General De Gaulle’s Free French Movement and SOE
Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle during World War 2
Introduction
My upcoming free novella, The Partisan Fighter, illuminates the Partisan fight in France during WW2. Though there were numerous Partisan groups that also fought for prominence among themselves, only a few of these France-based groups closely cooperated with the British SOE movement.
Like the squabbles on the ground between the militant groups, in London, the Free French Movement led by General de Gaulle and Winston Churchill’s SOE did not see eye to eye with each other most times.
These disagreements are–alas–the reality of war. Even the ultimate victors have oftentimes fought each other tooth and nail, despite having had the same aim. Here: slay Hitler’s Third Reich.
After WW2, we have seen the quick deterioration of the collaboration between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, an unravelling we are still suffering the consequences from today.
However, in The Partisan Fighter, we are solidly in the Gaulle’s camp. Daphne de Dragoncourt, alias Simone Charlet, is a French partisan fighter. In most of my other books in The Resistance Girl Series and in my upcoming series Timeless Spies, I concentrate on British-led SOE activities in France during WW2.
Background
Since the end of WW2, the various European resistance movements and secret government organizations that fought Nazism from aboard have fascinated historians, filmmakers, and novelists.
Though the reality of the spies and resistance fighters involved was often far from glamorous, the fictional documentations about these WW2 heroes and heroines behind enemy lines always accentuate the glamour and courage. I do the same with my WW2 women in my books.
Let us have a look how the SOE (Special Operations Executive), a very British organization with (foreign) agents all over Europe, the Middle East and the Far East, related to General de Gaulle's only French group, the Free French Movement. Both competing organizations had their headquarters at a stone’s throw from each other in London.
Both interacted with the Allied forces, both performed guerrilla warfare in occupied territories, both suffered from German infiltration.
SOE conducted operations in Western Europe: in France, Norway, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, the Balkan states, Greece, Italy, Northern Africa, and the Far East, while the Free French movement concentrated on France and its (former) colonies.
SOE started its operations in June 1940 and had its headquarters in Baker Street. Its formation by Winston Churchill gave existing secret organizations, such as the SIS (Secret Intelligence Service), a means of performing campaigns that before had mostly been only on paper. Winston Churchill ordered SOE "to set Europe ablaze" and the organization did just that in the next five years of the war.
Unlike the other secret services that only gathered intelligence behind enemy lines, SOEs task was to cause as much disruption as possible. Within a month, it acquired the reputation of an obscure and unique organization. Agents and instructors in guerrilla warfare were hired from a range of different backgrounds and nationalities. By 1944, approximately 5,000 agents were involved in operations behind enemy lines, with a back-up support of nearly 10,000 staff at home.
Paradoxically, SOE’s Section F, the French division, became the largest SOE unit with most agents in France, while De Gaulle was also very active with his agents. Post-war documents provide a fascinating insight into the strained relationships between General de Gaulle, the French Governing bodies, resistance groups, SOE, and the allied governments.
With De Gaulle exiled in London from 1940 onward, representing the "Free French Government" as opposed to Petain's puppet regime in Vichy, most of the French saw him as the leader of the Resistance and Free (Fighting) French.
General de Gaulle’s first BBC speech addressing the French from London
De Gaulle's Challenges with the SOE
Dealing with General De Gaulle posed challenges for the authorities in London due to his complex and unpredictable personality. Moreover, there were significant cultural and political differences between the two governments. For instance, De Gaulle was wary of collaborating with British intelligence services. He insisted on having complete control over their activities in his occupied country, requiring them to obtain his explicit permission before involving French agents in operations. This created obstacles for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), both in terms of security and politics. The concern was that if the French agents shared De Gaulle's political beliefs, it could jeopardize SOE's relationship with Petain's Vichy Government.
Until the Germans occupied all of France in 1942, SOE agents could move relatively freely in the non-occupied south of France. However, due to De Gaulle's reluctance to cooperate closely with the SOE, there was a lack of direct coordination between them. Unfortunately, this ongoing conflict put SOE agents in France in danger, sometimes leading to their arrest and even death.
De Gaulle's Second Obstacle
Efforts to establish paramilitary organizations in collaboration with the Fighting French and their personnel failed to materialize. While the SOE had the armed personnel capable of conducting attacks on important French targets, General De Gaulle, in the early years of the war, couldn't provide the necessary manpower, like 50 men, for such operations.
De Gaulle's Emergence as the Leader of the Free French
Was General De Gaulle genuinely considered the leader of the French population fighting the Nazis? What was his relationship with his own secret services? There is ample evidence to suggest that although French officials recognized De Gaulle's importance during the war, they didn't expect him to maintain this position after the war. He was viewed as a temporary figure causing some irritation. However, they couldn't have been more wrong.
From his base in London, De Gaulle worked diligently to increase his influence among the French. He engaged with leaders of various French political groups in an attempt to secure his position as the leader of a post-war French government. He also maintained relationships with the Syndicalism movement, the socialist party, trade unions, and right-wing politicians, while having a mutually beneficial relationship with the powerful French Communist Party. All of his efforts were geared towards becoming the leader of all French citizens.
The longstanding strained relations between France and Great Britain continued to influence certain groups' attitudes and sentiments. The French remained unconvinced of Britain's commitment to their security after the war. Additionally, the U.S. and U.K. governments were suspicious of the policy direction of De Gaulle's French Committee of National Liberation (FCNL), which he formed when he relocated his headquarters from London to North Africa in August 1943.
Churchill and De Gaulle in Paris after the war
The relationship between the French and the US
During World War II, the French admired the US, but Marshal Petain didn't understand the US embassy in Vichy. Leftist French parties were unhappy about rumors of US support for French capitalist interests.
In 1942, the French Army revived under Jean Francois Darlan and General Henri Giraud. De Gaulle and Giraud jointly led the FCNL, strengthening relationships with the Resistance and right-wing supporters.
France's position became clear under Nazi occupation, but the resistance involved fewer than a million people and faced internal conflicts and criticism of SOE support.
SOE agents struggled due to diverse resistance factions, hampered by military coordination issues. The London Gaullist organization BCRAL operated separately.
Distrust was mutual, as the Allies questioned French communist groups, hindering cooperation for D-Day preparations. Deep-seated mistrust persisted between De Gaulle's Gaullists and the Allied Forces.
Charles de Gaulle as the President of the Fifth Republic of France
Conclusion
This blog provided a quick look at the collaboration between French and UK secret services during World War 2. Scholars and historians have delved into public archives from the early 2000s, uncovering challenges and successes. The Free French Movement and SOE played crucial roles in ensuring the success of D-Day.
Charles de Gaulle briefly served as France's president after the war, but differences in policies led to his resignation. He later became the iconic President of the Fifth Republic from 1959 to 1969, leaving a lasting legacy tied to WW2 and post-war French politics.
