The Vichy Regime This paper w

Marshall Henri-Philippe PTtain became one of the most notable heroes of the French nation in the Twentieth Century during the Great War of 1914-1918. His fame erupted during the siege of Verdun in 1916, when French troops under his command halted a massive German offensive in one of the bloodiest battles in human history. Lasting for nine months, the battle cost the Germans approximately 434,000 casualties, the French 542,000. The Germans nearly achieved their objective of bleeding the French Army white, but almost did the same to their own army. With a larger population, Germany could better afford such losses than France. As a result, the French Army was in no shape was in no shape to undertake offensive action the following year.

PTtain's role in the Battle of Verdun was more than just that of military commander. He had objected to the prewar military doctrine which emphasized offensive action above all else. He arg

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overnment asked for an armistice, General Charles de Gaulle had fled to London. De Gaulle was relatively unknown to the French public at this time. He had acquired some notoriety within the French Army as an advocate of armored warfare and as a commander of the first French armored units. His units had performed valiantly during the invasion but they had been greatly outnumbered by the Germans and unsupported by the French. After the destruction of his units, he had been brought into the French government just as it was fleeing Paris. De Gaulle was virtually the only person in the government willing to leave for England; therefore, his eventual status as leader of the Free French forces was natural. Despite the fact that de Gaulle was the only member of the government willing to leave France, he was not the only one who had argued that the French military should regroup in the North African colonies and continue the fight against the Germans. President Reynaud had argued for just this course of action. Under this plan, the French forces in the colonies would be able to take advantage of French naval power which, in combination with British naval forces, would be able to attack German forces wherever possible. Opponent
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Approximate Word count = 2462
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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