De Gaulle was born into a middle-class family, with a sense of historical mission running in his blood. It was only through a series of persistence, setbacks and accidents that he would become a hero in France.

At first, de Gaulle thought that there were still many French people in the UK, or that many people in Europe listened to the BBC, and that many French people would support his "Free France". July 14, 1940, France’s National Day, commemorates the Bastille Day of the French Revolution. As a result, even with Churchill's support, de Gaulle could only call on 7,000 people, which was actually quite tragic.

Worse things are still waiting for him behind. The German army entered Paris on June 14, 1940, and France surrendered on June 22. What was the problem here? That is, the French army is equivalent to Hitler's army. By this time, Churchill had already seen the danger. He was worried that the two hundred French naval ships stationed in the Mediterranean ports would be taken over by the Germans.

You have to admire Churchill's sensitivity on this matter. He did not indulge in personal emotions. He did not scold the French for what they were doing. They all surrendered. He did not laugh.

Churchill probably thought about this matter for less than a week. On July 3, 1940 - eleven days after the French surrender - he carried out a political and military campaign. action and ordered an assault on the French naval fleet. Because he was worried that Vicky would reach an armistice with Germany, he ordered an assault to destroy the French fleet in the northern seaport of Algeria in the Mediterranean before the Germans had time to take away the French fleet. Warship.

In that attack, all 1,200 French navy soldiers were killed. Of course, Churchill's actions shocked the whole world, especially France. The French began to criticize de Gaulle's "Free France" movement for aligning with the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom also attacked our French children. The French did not think Churchill had any vision at all.

It didn’t take long for Vicky to hand over most of the troops and warships to Germany. The northern seaport of Algeria has since become the most important military strategic point.

For Churchill, reversing the situation in World War II was very important, but for de Gaulle in London, you can imagine how difficult his political situation was. He was just an exile from France who received funding from Churchill, and he had no right to interfere with Churchill's military operations.

However, the target of criticism in France was not Churchill but de Gaulle. Of course de Gaulle was shocked by the attack. He remained silent for five days, but he understood Churchill's strategy. He was still on Churchill's side after all. He knew Churchill's long-term vision, so he told many people on the radio that you can also hear the BBC The general public in France or the French in Britain explained that this tragic attack was ultimately good for France.

Of course, the more he helped Churchill explain, the more trouble he got into. Almost all French people scolded De Gaulle. De Gaulle was very sad. He wrote this: "I went through an extremely sad time, and I even wanted to commit suicide."

For De Gaulle, he had high hopes. French people who stayed in the UK, or French people in France who would eavesdrop on the BBC, or some other French people on the European continent who had not yet been ruled by the Nazis. When he became the target of public criticism, his support for Churchill was tantamount to admitting that he was the murderer of 1,200 French naval officers and soldiers, and his status in the minds of this group of people completely collapsed.

But you may have heard people say that every setback comes in the form of another gift.

Before this incident, De Gaulle had always pinned the liberation movement of "Free France" on the French people who stayed in continental Europe or the United Kingdom. However, in fact, there were not many people who supported "Free France". There are many people who are harsh on him and criticize him. From that moment on, his illusions were shattered, and he suddenly discovered that the people who would donate jewelry and money to him were French immigrants from France's colonies in Africa, not French people from the UK or France.

Many local people in Africa are very supportive of the "Free France" movement, including French Chad, Congo and Cameroon. Therefore, de Gaulle thought that perhaps he should move his position and moved his headquarters from London to Congo. , and changed "Free France" to *** in exile.

This point in time was October 27, 1940, about three months after he was scolded by the French across the continent and after he established the "Liberty" "France" also takes about three months. De Gaulle established the "Council of Imperial Defense" in the French Congo, which slowly gained increasing support in Africa, thus changing De Gaulle's status as a French hero in World War II. De Gaulle once had a famous saying, I think this was one of his emotions:

A person needs to have a magnificent bearing to be able to stand out and his true value can be highlighted. But it is the most difficult for a person to gain trust in society.

Why did de Gaulle receive very high support for establishing a Communist Party in exile in Africa at this time? Because also in October 1940, the commander he took orders from during World War I also forced him to leave France. He was also the leader of the Vicky Rebellion at the time. Pétain officially met with Hitler. The two of them Sign an agreement to discuss all cooperation between the two countries. Including Hitler who handed over many warships and resources to Germany.

On October 24, 1940, Petain (left) met with Hitler (picture taken from ***)

It was also because of this incident and this meeting that it turned out to be painful. Those who criticized De Gaulle began to criticize Pétain, and began to realize that Churchill's decision to sink the French fleet was a wise move.

Reading history we know how difficult it is to have foresight and how easy it is to be humiliated or to humiliate others.

After choosing the French overseas colonies in Africa as its base, de Gaulle's "Free France" by the end of 1940, the underground force in France and outside France had grown from 7,000 to just a few people. Within a month it grew to 40,000 people.