In the streets of Bayeux |
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On June 14th
1944, the Free French Naval Forces’ destroyer La Combattante
neared the Normandy coastline. On board was General de Gaulle,
accompanied by a dozen of his closest colleagues, including Generals
Béthouard and Koenig, Admiral Thierry d’Argenlieu, Gaston Palewski and
Hettier de Boislambert.
For the General, this visit to the Normandy bridgehead was of vital
importance, as it would enable him to prove then and there the authority
of his Provisional Government of the French Republic to the
Anglo-American command, notably Roosevelt, who denied that he was in any
way representative of the French people. The American President refused
to entrust him with France’s future and wanted instead to set up an
Allied Military Government of Occupied Territories (A.M.G.O.T.). The
political imbroglio was at its height and the fate of the country would
very much hang on the events of June 14th.
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In
the early afternoon, the general set foot on French soil for the first
time in four years, at Courseulles. After a short meeting with General
Montgomery at the Château de Creullet, he set off for Bayeux, entering
the town at around 3.30 pm.
The population had been told of his imminent arrival by local Resistance
leaders, and gave the general a hero’s welcome, with more and more
people flocking to cheer de Gaulle and his companions. Preceded by a
rapturous band of children, the procession moved through streets hung
with Tricolours. After briefly stopping off at the sub-prefecture, de
Gaulle reached the castle square, where he gave a short speech in front
of a large crowd.
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The General's
speech to crowds in the castle square |
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After
a vibrant rendition of the Marseillaise, the General and his friends continued
their journey through the newly-liberated Bessin region, passing through
Grandcamp and Isigny, which had been virtually destroyed during the
fighting.
When he returned to La Combattante, de Gaulle had every reason to
feel satisfied. The ecstatic greetings he had received throughout the
region dispelled any doubts there might have been as to his popularity
and representativeness. He had scored a crucial point. Behind him, he
had left a team headed by the Republican Commissioner François Coulet,
who had the task of taking charge of the liberated territories. Over the
days that followed, Coulet was to dismiss Vichy’s sub-prefect and
replace him with his assistant, Raymond Triboulet. He also oversaw the
publication of the first newspaper of liberated France, La
Renaissance du Bessin.
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De Gaulle and his
colleagues surrounded by crowds in Isigny |
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A month
later, Roosevelt, having learned the lesson of the Bayeux visit, effectively
recognized Gaulle’s authority over the liberated regions. This was one
battle, at least, that had been won! |
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Perched on a cart, the General
addresses local people in Grandcamp |
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