DE GAULLE UNDER FIRE – A New Approach to the Drama
A gripping account of a brief but violent period in the life of General de Gaulle who, from 28 May to 5 June 1940, resisted the Germans on the Somme at the head of five hundred tanks.
Secure Payment
Delivery
(+33) 01.79.75.05.50
From 28 May 1940, Colonel de Gaulle's 4th Armoured Division took part in the Abbeville offensive on the Somme, pressing it to the point of exhaustion. On 5 June, General (provisional rank) de Gaulle became Under-Secretary of State for War and National Defence. It is this brief but violent period of his life that is brought to light here.
To achieve this, the author conducted a meticulous investigation in France and Germany, gathering the rare contemporary texts and collecting several hundred testimonies, both from those who served with de Gaulle and from the enemy. Vivid, contrasted, fast-moving and surprising, this account carries us from the centres of decision to the front, from the General's own HQ to that of his adversary.
The picture that emerges is that of a solitary and energetic commander, but also that of a man deaf to all advice, jealous of his authority, more attached to the strategic data of the war than to the imposed conditions of combat.
An original work, unsparing in its judgements, drawing its information from the best sources.
- Author 1
- Henri de Wailly
- Publication date
- July 2020
- Pages
- 448
- Cover
- Paperback
- Language
- French
- Publisher
- PERRIN
- EAN
- 9782262081812
You might also like