The Appeal of 18 June 1940
The Appeal of 18 June 1940
The manuscipt of General de Gaulle speech has now been transferred to the National Archives
THE APPEAL
“Must hope disappear ? Is defeat final ? No !”
After eight months of “Phoney War” and despite several French victories, the German invasion was unstoppable: on 14 June 1940, German troops entered Paris while the government retreated to Bordeaux.
Charles de Gaulle, appointed Under-Secretary of State for National Defence and War on 5 June, participated in intense diplomatic efforts to keep France in the war, particularly in North Africa. After being sent to London on 9 June, he returned on 16 June to discuss a plan for Franco-British union – a political and military merger of the two countries to prevent French capitulation. He was therefore no stranger to Churchill when, back in London on 17 June, he requested an opportunity to speak on the BBC, just as Pétain's request for an armistice had been broadcast on French radio.
The Appeal, the recording of which was not kept, was broadcast on the evening of 18 June 1940, at 10 p.m. BST. It was followed by other appearances on British radio. This was considered an act of treason and desertion by the French military justice system, leading to a sentence of death, dishonourable discharge from the army and the confiscation of property by the Clermont-Ferrand military court at the beginning of August.
However, his commitment to continuing the fight against Germany earned Charles de Gaulle official recognition by the British government as leader of the Free French on 28 June.
Illustration
Illustration by John Nash of the Appeal of 18 June, published in the propaganda pamphlet General de Gaulle Leader of the Fighting French, [1942-1943]
Archives nationales, AE/II/3188
Showcase 1
Manuscript of the Appeal of 18 June 1940, in General de Gaulle's handwriting, accompanied by a calling card from Yvonne de Gaulle describing the terms of its delivery
Archives nationales, AG/3(1)/290
By law, all documents resulting from government activities are, by their very nature, public archives, regardless of their date, state of completion or their author’s intention. In 2018, the French Council of State ruled that from 16 June 1940 onwards, the Free French Forces and their various branches (France combattante, Comité français de la libération nationale, etc.) were “custodians of national sovereignty and ensured the continuity of the French Republic”. This means that all documentation relating to their activities has been incorporated into the French public archives, forming part of the nation's heritage and destined to be preserved by public archive departments.
The manuscript of the Appeal of 18 June 1940 has therefore been granted “public archive” status. Previously in private hands, it has now been transferred to the National Archives.
Translation of the manuscript
The leaders who, for many years, were at the head of French armies, have formed a government. This government, alleging our armies to be undone, agreed with the enemy to stop fighting. Of course, we were subdued by the mechanical, ground and air forces of the enemy. Infinitely more than their number, it was the tanks, the airplanes, the tactics of the Germans which made us retreat. It was the tanks, the airplanes, the tactics of the Germans that surprised our leaders to the point to bring them there where they are today.
But has the last word been said ? Must hope disappear ? Is defeat final ? No !
Believe me, I speak to you with full knowledge of the facts and tell you that nothing is lost for France. The same means that overcame us can bring us to a day of victory. For France is not alone ! She is not alone ! She is not alone ! She has a vast Empire behind her. She can align with the British Empire that holds the sea and continues the fight. She can, like England, use without limit the immense industry of United States.
This war is not limited to the unfortunate territory of our country. This war is not finished by the battle of France. This war is a world wide war. All the faults, all the delays, all the suffering, do not prevent there to be, in the world, all the necessary means to one day crush our enemies. Vanquished today by mechanical force, we will be able to overcome in the future by a superior mechanical force.
The destiny of the world is here. I, General de Gaulle, currently in London, invite the officers and the French soldiers who are located in British territory or who would come there, with their weapons or without their weapons, I invite the engineers and the special workers of armament industries who are located in British territory or who would come there, to put themselves in contact with me.
Whatever happens, the flame of the French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished.
COMMITMENT
“I invite all Frenchmen, wherever they may be, to unite with me...”
The radio address on 18 June was heard by relatively few people and received little coverage in the French press. A few newspapers transcribed it, but the majority either remained silent or simply published a press release from the Ministry of the Interior stating that General de Gaulle was not speaking in any official capacity.
On 22 June, General de Gaulle took to the airwaves of the BBC once again, calling on the French to refuse the armistice and join him. The first recruits joined the Free French Forces by makeshift means, notably by the sea like the men from the Ile de Sein or by air. On 27 June, de Gaulle informed Churchill that 75 officers and 146 men aged between 17 and 22 had joined him. Several famous figures accompanied him from the outset, including Maurice Schumann and René Cassin, who left for England on 21 June and 24 June respectively.
The first brigade of the French Legion was created in July 1940. By the end of August 1940, Free France already had 3,200 men in the Navy, around 2,000 in the Army and 300 in the Air Force.
Free France committees were quickly formed on all five continents: 56 committees and 334 local committees participated in propaganda activities to support and consolidate the commitments.
Commitments were also being made on French soil: the domestic Resistance movement was gradually taking shape, bringing together different political tendencies that finally agreed to unite in May 1943, under the impetus of Jean Moulin within the National Council of the Resistance (Conseil national de la Résistance).
Illustration
Postcard of a parade of the members of the 14th Foreign Legion Infantry Demi-Brigade on 14 July 1940 (photograph taken by the Free French film department)
Archives nationales, 78AJ/26
Showcase 2
Cable of 29 June 1940 mentioning the support of veterans in Guatemala
Archives nationales, 72AJ/224
Robert Seidner (1883-1968), who had been living in Central America for 39 years, united almost all members of the small community of veterans living in Guatemala in support of General de Gaulle. “We do not recognise any of the Pétain government’s measures”, he said on 13 July 1940. Seider’s staunch support included organising a collection for the French in London, issuing announcements in the press, sending texts for radio broadcasts and setting up a committee in El Salvador.
His commitment to the Free French Forces led to him being stripped of his French nationality by the Vichy regime in June 1941.
Bouchinet-Serreulles’ statement of commitment, signed on 20 September 1940
Bouchinet-Serreulles’ diary mentioning his meeting with Charles de Gaulle on 22 July 1940
Archives nationales, 72AJ/2320
After withdrawing to Bordeaux on 17 June 1940, Claude Bouchinet-Serreulles (1912-2000), a diplomat who had been mobilised and assigned to General Headquarters, set sail on the Massilia for Casablanca on 21 June with a view to continuing the fight. He reached England via Gibraltar in early July and joined the Free French Forces on 17 July. At the recommendation of his friend Geoffroy Chodron de Courcel, he was appointed aide-de-camp to General de Gaulle. After joining the BCRA – the Free French intelligence agency – Claude Bouchinet-Serreulles became Jean Moulin's deputy until Moulin's arrest, and then served as acting head of the National Council of the Resistance until October 1943.
He was parachuted into France on 15 August 1944 and took part in the liberation of the country.
Joseph Monjaret's account of his commitment to the Free French Forces, 1946
Archives nationales, 72AJ/55
Joseph Monjaret (1920-1995) from Brittany signed up immediately after hearing the Appeal of 18 June. With his brother Constant (1922-2009), he set sail on a small fishing boat on 19 June.
Parachuted into France with Jean Moulin in January 1942, he maintained radio links between the Resistance and London. In September, he was put in charge of relations with the Franc-Tireur movement. Joseph Monjaret also organised free resistance groups to carry out acts of sabotage throughout the southern zone.
After his arrest and torture by the Gestapo in April 1943, followed by deportation to Mauthausen, this trailblazing Resistance fighter was repatriated in May 1945.
AN IDEAL
“Whatever happens, the flame of the French resistance must not and will not be extinguished.”
Free France relied on a strong symbol: the Cross of Lorraine, which became a unifying emblem in July 1940. In the same spirit, the Order of the Liberation was created in November to honour those who fought to drive the occupying forces out of France.
Radio broadcasts on the BBC and the distribution of propaganda material reached people in their homes and strengthened support for the Free French cause. A brochure entitled 18 juin 1940 - 18 juin 1941. La France libre par l'image, published at the end of 1941, celebrated the first anniversary of the Appeal of 18 June, underlining the determination of the fight against the occupying forces.
Throughout the war, the commemorations of 18 June were a reminder of the refusal to accept defeat, a tribute to the dead and a celebration of the courage of Resistance fighters who were risking their lives for freedom.
After the war, 18 June remained a highly symbolic date, even though General de Gaulle refused to be “the man of a single date”. Twenty years after 1940, this was the date chosen for the inauguration of the Mémorial de la France combattante, a memorial to Resistance fighters built on Mont Valérien. Finally, by decree in 2006, 18 June became “national commemorative day”, a sign that the significance of “General de Gaulle's historic appeal to refuse to accept defeat and continue the fight against the enemy” remains deeply meaningful for our society.
Illustration
“À tous les Français” [“To All the French”] poster, [July 1940]
Archives nationales, CP/72AJ/1436
Showcase 3
Speech by Charles de Gaulle in Algiers on 18 June 1943
Archives nationales, AG/3(1)/290
Charles de Gaulle's arrival in Algiers at the end of May 1943 was a major political event, just a few months after the Allied liberation of the region in November 1942. On 3 June, the leader of Free France set up the French Committee for National Liberation (Comité français de libération nationale – CFLN), which he co-chaired with General Giraud. Supported by the Americans, who preferred him to de Gaulle, Giraud could count on 130,000 men from the former Vichy Army of Africa, but he failed to secure the support of the French Resistance, in contrast to de Gaulle, who had just unified this movement within the National Council of the Resistance.
It was against this backdrop, on 18 June 1943, that Charles de Gaulle gave a speech in Algiers calling for unity, in which he sought to maintain his advantage over Giraud and propose a political programme, whereas his rival was focusing mainly on the military sphere.
Speech by Pierre Brossolette at the Albert Hall in London on 18 June 1943
Archives nationales, 72AJ/2215
In 1943, General de Gaulle wanted the third anniversary of the Appeal of 18 June to be celebrated “in an atmosphere of unity and hope”, wherever possible. In London, the ceremony organised at the Albert Hall was hosted by Pierre Brossolette (1903-1944), a journalist and major figure in wartime France, renowned for the strength of his convictions and his oratorical talent. In his lyrical speech, Brossolette emphasised the unity of the Resistance, which transcended the political divisions of the pre-war period.
A few months later, in March 1944, after being arrested by the Germans, he chose to kill himself to avoid giving away secrets under torture, thereby embodying the “spirit of sacrifice” that he extolled in his speech.
Free France diary belonging to Pierre Brossolette, 1942
Archives nationales, 72AJ/2215
Traduction : Fluent Planet