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French Freedom PapersMain MenuLettersSummaries of the translated letters of the French Freedom Papers collectionRelevant FiguresProvides context about the people sending, receiving, and mentioned in these lettersRelevant Events & PlacesProvides context about the historical events and places being discussed in the lettersReferencesSources used to give context to the historical events and figures found in the letters.External ResourcesLinks to external sites about Charles de Gaulle, World War II, Free French, and this collectionTranslation MethodsKSU French 7208b42ed21d3c5345086d6fd65589ad65f6b323f0c
Free France refers to the resistance movement after France's invasion by Germany on June 16th, 1940. On June 18th, General Charles de Gaulle addressed France from London, where he had fled the day before to escape Pétain's control. On June 28th, General de Gaulle became the official leader of Free France.
Although a mission to free French West Africa failed, the resistance gradually grew from French troops presiding in England to the French colonial territories of Chad, Cameroun, Moyen-Congo, French Equatorial Africa, and Oubangi-Chari (sub-Saharan Africa). With heavy cooperation from the United Kingdom, United States of America, and several parts of Africa, the Free French created the French National Committee. The forces grew largely in 1942, when an underground resistance force began to grow; de Gaulle then sent Jean Moulin to France in order to rally more forces to the cause against the Nazis. In late 1942, British and American forces successfully invaded Northwestern Africa, and after the resignation of General Giraud, Algiers, Algeria became the official capital for the French National Committee. By 1944, de Gaulle was considered the "supreme authority" of the French Resistance movement.
When the Allies invaded Normany in 1944, the French Resistance movement had more than 300,000 troops; the Free French 1st Army participated in the Allies' invasion of France and Germany.
In August 1944, the French Forces of the Interior (or the French Resistance) traveled to Paris in order to liberate it from Nazi regime. On August 26, 1944, Paris was liberated. (Encyclopedia Britannica).
Sources: "Free French." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2016.
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12016-10-09T19:17:09-07:00Leah Devers42408f2f7751c1c649b624bacebb2a415aa0bbd9Relevant Events & Places16Provides context about the historical events and places being discussed in the lettersplain2016-12-07T09:10:09-08:00Leah Devers42408f2f7751c1c649b624bacebb2a415aa0bbd9