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Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
In office
June 16, 1940 – July 11, 1940
Preceded by Paul Reynaud
Succeeded by Pierre Laval
In office
July 11, 1940 – August 20, 1944
Preceded by Albert Lebrun (as President of the French Republic)
Succeeded by Charles de Gaulle (as President of the Provisional Government)
Born April 24, 1856
Cauchy-à-la-Tour, Pas-de-Calais, France
Died July 23, 1951 (aged 95)
Île d'Yeu, Vendée, France
Political party None

Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain (Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, later Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l'État Français), from 1940 to 1944. The Prime Minister of France ( Premier ministre français) in Fifth Republic is the functional Head of the government and Council of Ministers Events 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 911 - Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Paul Reynaud (15 October 1878 - 21 September 1966 was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period noted for his stances on economic liberalism and Pierre Laval (28 June 1883 15 October 1945 was a French Politician and statesman who led the Vichy government during World War II, and Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 Events 911 - Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 636 - Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Albert Lebrun (29 August 1871 6 March 1950 was a French Politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940 and as such was the last president of the The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French The Provisional Government of the French Republic ( gouvernement provisoire de la République française or GPRF was an interim government which governed Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to Year 1856 ( MDCCCLVI) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Cauchy-à-la-Tour is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais département in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Pas-de-Calais is a department in northern France. Its name is the French language equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Events 1632 - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe France. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January The Île d'Yeu is an Island just off the Vendée coast of western France. The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to Year 1856 ( MDCCCLVI) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Events 1632 - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe France. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Marshal of France (Maréchal de France and pl Maréchaux de France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a Military rank. Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 Pétain, who was 84 in 1940, ranks as France's oldest Head of State ever.

Due to his military leadership in World War I, he was viewed as a hero in France, but his actions during World War II resulted in a conviction and death sentence for treason, which was commuted to life imprisonment by Charles de Gaulle. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French In modern France, he is generally considered a traitor, and pétainisme is a derogatory term for certain reactionary policies. Reactionary (also reactionist) is a derogatory term usually used by the Left wing in regards to movements which oppose radical change in society and seeks a return Due to his treason conviction, some historians now only refer to him by his name Philippe Pétain, without his military rank, while for example, resistance leader Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, who was promoted posthumously, is now referred as Maréchal Leclerc. Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque ( November 22, 1902 – November 28, 1947) was a French general during World War II

Contents

Early life

Born in Cauchy-à-la-Tour (in the Pas-de-Calais département, in the north of France) in 1856. Cauchy-à-la-Tour is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais département in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Pas-de-Calais is a department in northern France. Its name is the French language equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders In the Terminology of Political geography and Historiography a National department (département departamento is an administrative This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. He joined the French Army in 1876 and attended the St Cyr Military Academy in 1887 and the École Supérieure de Guerre (army war college) in Paris. The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre (Land Army is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces and its largest The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr ( ESM, literally the "Special Military School of St Cyr" is the foremost French Military academy. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city His career progressed very slowly, as he rejected the French Army philosophy of the furious infantry assault, arguing instead that "firepower kills". The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre (Land Army is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces and its largest His views were later proved to be correct during the First World War. He was promoted to Captain in 1890 and Major (Chef de Battaillon) in 1900, but unlike many French officers, served only in mainland France, never in Africa or Indochina. As a Colonel he commanded the 33rd Infantry Regiment at Arras from 1911; the young lieutenant Charles de Gaulle, who served under him, later wrote that his "first colonel, Pétain, taught (him) the Art of Command". Colonel ( RP ˈkɜnəl GA ˈkɜrnəl is a Military rank of a Commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French In the spring of 1914 he was given command of a brigade (still with the rank of Colonel), but having been told he would never become a general, had bought a house pending retirement - he was already fifty-eight years old. Colonel ( RP ˈkɜnəl GA ˈkɜrnəl is a Military rank of a Commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country

World War I

Pétain at Verdun (1916)
Pétain at Verdun (1916)

Pétain distinguished himself in World War I, and was hailed as a French hero and the "Saviour of Verdun". The Battle of Verdun was one of the most critical battles in World War I on the Western Front, fought between the German and French World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All At the end of August 1914 he was quickly promoted to Brigadier-General and given command of the 6th Division in time for the First Battle of the Marne; little over a month later, in October 1914, he was promoted again and became XXXIII Corps commander. The First Battle of the Marne (also known as the Miracle of the Marne) was a World War I battle fought from 5 September to 12 September 1914 After leading his corps in the Spring 1915 Artois Offensive, in July 1915 he was given command of the Second Army, which he led in the Champagne Offensive that autumn. The Second Army (IIe Armée was a Field army of the French Army during World War I and World War II. He acquired a reputation as one of the more successful commanders on the Western Front.

Pétain commanded the Second Army at the start of the Battle of Verdun in February 1916. The Second Army (IIe Armée was a Field army of the French Army during World War I and World War II. The Battle of Verdun was one of the most critical battles in World War I on the Western Front, fought between the German and French During the battle he was promoted to Commander of Army Group Centre, which contained a total of 52 divisions. Rather than holding down the same infantry divisions on the Verdun battlefield for months, akin to the German system, he rotated them out after only two weeks on the front lines. His decision to organize truck transport over the "Voie Sacree" to bring a continuous stream of artillery, ammunition and fresh troops into besieged Verdun also played a key role in grinding down the German onslaught to a final halt in July 1916. Voie Sacrée ("Sacred Way" is the name given to the road between Bar-le-Duc and Verdun, because of the vital role that it played in the Battle of Verdun In effect he had applied the basic principle that was a mainstay of his teachings at the "Ecole de Guerre" ( War College) before WW-1 : " le feu tue ! " or "firepower kills !" which in this case was French field artillery which delivered well over 15 million shells on the German assailants during the first five months of the battle. Although Pétain did say "On les aura!" (roughly: We'll get them!), the other famous quotation "Ils ne passeront pas!" (They shall not pass!) often attributed to him, is actually from Robert Nivelle, who had succeeded him in command of the Second Army at Verdun, and who at the very end of 1916 was promoted over him to replace Joseph Joffre as French Commander-in-Chief. " They shall not pass " ( catalan: "de ''No passaran!''" French: "fr ''Ils ne passeront pas''" German: "de ''Sie kommen Robert Georges Nivelle (15 October 1856 &ndash 22 March 1924 was a French artillery officer who served in the Boxer Rebellion, and the First World War. The Second Army (IIe Armée was a Field army of the French Army during World War I and World War II. Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 - 3 January 1931 was a French General who was Commander-in-Chief of the French Army between

Due to high prestige as a soldier's soldier, Pétain served briefly as Army Chief of Staff (from the end of April 1917) then replaced Nivelle in 1917 as Commander-in-Chief of the French army, after the failed Nivelle Offensive and the subsequent mutiny in the French army. A commander-in-chief is the Commander of a nation's Military forces or significant element of those forces The Nivelle Offensive was a 1917 Allied attack on the Western Front in World War I. Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly-situated individuals (typically members of the Military; or the Crew of any ship even The French Army Mutinies of 1917 took place in the Champagne section of the Western Front and started just after the conclusion of the disastrous Second Battle of the Aisne Pétain crushed the mutiny by selective punishment of ringleaders, but also by improving soldiers' conditions (eg. better food and shelter, and more leave), and promising that men's lives would not be squandered in fruitless offensives. Pétain conducted some successful limited offensives in the latter part of 1917, but (unlike the British, who conducted a major offensive at Passchendaele that autumn) he held off from major offensives until the Americans arrived in force, which would not happen until the summer of 1918.

The year 1918 saw major German offensives on the Western Front. The first of these, "Michael" in March 1918, threatened to split the British and French forces apart, and, after Pétain had threatened to retreat on Paris, led to the appointment of Ferdinand Foch as Allied Generalissimo, initially with powers to co-ordinate and deploy Allied reserves where he saw fit. Ferdinand Foch OM GCB (2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929 was a French soldier military theorist and writer credited with possessing "the most original The third offensive, "Blucher" in May 1918, saw major German advances on the Aisne, as the French Army Commander had ignored Pétain's instructions to defend in depth, and had instead allowed his men to be hit by the initial massive German bombardment. Later in the year Pétain was stripped of his right of appeal to the French Government, and told to take his orders from Foch, who increasingly assumed direction of the Allied offensives. Pétain was made Marshal of France in November 1918. The Marshal of France (Maréchal de France and pl Maréchaux de France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a Military rank.

Between the wars

Unlucky in love early in life, Pétain was a bachelor until his sixties, and famous for his womanising - women were said to find his piercing blue eyes especially attractive. At the opening of the Battle of Verdun he is said to have been fetched from Paris by a staff officer who knew which mistress he could be found with. After the war Pétain married an old lover, Madame Hardon, then widowed; although the couple were too old to have children, they remained married until the end of Pétain's life.

Pétain emerged from the war as a national hero. He was encouraged to go into politics although he protested that he had little interest in running for an elected position. He continued to play a military role, commanding French troops during their alliance with the Spanish in the Rif War after 1925. The Rif War of 1920, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain (later assisted by France) and the Moroccan Rif Petain is also on record as a strong supporter of the Maginot Line which proved to be exceedingly costly and geographically very limited and thus a strategically ineffective border fortification system. The Maginot Line (IPA, Ligne Maginot named after French Minister of Defense André Maginot, was a line of concrete Fortifications tank obstacles artillery Petain had based his support for the Maginot Line on his own experience of the role played by the forts at Verdun in 1916. The Maginot Line (IPA, Ligne Maginot named after French Minister of Defense André Maginot, was a line of concrete Fortifications tank obstacles artillery Verdun (medieval Wirten official name before 1970 Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city and commune Although he supported the massive use of tanks he saw them mostly as infantry support, leading to the fragmentation of the French tank force into many types of unequal value spread out between French Cavalry and Infantry. Modern infantry rifles and machine guns were not manufactured on Petain's watch, with the exception of a light machine-rifle in 1929. Thus most French infantry divisions entered WW-2 essentially with the armament of 1918. Captain Charles de Gaulle continued to be a protégé of Pétain throughout these years, naming his eldest son after him before finally falling out over the authorship of a book which the younger man had ghost-written for Pétain; in later years, in a reference to the Rif War, de Gaulle was sometimes known to observe "Marshal Pétain was a great man; he died in 1925". Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French The Rif War of 1920, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain (later assisted by France) and the Moroccan Rif Pétain finally retired as Inspector-General of the Army, aged seventy-five, in 1931.

He expressed interest in being named Minister of Education, a role in which he hoped to combat what he saw as the decay in French moral values. In 1934 he was appointed to the French cabinet as Minister of War. A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of Government, typically representing the executive branch. A defence minister (or defense minister) is a Cabinet position which regulates the Armed forces in some sovereign nations The following year, he was promoted to Secretary of State. Secretary of State is a commonly used title for a Government Official. During this period, he repeatedly called for a lengthening of the term of compulsory military service for draftees entering the military service from to three years. Pétain served as French ambassador to Spain following the Nationalist victory in the Spanish Civil War, arriving in March 1939. The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted Coup d'état committed by parts of the army against the government of

World War II and Vichy France

Presidential Standard of Vichy France
Presidential Standard of Vichy France

Until the summer of 1940, Pétain was held in high regard by statesmen both at home and abroad. French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud brought Pétain (along with General Maxime Weygand and the newly-promoted Brigadier-General de Gaulle - whose 4th Armoured Division had launched one of the few French counterattacks in May 1940) - into his War Cabinet, hoping that the trio, and especially Pétain, would instil a renewed spirit of resistance and patriotism in the French army. Paul Reynaud (15 October 1878 - 21 September 1966 was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period noted for his stances on economic liberalism and Maxime Weygand ( 21 January 1867 - 28 January 1965) (vɛgɑ̃ was a French military commander in World War I and World Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French The social and political divisions in France were too great, however, and in Pétain, Reynaud did not recognise a man who despised the corruption, inefficiency and political fragmentation of the French Third Republic. The French Third Republic (in French, La Troisième République, sometimes written as La IIIe

Maxime Weygand was unable to stem the German advance during the second stage of the Battle of France. Maxime Weygand ( 21 January 1867 - 28 January 1965) (vɛgɑ̃ was a French military commander in World War I and World In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries When defeat for metropolitan France became certain, the Cabinet debated their continuing the war in North Africa, to fight on from the colonial territory alongside the British. Pétain's refusal to leave the country at this juncture created an impasse that divided the Cabinet and which was only broken by Reynaud's resignation and President Albert Lebrun's invitation to Pétain to form a government. Albert Lebrun (29 August 1871 6 March 1950 was a French Politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940 and as such was the last president of the Lebrun soon became sidelined, leading to the appointment of the old Marshal as head of state with extraordinary powers. The constitutionality of these actions was later challenged by de Gaulle's government, but at the time Pétain was widely accepted as France's saviour.

On June 22 he signed an armistice with Germany that gave Nazi Germany control over the north and west of the country, including Paris and all of the Atlantic coastline, but left the rest, around two-fifths of France's prewar territory, unoccupied, with its administrative centre in the resort town of Vichy. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. An armistice is a situation where the warring parties agree to stop fighting Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Vichy ( Occitan: Vichèi) is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. (Paris remained the de jure capital. )

The Chamber of Deputies and Senate, meeting together as a "Congrès", had an emergency meeting on July 10 to ratify the armistice. The French National Assembly. The other is the Senate ( “Sénat”) The Senate (Sénat is the Upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president. The French Congress (Congrès du Parlement français - Congress of the French Parliament is the name given to the body created when both houses of the present-day French Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. At the same time, it voted 569-80 (with 18 abstentions) to grant Pétain the authority to draw up a new constitution - effectively voting the Third Republic out of existence. The Vichy 80 refers to a minority group of French elected parliamentarians who on July 10, 1940, voted against the constitutional change that dissolved On the next day, Pétain formally assumed near-absolute powers as "Head of State. "

Pétain was reactionary by temperament and education, and quickly began blaming the Third Republic and its liberal democracy for the French defeat. In its place, he set up a more authoritarian regime. The republican motto of "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" was swept aside and replaced with "Travail, famille, patrie" (Work, family, fatherland). Liberté égalité fraternité, French for " Liberty, equality, fraternity ( Brotherhood)" is the motto Travail famille patrie (English " work family fatherland " was the motto of the Vichy France government during World War II. Conservative factions within his government used the opportunity to launch an ambitious program known as the "National Revolution" in which much of the former Third Republic's secular and liberal traditions were rejected in favor of the promotion of an authoritarian and paternalist Catholic society.

Pétain immediately used his new powers to order harsh measures, including the dismissal of republican civil servants, the installation of exceptional jurisdictions, the proclamation of anti-semitic laws, and the imprisonment of his opponents and foreign refugees. He organized a "Légion Française des Combattants", in which he included "Friends of the Legion" and "Cadets of the Legion", groups of those who had never fought but who were politically attached to his regime. Pétain championed a rural, Catholic France that spurned internationalism. As a retired Generalissimo, he ran the country on military lines, which might have been better received had he not already surrendered to Hitler and become his puppet (especially after 1942). Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately

Pétain on French stamps of 1944
Pétain on French stamps of 1944

Neither Pétain nor his successive Deputies, Pierre Laval, Pierre-Etienne Flandin or Admiral François Darlan, gave significant resistance to requests by the Germans to indirectly aid the Axis Powers. Pierre Laval (28 June 1883 15 October 1945 was a French Politician and statesman who led the Vichy government during World War II, and Pierre Étienne Flandin (12 April 1889 at Paris, France -13 June 1958 at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France) was a French conservative politician François Darlan (7 August 1881 &ndash 24 December 1942 was a French Naval officer. The Axis powers also known as the Axis alliance Axis nations Axis countries or sometimes just the Axis were those Countries Yet, when Hitler met Pétain at Montoire in October 1940 to discuss Vichy's role in the new European Order, the Marshal "listened to Hitler in silence. Montoire-sur-le-Loir is a commune in France situated in the department of Loir-et-Cher in the region of Centre. Not once did he offer a sympathetic word for Germany"1. However, Vichy France remained neutral as a state, albeit opposed to the Free French. The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres FFL) were French fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces After the British attack on Mers el Kébir and Dakar, Pétain took the initiative to collaborate with the occupiers. The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir, also known as Operation Catapult, was a hostile engagement off the coast of French Algeria where a British Royal Navy The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar Pétain accepted the creation of a collaborationist armed militia "Milice" under the command of SS-Major Joseph Darnand, who, along with German forces, led a campaign of repression against the French resistance ("Maquis"). The Milice Française ( French Militia) generally called simply Milice (" Militia " was a Paramilitary force Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party which was used by both the Sturmabteilung (SA and the Schutzstaffel Joseph Darnand ( March 19, 1897 – October 10, 1945) was a French pro- Nazi leader and commander of the Vichy The Maquis (ma'ki were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Pétain admitted Darnand into his government as Secretary of the Maintenance of Public Order (Secrétaire d'Etat au Maintien de l'Ordre). In August 1944, Pétain made an attempt to distance himself from the crimes of the Milice by writing Darnand a letter of reprimand for the organization's "excesses. " The latter wrote a sarcastic reply, telling Pétain that he should have "thought of this before" he turned the Milice loose on the French population.

Pétain provided the Axis forces with large supplies of manufactured goods and foodstuffs, and also ordered Vichy troops in France's colonial empire to fight against Allied forces everywhere (in Dakar, Syria, Madagascar, Oran and Morocco), in line with his commitments in the 1940 armistice. France was a dominant empire in the world from the 1600s to the late 1960s possessing many colonies in various locations around the world For the Dakar Rally see Dakar Rally. For the Israeli submarine see INS Dakar. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern Oran ( Arabic:ar وهران pronounced Wahran; also transliterated as Ouahran, Spanish: Orán. Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa He also received German forces without any resistance (in Syria, Tunisia and Southern France), the latter due to Laval's urging. Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa.

On 11 November 1942, Germany invaded the unoccupied zone in response to the Allied Operation Torch landings in North Africa and Vichy Admiral François Darlan's agreeing to support the Allies. Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Operation Torch (initially called Operation Gymnast) was the British - American invasion of French North Africa in World War II François Darlan (7 August 1881 &ndash 24 December 1942 was a French Naval officer. Although Vichy France nominally remained in existence, Pétain became nothing more than a figurehead, as the Nazis abandoned the pretence of an "independent" Vichy government, although he remained popular with the French public, and was cheered by the crowd when he attended Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris at Easter 1944. In politics a figurehead, by Metaphor with the carved figurehead at the prow of a sailing ship is a person who holds an important title or office yet executes little Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. On 7 September 1944, he and other members of the Vichy cabinet were forcibly moved to Sigmaringen in Germany and soon after he resigned as leader. Events 1251 BC - A Solar eclipse on this date might mark the birth of legendary Heracles at Thebes Greece. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sigmaringen is a Town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg.

Postwar trial and legacy

On 15 August 1945, Pétain was tried for collaboration (or treason), convicted and sentenced to death by firing squad. Events 778 - The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Collaborationism, can describe the Treason of cooperating with enemy Forces occupying one's Country. In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. Charles de Gaulle, who was President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic at the end of the war, commuted the sentence to life imprisonment on the grounds of his age and his Great War (World War I) contributions. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French The Provisional Government of the French Republic ( gouvernement provisoire de la République française or GPRF was an interim government which governed World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All There was also a sense among segments of the French population his trial was rushed and unfair. In prison on Île d'Yeu, an island off the Atlantic coast, he soon became entirely senile, and required constant nursing care. The Île d'Yeu is an Island just off the Vendée coast of western France. He died in prison in 1951, at the age of 95, and is buried there. Calls are sometimes made for his remains to be re-interred in the grave which had been prepared for him at Verdun.

In modern France, the word pétainisme suggests an authoritarian and reactionary ideology, driven by the nostalgia of a rural, agricultural, traditionalist, Catholic society. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Authoritarianism describes a Form of government characterized by an emphasis on the Authority of the State in a republic or union Reactionary (also reactionist) is a derogatory term usually used by the Left wing in regards to movements which oppose radical change in society and seeks a return The term nostalgia describes a longing for the past often in idealized form Rural areas can be large and isolated (also referred to as "the country" and/or "the countryside over the course of time Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions

Lists of the successive Pétain governments until 1942

Pétain's First Government, 16 June - 12 July 1940

Changes

Pétain's Second Government, 12 July - 6 September 1940

Pétain's Third Government, 6 September 1940 - 25 February 1941

Changes

Pétain's Fourth Government, 25 February - 12 August 1941

Changes

Pétain's Fifth Government, 12 August 1941 - 18 April 1942

References

Among a vast number of books and articles about Pétain, the most complete and documented biography:

See also

Political offices
Preceded by
Paul Reynaud		 Prime Minister of France
1940–1942		 Succeeded by
Pierre Laval
Preceded by
Albert Lebrun
(President)		 Chief of State of Vichy France
1940–1944		 Succeeded by
Charles de Gaulle
(Chairman of the Provisional Government)
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Albert Lebrun and Justí Guitart i Vilardebó		 Co-Prince of Andorra
1940-1944
with Justí Guitart i Vilardebó (1940) and Ramon Iglesias i Navarri (1942-1944)		 Succeeded by
Charles de Gaulle and Ramon Iglesias i Navarri
Academic offices
Preceded by
Ferdinand Foch		 Seat 18
Académie française
1929–1951		 Succeeded by
André François-Poncet

The French Army Mutinies of 1917 took place in the Champagne section of the Western Front and started just after the conclusion of the disastrous Second Battle of the Aisne Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 Paul Reynaud (15 October 1878 - 21 September 1966 was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period noted for his stances on economic liberalism and The Prime Minister of France ( Premier ministre français) in Fifth Republic is the functional Head of the government and Council of Ministers Pierre Laval (28 June 1883 15 October 1945 was a French Politician and statesman who led the Vichy government during World War II, and Albert Lebrun (29 August 1871 6 March 1950 was a French Politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940 and as such was the last president of the Second French Republic (1848-1852 President of the Provisional Government of the Republic Jacques Charles Dupont de l'Eure (24 February 1848 Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French Albert Lebrun (29 August 1871 6 March 1950 was a French Politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940 and as such was the last president of the Justí Guitart i Vilardebó ( December 16 1875 &ndash January 30 1940) reigned as the Bishop of Urgell and Episcopal Co-Prince of This is a list of Co-Princes of Andorra. The Principality of Andorra, in the Pyrenees Mountains on the French – Spanish border Justí Guitart i Vilardebó ( December 16 1875 &ndash January 30 1940) reigned as the Bishop of Urgell and Episcopal Co-Prince of Ramon Iglesias i Navarri ( January 28 1889 – 1969 was the Bishop of Urgell and Episcopal Co-Prince of Andorra from April 4, 1943 Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French Ramon Iglesias i Navarri ( January 28 1889 – 1969 was the Bishop of Urgell and Episcopal Co-Prince of Andorra from April 4, 1943 Ferdinand Foch OM GCB (2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929 was a French soldier military theorist and writer credited with possessing "the most original This is a list of members of the Académie française (French Academy by seat number L'Académie française, or the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. André François-Poncet ( June 13, 1887 &ndash January 8, 1978) was a French Politician and Diplomat whose post
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