Philippe Pétain
French military officer (1856–1951) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Philippe Pétain (/peɪˈtæ̃/, French: [filip petɛ̃]) and Marshal Pétain (French: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the collaborationist regime of Vichy France, from 1940 to 1944, during World War II.
Philippe Pétain | |
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Chief of the French State | |
In office 11 July 1940 – 20 August 1944 | |
Prime Minister | |
Preceded by | Albert Lebrun (President of the Republic) |
Succeeded by | Charles de Gaulle (Chairman of the Provisional Government of the Republic) |
Prime Minister of France | |
In office 16 June 1940 – 11 July 1940 | |
President | Albert Lebrun |
Deputy |
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Preceded by | Paul Reynaud |
Succeeded by | Pierre Laval |
Deputy Prime Minister of France | |
In office 18 May 1940 – 16 June 1940 | |
Prime Minister | Paul Reynaud |
Preceded by | Camille Chautemps |
Succeeded by | Camille Chautemps |
Minister of War | |
In office 9 February 1934 – 8 November 1934 | |
Prime Minister | Gaston Doumergue |
Preceded by | Joseph Paul-Boncour |
Succeeded by | Louis Maurin |
Chief of Staff of the Army | |
In office 30 April 1917 – 16 May 1917 | |
Preceded by | Robert Nivelle |
Succeeded by | Ferdinand Foch |
Personal details | |
Born | Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain 24 April 1856 Cauchy-à-la-Tour, French Empire |
Died | 23 July 1951(1951-07-23) (aged 95) Île-d'Yeu, France |
Spouse | |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | |
Branch/service | French Army |
Years of service | 1876–1944 |
Rank | General of division (Revoked) |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | |
Criminal conviction | |
Conviction(s) | Treason |
Criminal penalty | Death; commuted to life imprisonment |
Pétain was admitted to the Saint-Cyr Military Academy in 1876 and pursued a career in the military, achieving the rank of colonel by the outbreak of World War I. He led the French Army to victory at the nine-month-long Battle of Verdun, for which he was called "the Lion of Verdun" (French: le lion de Verdun). After the failed Nivelle Offensive and subsequent mutinies, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief and succeeded in restoring control. Pétain remained in command for the rest of the war and emerged as a national hero. During the interwar period, he was head of the peacetime French Army, commanded joint Franco-Spanish operations during the Rif War and served twice as a government minister. During this time he was known as le vieux Maréchal ("the Old Marshal").
On 16 June 1940, with the imminent Fall of France and the government desire for an armistice, Prime Minister Paul Reynaud resigned, recommending to President Albert Lebrun that he appoint Pétain in his place, which he did that day, while the government was at Bordeaux. The government then resolved to sign armistice agreements with Germany and Italy. The entire government subsequently moved briefly to Clermont-Ferrand, then to the town of Vichy in central France. It voted to transform the French Third Republic into the French State, better known as Vichy France, an authoritarian puppet regime that was allowed to govern the southeast of France and which collaborated with the Axis powers. After Germany and Italy occupied all of France in November 1942, Pétain's government worked closely with the Nazi German military administration.
After the war, Pétain was tried and convicted for treason. He was originally sentenced to death, but due to his age and World War I service his sentence was commuted to life in prison. His journey from military obscurity, to hero of France during World War I, to collaborationist ruler during World War II, led his successor Charles de Gaulle to declare that Pétain's life was "successively banal, then glorious, then deplorable, but never mediocre".
Pétain, who was 84 years old when he became Prime Minister and later Chief of State, remains both the oldest person to become the head of government and the oldest person to become the head of state of France.