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Libération : the call of General de Gaulle of June 18,1940
Libération: The General de Gaulle’s appeal of June 18, 1940
by P.G.
That of 18 June 1940 is the first appeal of General de Gaulle on the BBC radio ….
… many others will follow.
It is a call to arms, an appeal not to stop fighting against Nazi Germany, an appeal in which Charles de Gaulle ….
… lucidly he predicted the globalization of war. This speech, little known at the time, but published in the press the next day …
… and broadcasted by foreign radio stations, is considered the founding text of the French Resistance, it remains the symbol of “La France Libre” or, more succinctly of “Libération”
De Gaulle arrived in London June 17, 1940 with the intention of negotiating with France’s allies to continue the war. He met the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, in the afternoon.
De Gaulle presented his project to keep France in combat, despite the capitulation of Marshal Pétain government.
He expressed the desire to speak on the radio, Churchill agrees and makes available the BBC. On the evening of 17 Marshal Petain announces the signing of an armistice with Germany. This was signed precisely in the same car of CIWL, reproduced by Pocher ….
… when France winner had to sign in 1918 the armistice with Germany.
Churchill and de Gaulle are in agreement that the latter will speak the next day on the radio, but the prime minister will have to remove the reluctance of some members of the government, who still want to temporize.
Here is the text of the appeal of June 18, 1940:
“The leaders who for many years been the head of the French armies, have formed a government. This government, convinced of the defeat of our armies, has made contact with the enemy in the intention to stop fighting. Certainly we have been overwhelmed by the mechanical force, land and air of the enemy. Infinitely more than the number of men, are the tanks, the airplanes, the tactics of the Germans that make us withdraw. These tanks, the airplanes, the tactics of the Germans that surprised our leaders to the point to take them to where they are today. But it is really been the last word? There is no hope ? Our defeat is perhaps final ? No! Believe me, I speak knowingly and tell you that nothing is lost for France. The same factors that have defeated us may one day determine our victory. Because France is not alone! We are not alone! Weare not alone! It has a vast power behind us !. We can make a block with the British Empire that holds the sea and continues the fight. We too can, like England, use without limit the huge US industrial resources. This war is not limited to the unfortunate territory of our Country. His fate was not decided by the battle of France. This war is a world war. All our mistakes, all the delays, all the suffering, do not prevent that there may be in the universe all the means necessary to crush our enemies. Electrocuted today by mechanical force, we can win in the future with a higher mechanical strength. The fate of the world is there. I, General de Gaulle, currently in London, invite the officers and the French soldiers who are or might be found in the British territory, with arms or without arms, I invite the engineers and workers specialists in armaments industries that are located in British territory to make contact with me.
In any case, the flame of French resistance must not be extinguished and will not turn off.
Tomorrow, like today, I will speak on Radio London”.
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