A French general and politician (1890-1970), Charles de Gaulle was the first person to advocate the need for France to have armoured military vehicles. A leader of the French resistance during World War II, he was the founding father of the Fifth Republic, which was particularly noteworthy due to the election of the president under universal suffrage.

Charles de Gaulle was born in Lille on 22 November 1890 to a patriotic Catholic family. He spent his childhood in Paris, studying with the Jesuits and very early opted for a career in the forces. In 1908 he entered the special Military Academy at Saint-Cyr. After four years of study, he was transferred to Arras in 1912 as a sub-lieutenant.

During the First World War he was wounded in combat three times and left for dead in the Battle of Douaumont (1916). Taken prisoner by the Germans, he attempted to escape on five occasions, but was recaptured each time. He was not freed until the Armistice, on 11th November 1918. Pursuing his military career, Captain De Gaulle saw active service in several countries (including Poland and The Lebanon). Between the wars he wrote several works in which he was critical of French defence policy: in particular he believed that the army must be subject to the decisions of politicians and that it was essential for the defence of France, to raise a corps of armoured vehicles in order to face the threat of German mechanised power. At the same time he began his involvement with politics: in 1931 he was seconded to the General Secretariat for National Defence in Paris. Promoted to Colonel in 1937, de Gaulle was given the command of the 507th tank regiment in Metz. When France and Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, he was given temporary command of the tanks of the 5th army. At the time of the German invasion, de Gaulle distinguished himself several times at the head of his unit, in particular halting the Germans at Abbeville (27-30 May 1940). Appointed General on 1 June 1940, de Gaulle became Under Secretary of State for War and National Defence a few days later, in the Government of Paul Reynaud.

On 17 June, de Gaulle left to continue fighting the war from London; he launched an appeal for resistance over the BBC, on 18 June. As a rebel General, he was sentenced to death in absentia. Recognised by Churchill as the "leader of the Free French", de Gaulle organised armed forces that became the Free French Forces. Meanwhile, he provided Free France with a kind of Government in exile, the French National Committee, which became the French Committee for National Liberation (CFLN) on 3 June 1943, following its arrival in Algiers. From 1942 onwards, De Gaulle gave Jean Moulin the task of organising the National Committee for Resistance (CNR) in France within which political parties of all persuasions, trades unions and resistance movements had to be represented, in order to co-ordinate the struggle. After the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, de Gaulle insisted with General Eisenhower, supreme commander of allied armies, that Paris should be quickly liberated, although the strategy was to head directly eastwards, bypassing the Capital. Eventually, the 2nd Armoured Division of General Leclerc liberated Paris on 25 August.

Once the fighting was over, de Gaulle began to rebuild the country at the head of the interim government. He introduced several major measures (including the founding of the Social Security system). But, on 20 January 1946, he left power due to a disagreement of the role played by political parties. The Constitution of the 4th Republic, adopted shortly afterwards, greatly displeased him. He criticised it several times (such as in his speech in Bayeux, in June 1946), reproaching it for the weakness of its executive power. De Gaulle then entered the opposition. In 1947, he launched the Rassemblement du peuple français (RPF or Alliance of the French People), a movement that performed badly in elections, despite attracting many members. This was the beginning of the "wilderness years" : de Gaulle withdrew to Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, wrote his memoirs and travelled.

From 1954, France was involved in a war of decolonisation in Algeria. On 13 May 1958, the French Algerians launched an insurrection in Algiers to consolidate their position. They called for de Gaulle to take power. The President of the French Republic, René Coty, fearing that this crisis might descend into civil war, offered de Gaulle the position of Leader of the Cabinet. De Gaulle refused to return to power unless he could change government institutions. During the summer of 1958, he inspired the writing of a new Constitution: this was approved in a referendum on 28 September 1958 by almost 80% of French people. The 5th Republic was born. On 21 December 1958, Charles de Gaulle was elected President of the Republic by indirect universal suffrage.

The most urgent task to be faced was Algeria. De Gaulle offered the Algerians self-government in 1959 and organised a referendum on the subject in 1961: 75% of French people said "yes" to Algerian self-government. In April 1961, disaffected partisans of French Algeria staged an attempted coup that failed. Negotiations between the French and Algerians ended with the Evian agreements, signed on 22 March 1962 and accepted by referendum in both France and Algeria. 1962 was a real turning point, firstly on an institutional level: the General proposed electing the Head of State through universal suffrage. This reform aroused strong opposition, but the referendum on constitutional reform was successful, with a "yes" vote of 62.2%. In 1965, the presidential election was conducted by direct universal suffrage for the first time. Through to the second round (with 43.7% of the vote), de Gaulle was finally elected, beating Mitterrand, with 54.8%. In terms of foreign affairs, de Gaulle pursued a policy of national independence, providing France with its own means of defence: the first French atomic bomb was detonated at Reggane in the Sahara in February 1960. De Gaulle refused the protection of the United States and in 1966 withdrew France from the integrated NATO system - but France remained a member of the Atlantic alliance. At the same time, France entered the European Economic Community (EEC) on 1 January 1959. The country faced a major crisis in May 1968. Students organised huge demonstrations, and were joined by workers, triggering a general strike. De Gaulle succeeded in calming the situation by granting certain benefits to workers. On 27 April 1969, he put a plan for regionalisation and reform of the senate before the French people. His proposal was rejected in a referendum by 52.4% of the vote. Failing to gain the approval of the French people, he felt he lo longer had their trust and preferred to resign. Charles de Gaulle retired to Colombey-les-Deux-Églises and continued to write his memoirs; he died on 9 November 1970. In accordance with his will, de Gaulle was not given a state funeral. He was buried next to his daughter Anne, with a simple inscription on his grave, "Charles de Gaulle 1890-1970".

Born in Rivesalter on January 12th 1852, Joseph Joffre proved to be a brilliant pupil and entered the Ecole Polytechnique (Polytechnic School) at the age of 17. Taking up the military career, he chose the Engineer Corps, which best corresponded to his engineering capacities. After the war of 1870-71, he contributed in the fortification of Paris, enlarged by Séré de Rivières. From here he will leave on 1874 to the colonies. In 1885 he was captain of Indochina, where he participated in the Tonkin campaign and was decorated with the Legion of Honour on September 1985. In the role of sapper he fortifies the Formose island, which at the time was the fleet base of Admiral Courbet. In 1892 in the French Sudan, he created railways Then in the framework of the operations against sultan Samory he conquers Timbuktu. Later he was appointed colonel, under General Galliéni and fortified the Diego-Suarez harbour in Madagascar.

Appointed major general, he reached the position as engineering director of the ministry of war in 1905; after other important assignments such as chief of the 2nd army corps , he became member of the higher Council of war and on 1911 he was appointed chief of staff and future commander-in-chief in the event of a conflict. From this important position he had the possibility to reform the army, the doctrine, the rules, the material, the manpower, the mobilization, etc. he didn't miss any aspect. He reinforced the defence of the country, conscious of an increasingly German threat. With this aim in view, he was a convinced supporter of the military alliance with imperial Russia and who furthermore reinforced this connection in 1913. The hostilities with the II Reich broke out on April 3rd 1914, when Germany declared war to France. The operations started in the East as well as in the West and this conflict soon turned to be of a world dimension. Joffre adopted his Plan XVII from Alsace to Belgium. During the battle known as "border battle" he will suffer heavy retreats, by the time he managed to produce an offensive operation the army had already reached the Parisian suburbs, the Marne and beyond, then stopped in Ourcq, Verdun and on the frontline beyond Nancy, Epinal and Belfort. His armies and generals with the support of the English army, won the Marne battle from the 5th to the 12th September 1914. He led this battle with his general staff and thanks to Gallieni's initiative, governor of Paris.

Then, after the "race to the sea" thanks to General Foch and the support of the British and Belgians, he manages to create a troop barrier, blocking the Calais road in Dixmude on Yser. On November 26th 1914 he received the Military Medal. Once stabilized the battle got stuck on a front of 770 km and became siege war which he led from his General Headquarter in Chantilly, facing also the ammunition and material crises. He succeeded to equip his troops of better arms, uniformes and in particular Adrian helmets, 58 mm trench mortars, hand grenades, gas madks, Chauchat machine guns, Berthier rifles, heavy Schneider and Saint-Chamond tanks, etc.

In 1916 he commanded the entirety of the French armies and no longer only those of the north-eastern front. For several months he had been coordinating the offensive operations with those of the English, Italian and Russian allies, as he was convinced of the advantage of imposing the fact of common actions onto the central empires. In 1916 he led an imperturbable defence in Verdun, thanks to the Generals Castelnau and Pétain and in Somme he passed then to the offensive with Haig, Foch and Foyolle Launching in Verdun the offensives Nivelle-Mangin, in autumn he takes Fleury, Douaumont and Vaux back. Despite everything, in December 1916, the president of the Council, Astrid Briand, replaced him by General Nivelle. Joffre was promoted to the post of Marshal of France.

Keeping its uncontested fame to the allies, Joffre was used in 1917 by the French government as military adviser for the Viviani mission, in charge to integrate the Americans in the conflict. Later he was appointed general Inspector of the U.S. troops in France. Here he had to judge their improvement in the training of the trenches fight, as well as in the utilization of the new arms. On November 13th November 1918, the Unites States decorated him with the Distinguished Service Medal. Once the war was won and the peace signed, Joffre led the Victory procession of July 14th 1919 in Paris. Then he devoted himself to his memoirs and is journeys, he was elected to the French Academy and worked until his last days. He died in 1931 at the age of 79. He was honoured with a state funeral and was buried in his property in Louveviennes (Yvelines) where he still rests.

Guillaumat, Adolphe Marie Louis (Bourgneuf, Charente-Maritime: 4 January 1863 - Nantes, Loire-Atlantique : 18 May 1940)

Adolphe Guillaumat, the son of Louis Guillaumat, an officer, and Marie Noémie Fleury, entered Saint-Cyr military academy in 1882, graduating with the rank of chief warrant officer on 1 October 1884. He chose to serve in the 65th infantry regiment (R.I.) in Nantes. A captain in 1893, in April 1895 he joined the 2nd foreign infantry regiment and left for Tonkin in September 1897. Guillaumat made his mark by occupying Kwang-Chou-Wan (Guangzhouwan), which China leased to France. During the Boxer Rebellion, under General Voyron's orders he participated in the march on Tien-Tsin (Tianjin) and the fighting on 23 June 1900 led by the international column in front of the city's arsenal, opening up the road to Peking, which it reached on 14 August. Commanding the French garrison, he was wounded during the fighting and in December 1900 promoted to major in recognition of his heroism. Back in France, in 1903 Guillaumat taught military history at Saint-Cyr and in 1905 earned the general staff diploma, the brevet direct. He joined the War College staff in 1906 and married Louise Bibent on 17 July of the same year.

Guillaumat, a professor of infantry tactics, became lieutenant-colonel in 1907 and was appointed commander of the military academy in September 1908. He became a colonel on 28 September 1910, commanding the 5th R.I., and joined the Ministry of War's infantry department in January 1913. On 8 October 1913 Guillaumat became brigadier general, continuing his career at the ministry before being appointed Minister Messimy's chief of staff on 14 June 1914. In September, after the war broke out, Guillaumat joined the 4th Army, taking command of the 33rd infantry division (D.I.), with which he participated in the first Battle of the Marne (6 to 11 September 1914) and the bloody fighting at Vitry-le-François before holding a sector in Champagne. Assigned to the 4th D.I., he temporarily became major-general in December 1914. On 25 February 1915 he was appointed commander of the 1st army corps (C.A.), also called the "Guillaumat Group", which he led at the first Battle of Champagne and the Battle of Woëvre (in April), and with which he held the Champagne sector. His unit fought in the Battle of Verdun in February 1916 before being sent in August to the 6th Army north of the Somme, which backed up the English armies' right flank. On 15 December 1916 Guillaumat received command of the 2nd Army and, at the head of 650,000 men, returned to the Verdun front, stopping the German attacks in spring 1917. On 20 April he stormed the enemy positions, taking the French lines north of Hill 304 and Mort-Homme.

On 14 December 1917 Guillaumat succeeded General Sarrail in the Balkans, becoming commander-in-chief of the Allied armies in the East. To cope with a difficult military situation, he reorganised the Allied forces, restoring trust and discipline in the ranks. Taking advantage of the transfer of enemy troops to the Western front after the Treaties of Brest-Litovsk (3 March 1918) and Bucharest (5 March 1918), he launched the French and Greek troops, breaking with the Superior War Council's defensive strategy aligned with the Anglo-American strategy of holding the line on the Stavros-Monastir front. He implemented a general offensive serving as a basis of operations for his successor, Franchet d'Esperey, and compelled Bulgaria to request an armistice. But his main achievement on the Eastern front was turning the Allied armies, which until his arrival belonged to the French forces' superior general staff, into a tool adapted to the command of a multinational force that proved decisive during the ambitious offensive in September 1918. The second defeat at the Chemin des Dames in May 1918 brought the Germans within 75km of Paris and was the reason for Guillaumat's return to France. Appointed military governor and commander of Paris on 15 June 1918, he convinced the general staff to accept the plan of an offensive on the Eastern front. Once Paris was out of danger, Guillaumat was appointed head of the 5th Army, which he engaged in the second Battle of the Marne, in Champagne and in the Meuse in October-November 1918. Guillaumat received the Grand-Croix of the Légion d'honneur on 10 July 1918 and the military medal on 3 October 1918. He became inspector-general in June 1919, a member of the High War Council in 1920 and commander of the Rhine occupation army on du 11 October 1924. At the same time, he chaired the territory defence commissions from 1922 to 1931. The first, which Minister of War André Maginot created in 1922 to develop a plan to defend France, was replaced by a border defence commission, forerunner of the C.O.R.F. (Fortified Regions Organisation Commission) and the "Maginot Line". Minister of war in the Briand-Caillaux cabinet from 23 June to 20 July 1926, he resumed his command until France evacuated the Rhineland on 30 June 1930. He continued participating in the of the Upper War Council's work until being dismissed on 4 June 1933. Guillaumat, who advocated a rigorous policy, constantly drew politicians' attention to the dangers of German rearmament and the need for France to conduct a military policy: longer national service, construction of defensive works along the border and modernisation of the army.? He retired in Nantes, where he died in 1940. His remains were buried in the "governors' vault" (Hôtel National des Invalides) in November 1947.

Associated biographies : Noel Léon Un Chef, Le Général Guillaumat, Alsatia, 1949 - Paul Guillaumat, Correspondance de guerre du Général Guillaumat, L'harmattan, 2006 Sources: R. d'Amat and R. Limouzin-Lamothe, Dictionnaire de biographie française, Paris, Letouzey, 1965, vol. 16, col. 138-139. J.-P. Gomane, "L'expédition internationale contre les Boxers et le siège des légations (June-August 1900)", Revue historique des armées, 230, 2003 (n°1), pp. 11-18. B. Hamard...

André Maginot was born in Paris February 17th 1877 and dies January 6th 1932 in the in the same city. At the age of 23 he became Commissioner of Audit in the Council of State. In 1910, André Maginot is elected deputy of the Meuse. He will specialize in the study of military affairs. He is appointed many times Under-Secretary of State and Ministry. When the First World war broke out he will serve his country as non-commissioned officer but will be seriously wounded. During the years between 1922 to 1924 and 1929 to 1932, in the role of Minister of war, he will activate the realization of his fortification program. December 28th, 1929 he presents his budget bill to the deputies. January 14th, 1930 the parliament amended 2900 million francs budget for the borders terrestrial defence. As the result of additional costs, the credit total rises up to 3442 millions in 1930, with this work coast distribution: 55% for Lorraine, 26% for Alsace and 10% for the Alps.

Born on the 15th October 1856 in Tulle into a protestant Franco-British family on his mother's side, Robert Nivelle proved to be a good student in addition to his bilingualism. Born on the 15th October 1856 in Tulle into a protestant Franco-British family on his mother's side, Robert Nivelle proved to be a good student in addition to his bilingualism. He enrolled at the Ecole Polytechnique (class of 1876) graduating in the artillery corps in 1878. Nivelle began his military career overseas. He joined the French expeditionary corps sent to China during the Boxers' Rebellion (summer of 1900), and then served in Africa, where he was particularly appreciated for his interpersonal skills. Promoted to Colonel at the beginning of the First World War, he once again stood out due to his exemplary conduct in the Alsace and, in September 1914, during the Battle of the Ourcq. In fact, by launching his infantry against the lines of the 4th corps of von Kluck's 1st army around Meaux, he saved the capital from the German threat. He was then promoted to Brigade General in October 1914, at the same time as Philippe Pétain. Becoming Division General the following year, Robert Nivelle took command of the 11th French army in May 1916, although he had been serving on the front at Verdun at the head of the 3rd corps of this army since February.

Having succeeded Pétain on the 19th April 1916, he carried out victorious missions at Vaux and hill 304 and on the 24th October 1916, the retaking of the fort de Douaumont, alongside his subordinate, General Mangin. These particular victories earned him growing popularity amongst the troops, despite the lack of respect he showed for human life, relentlessly sending his men on the attack. As a result of these victories, Robert Nivelle appeared to be the natural successor to Joffre, who had been judged to be too static after two years of fighting in the trenches, and promoted to the dignity of Marshall of France. General Nivelle also had the advantage of very close contacts in British headquarters because of his family background. He took up the role of Commander in Chief of the army on the 12th December 1916, promising the Chamber's Army Commission a quick victory. Guided by his faith in the rift, he decided to break with the positional war to return to a dynamic offensive by attacking the fortified German lines in the Chemin des Dames sector, with support from the British troops placed under his command by Lloyd George. Braving the reticence of his Generals, who argued the lack of preparation of the soldiers, and also of several military leaders, such as Lyautey, the short-lived War Minister and especially Pétain and the political authorities, anxious at the possibility of a setback, he launched the Chemin des Dames offensive on the 16th April 1917. This assault, which he hoped would be lightning quick, came to a sudden end: the Germans, having got hold of a copy of his plan of attack in a trench that they had captured, had strengthened their positions and put up fierce resistance; the operation was a failure that was expensive, both in terms of men (350,000 men out of action for an insignificant gain of ground) and in equipment. George Nivelle persisted, suspending the attack on the 21st April, before taking it up again at the beginning of May. The troops were demoralised, losing confidence in their leaders: the first mutinies broke out. Nivelle was thanked and replaced on the 15th May 1917 by Philippe Pétain. An enquiry committee was then set up. Directed by Division General Henri Joseph Brugère, it gave the ruling on General Nivelle: "For the preparation as well as the execution of this offensive, General Nivelle was not up to the enormous task that he had taken on". Fallen into disgrace, he went to North Africa in December 1917 to take charge of the 19th army corps in Algiers as commander of the French North African troops, a role he would carry out until his retirement in 1921; he then returned to mainland France and settled in Paris where he died three years later.