relationship between Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill Best answer on the web
Are there any reports about meetings or telephone conversations and
remarks they made about each other?
What did they think of each other?
How did their relationship influence anglo-french relations and the foreign politics of both countries?
I'm very glad this information will be of help! Good luck with your thesis - it was a very interesting topic to research.
websearcher
Very sweet of you to make a trip to your local library, I didn't expect anything like that! Altogether, great and very fast answer service. Now, I can add those information to all other things I already found and start writing my thesis! You've hepled me very much and saved me quite a lot of time, so thanks again! Nadi42
Thank you for the clarification request. Finding more indepth information on the Internet is proving difficult. I've been able to find the following/'>following two sources:
EU integration struggles: UK/France tiff
URL: http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/a-list/2002w44/msg00118.htm
Quote: "This fits a persistent pattern of modern cross-channel mesententes , which
goes back to the awkward wartime relationship between Winston Churchill and
De Gaulle. Should Britain, when the chips are down, side with France and
Europe; or with the United States? During the war, Churchill helped to
create De Gaulle as a symbol of French resistance but grew infuriated with
Le G n ralwhen he insisted on defining, and defending, French interests, in
conflict with allied ones. At one point, Churchill agreed an American plan
to dump De Gaulle and had to be restrained by members of the British war
cabinet.
De Gaulle carried the grudge after the war. He vetoed Britain's first
attempt to join the Common Market in 1963, saying London would always side
with the American view of the world, and not help to build an alternative
European vision. The Blair-Chirac quarrel is directly in line of descent
from the Churchill-De Gaulle and McMillan-De Gaulle quarrels of the past."
WARREN HOGE, "The Plot to Oust de Gaulle: Now Britain Tells"
URL: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/outchuck.htm
Quote: "The irritation between Churchill and de Gaulle has long been known, but the lengths to which the British prime minister was willing to go to rid himself of the man he had championed at the war's outset had not been revealed until now. So sensitive has the Public Record office considered the documents that it kept them secret for 57 years, even though British policy is to declassify most records after 30 years. In his calls for the autocratic French leader's head, Churchill was clearly emboldened by Washington's antipathy to de Gaulle. 'When we consider the absolutely vital interest which we have in preserving good relations with the United States,' he wired his ministers on May 23, 'it seems to me most questionable that we should allow this marplot and mischief-maker to continue the harm he is doing.' (A marplot is someone who spoils a plot or hinders the success of an undertaking.)"
My next best hope is my local library. I'll have a look there and let you know what (if anything) I find.
websearcher
My trip to the local library was pretty successful. I found two excellent books with detailed information about the relationship betweem Churchill and de Gaulle. I obviously can't reproduce these books verbatim, but I'll give you the relevant data about them and quote you a few passages.
Title: Winston Churchill and his Inner Circle
Author: John Colville (Churchill's Private Secretary)
Publisher: Wyndham Books, New York
Date: 1981
ISBN: 0671425838
Chapter: XIII - De Gaulle
"The interaction of the two men had its effect on the future of France and, in years to come, of Europe as a whole. Twenty years later it had its effect on Britain too, and perhaps indircetly on the United States, whose soldiers faced disaster ni the swamps and jungles of the former French colony of Indo-China..."
"It is notable, particularly in his relationship with de Gaulle, how often Churchill's initial fury and his expressed determination to take strong action, even to withdraw his support altogether, was transformed when a few days or even hours had passed."
"Despite these friendly gestures, relations again deteriorated at the end of the war. The Germans had scarcely surrendered when de Gaulle, careless of the delicate state of affairs in the Middle East, sent a cruiser loaded with troops to Syria, providing no information about his intentions and risking a clash with the Syrians and even, perhaps, with British troops stationed in the Levant."
Title: Allies at War - The Bitter Rivalry Among Churchill, Roosevelt, and de Gaulle
Author: Simon Berthon
Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers, New York
Date: 2001
ISBN: 0786709499
"However, that store of affection and admiration was clearly running dry: "He said that de Gaulle was completely subservient with him but what was odious was his unsufferable rudeness to anyone on a lower level...."
"As the conversation drew to an end Churchill talkd de Gaulle that he 'had shown marked hostility to us. Wherever he whet there was trouble. The situation was now critical. It made him sad, since he admired the General's personality and record. But he could not regard him as a comrade or friend.' Churchill concluded that matters must now take their course. General de Gaulle 'had not shown the slightest desire to assist us, and he himself had been the main obstacle to effective collaboration with Britain and America'"
I strongly suggest that you get a copy of these books from you local library and read them for yourself. They are very informative.
websearcher
Thanks for the interesting question.
I was able to find the following/'>following sources detailing the relationship between Churchill and de Gaulle. I believe these sources, once you read them more thoroughly, will allow you to answer your specific questions about the effects of the relationship between these two titans. Theses sources summarize the relationship much better than I ever could.
De Gaulle and Churchill
URL: http://www.charles-de-gaulle.org/sommaire.php3?id_mot=4
Quote: "As we know, the relations between two such extraordinary characters as Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle, each burdened with crushing responsibilities in extremely difficult circumstances, were not always easy. There were many exchanges, now famous, but which at the time were kept from the public for fear of their being misunderstood and of their damaging morale."
The Allies at War - Three titans
URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/wwtwo/allies_at_war_01.shtml
Quote: "Two of the three were the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill and the Free French leader, General, later President, Charles de Gaulle. In June 1940, as France fell to the Nazis, Churchill recognised de Gaulle as 'the man of destiny'. But their relationship would turn into a roller coaster of mutual admiration, suspicion and, on Churchill's part, loathing."
Who's Who: Sir Winston Churchill
URL: http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/churchill.htm
Quote: "With the outbreak of World War II Churchill was appointed first lord of the Admiralty. On May 10, 1940, he became Prime Minister, and established close ties with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Yalta meeting with Roosevelt and Stalin resulted in the dissection of Europe into opposing political jurisdictions. His strategic misjudgement was blamed for the wartime success of Germany in Africa, Norway, and the Aegean. He had difficulty tolerating Charles de Gaulle, and he told a friend: 'Of all the crosses I have to bear, the heaviest is the Cross of Lorraine.'"
Churchill Across the Floor
URL: http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=622#Speech
Quote: "This, together with his sometimes contradictory flows of petulance and generosity, are very well brought out in my view by the story of his relations with General de Gaulle." Note: The section of this speech related to the relationship between the two men starts after the above quote."
Allies at War: The Bitter Rivalry among Churchill, Roosevelt, and de Gaulle
URL: http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=269#TRILATERAL
Quote: "De Gaulle, for all his ravings against the treachery of the "Anglo-Saxons" and his acknowledged egoisms, appears the victim who justifiably feared a secret Anglo-American deal to drive him off center stage. The strange U.S. relationship with the collaborationist Vichy government (which the United States recognized officially as legitimate, while snubbing the Free French completely) was at the core of a long list of "betrayals" that hardened de Gaulle's personal resentment. De Gaulle's long memory of these, argues the author, would carry over into the postwar era. Churchill's initial admiration for the French leader wore thin too, but rather than blame de Gaulle the Prime Minister's Cressida-like maneuverings are seen as equally damaging to the relationship."
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO: WINTER 1975
URL: http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=345#25
Quote: "The quote, he wrote, "is drawn from de Gaulle's version of a wartime row he had with Churchill, as is made clear by the very next sentence: 'And if I have to choose between you [de Gaulle] and Roosevelt, I shall always choose Roosevelt.'"
Please let me know, before you rate this question, whether you need other sources and, if so, in what particular areas of the relationship.
Search Strategy (on Google):
* "Winston Churchill" "Charles de Gaulle"
+ more complex searches within individual websites listed above
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