Charles de Gaulle

Charles tied the knot with Yvonne Vendroux on 7 April, 1921. The couple later became parents to three children named Elisabeth, Philippe and Anne. Unfortunately, Anne suffered from Down’s syndrome as a child and was later diagnosed with Pneumonia. She then succumbed to the disease at the raw age of 20.

Yvonne was an ardent catholic, who was disliked by a few sections of the French society due to her moral policing act. She raised her voice against pornography and even objected the use of short skirts in the country.

While he was detained by the German forces, Charles penned a book titled ‘The Enemy and the True Enemy’ in which he tried giving an insight of the way the German empire functions. This work was finally released in 1924.

Charles de Gaulle was one among the five children born to a teacher named Henri de Gaulle, on 22nd November, 1890. The place of his birth was a city named Lille, located in the north of France.

In 1909, Charles enrolled at a defence institution named ‘Saint Cyr’ in a bid to become a military leader.

He graduated from this esteemed institution in 1912 and was ranked 13th amongst the 210 cadets who had enrolled, for his outstanding performance as a cadet. Many of his seniors also felt that de Gaulle would be a great military leader who would make his nation really proud.

Unlike most other cadets, Charles preferred working in France rather than relocate to another country. Thus, he became a part of the ‘33rd Infantry Regiment’ division of the French armed force and soon shifted base to the Arras region of France.

The French soldiers had to completely prepare themselves for World War-I at that time. Charles utilized his time to the best possible extent by interacting with senior officers at Arras and devising new methods to help them win the battle.

Charles, along with the other fellow soldiers of the ‘33rd Infantry Regiment’, were sent to the Belgian town of Dinant to keep the German army at bay. De Gaulle was severely hurt by a bullet wound during the battle.

He was infuriated by the French Commander, General Charles Lanrezac’s adoption of obsolete, predictable methods of fighting the war. Eventually the French army suffered heavy losses in terms of casualties and ammunitions.

Gaulle grabbed the attention of the military forces by his unique military strategy which he started using in early 1915. The smart soldier managed to cleverly extract information from the enemy territory by crawling into their land.

Charles de Gaulle was given the responsibility of handling the military division ‘4e division cuirassee’ in 1940, while World War-II was at its peak. Under the leadership of Charles, the troop managed to restrict the aggressive German forces to Caumont region of South-Eastern France.