Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site dciem.UUCP Path: utzoo!dciem!mmt From: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) Newsgroups: net.politics Subject: Re: DeGaulle and the French Message-ID: <1392@dciem.UUCP> Date: Thu, 14-Feb-85 16:29:44 EST Article-I.D.: dciem.1392 Posted: Thu Feb 14 16:29:44 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 14-Feb-85 18:57:35 EST References:Reply-To: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada Lines: 35 Summary: Perhaps we need a new group: net.history.folk :-). As an example of an article that would fit there, I submit this extract of a longer one. =============== The Free French were led, supposedly, by DeGaulle in England soon after France fell to the Germans. Ike, leading the Axis powers knew of the French incompetence in military matters. The Germans, swiping through the Maginot line, easily walked over the French Army. DeGaulle, as incompetent as the rest of the French military, was intentionally ignored by Eisenhower in the plans of the invasion of Europe. =============== How many historical errors can be packed into 6 lines? The Free French were not led by Col. De Gaulle until his political manipulations and PR exercises made it happen. I've forgotten who was. De Gaulle's contribution was to insist that for the glory of France the Free French should not be integrated with the other Allied (not Axis -- that was Marshal Petain) troops. It was Churchill rather than Eisenhower who tried to keep De Gaulle out of the action, not because of his incompetence, but because he was not trusted (he might abort an operation by launching his own in advance, for example). Also he was not trusted politically, as a post-war force in France. Eisenhower didn't come into the war leadership until quite late, anyway. There's lots of folk history on the net. It's fun to read, and probably does no harm. It helps net readers to understand what bases people have for their other comments, so it may do some good. -- Martin Taylor {allegra,linus,ihnp4,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt {uw-beaver,qucis,watmath}!utcsrgv!dciem!mmt