French Jews have reacted in horror at reports President Emmanuel Macron will honor Marshal Philippe Pétain, the disgraced Nazi collaborator who authorised the deportation of tens of thousands of Jews to death camps. Verdun 1916, by Malcolm Brown, Tempus Publishing Ltd., Stroud, UK, p. 86. Then, in June of 1940, a new prime minister was elected to head the newly incorporated French Vichy government, a Nazi puppet entity: Maréchal (Marshal) Philippe Pétain. Other causes were pacificism, stimulated by the Russian Revolution and the trade-union movement, and disappointment at the nonarrival of American troops. On 11 June, Churchill flew to the Château du Muguet, at Briare, near Orléans, where he put forward first his idea of a Breton redoubt, to which Weygand replied that it was just a "fantasy". [23] His first report on air defence, submitted in July that year, advocated increased expenditure. Pétain said he was not departing. Born to a farming family from northern France, he attended the local schools before joining the French army. Millerand held the presidency in an acting capacity before being fully elected. By the time of the last German offensives, Gneisenau and the Second Battle of the Marne, Pétain was able to defend in depth and launch counter offensives, with the new French tanks and the assistance of the Americans. His job as Commander-in-Chief came to an end with peace and demobilisation, and with Foch out of favour after his quarrel with the French gov… At this moment an article appeared in the popular Le Petit Journal newspaper, calling for Pétain as a candidate for a dictatorship. Mount Pétain, nearby Pétain Creek, and Pétain Falls, forming the Pétain Basin on the Continental Divide in the Canadian Rockies, were named after him in 1919;[71] summits with the names of other French generals are nearby: Foch, Cordonnier, Mangin, Castelnau and Joffre. Pétain was displeased at de Gaulle’s appointment. On 1 March 1935, Pétain's famous article[31] appeared in the Revue des deux mondes, where he reviewed the history of the army since 1927–28. It was placed under the leadership of WWI military veteran hero, Marshal Philippe Petain. Pétain ended the war regarded "without a doubt, the most accomplished defensive tactician of any army" and "one of France's greatest military heroes" and was presented with his baton of Marshal of France at a public ceremony at Metz by President Raymond Poincaré on 8 December 1918. [40] Ten ministers wanted to fight on and seven favoured an armistice (but these included the two Deputy Prime Ministers Pétain and Camille Chautemps, and this view was also favoured by the Commander-in-Chief General Weygand). Thereafter, he alternated between staff and regimental assignments. On the naval front, France had purposely overlooked building modern aircraft carriers and focused instead on four new conventional battleships, not unlike the German Navy. Only 20 infantry divisions would be maintained on a standing basis". Under him the French armies participated in the victorious offensive of 1918, led by Marshal Ferdinand Foch, generalissimo of the Allied armies. The extraordinary popularity he was later to enjoy with the rank and file in World War I is believed to have had its origin there. He nevertheless tried and failed to get himself elected President following the November 1919 elections. Pétain was invited, on 8 February, to join the new French cabinet as Minister of War, which he only reluctantly accepted after many representations. Pétain, amongst others, took exception to the use of the term "revolution" to describe what he believed to be an essentially conservative movement, but otherwise participated in the transformation of French society from "Republic" to "State." Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. "[note 2], Pétain was reactionary by temperament and education, and quickly began blaming the Third Republic and its endemic corruption for the French defeat. Pétain restored some form of pride to an army on the verge of defeat. 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