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8 - “Grandi soldati”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 August 2022

Douglas Porch
Affiliation:
Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California
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Summary

By 1942, the Soviet Union and the United States had joined the conflict, further isolating Vichy. Resistance in France was growing, acknowledged by a change of name from la France libre to la France combattante to acknowledge a growing resistance movement inside France. Jean Moulin had been dispatched to organize and harness it to la France combattante’s political agenda, and to define its missions. While de Gaulle’s movement remained small, the FFL had demonstrated fighting resolve at Bir Hakeim, a small but symbolic step toward wiping away the stain of 1940. Vichy’s deepening collaboration with Hitler helped to put la France combattante on firmer political footing, and strengthened de Gaulle’s political standing. Nevertheless, as de Gaulle realized, the Americans in particular posed a more immediate threat to the achievement of his goal of reasserting French grandeur and global influence than did either the Germans or Vichy. It would require all of de Gaulle’s determination and political savvy to keep la France combattante from being relegated to one of the Second World War’s obscure footnotes in the wake of Operation Torch – the November 1942 Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa.

Type
Chapter
Information
Defeat and Division
France at War, 1939–1942
, pp. 385 - 435
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • “Grandi soldati”
  • Douglas Porch, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California
  • Book: Defeat and Division
  • Online publication: 25 August 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107239098.009
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  • “Grandi soldati”
  • Douglas Porch, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California
  • Book: Defeat and Division
  • Online publication: 25 August 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107239098.009
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • “Grandi soldati”
  • Douglas Porch, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California
  • Book: Defeat and Division
  • Online publication: 25 August 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107239098.009
Available formats
×