Date of Completion

2019

Document Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

History

Thesis Type

Honors College, College of Arts and Science Honors

First Advisor

Steven Zdatny

Second Advisor

Andrew Buchanan

Third Advisor

Meaghan Emery

Keywords

Churchill, De Gaulle, World War 1939-1945, Free France, Britain

Abstract

In June 1940, the German army defeated and occupied France. French general Charles de Gaulle fled his home country for England, where he met with Prime Minister Winston Churchill to try to gain British military, economic, and political support for Free France, his organization that countered the Vichy government established in unoccupied France. The political relations between Free France and Britain were defined by the interpersonal relationship between Churchill and de Gaulle. The ties between these two leaders were defined both by the substantial convergence of interests in defeating Nazi Germany and by a predictable friction between two strong personalities. The reciprocal play between interests and personalities is important precisely for the indelible mark it left on the Allied cause and the future of Anglo-French relations.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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