WI: Charles de Gaulle dies in 1940?

Do you happen to know if he flew or sailed back perchance? Just wondering what an opportune plane crash might do for things with someone else in charge.
 
Cook said:
As heads of an exile government, neither Daladier nor Mandel would have been perfect, but then an obscure Brigadier-General with no political experience and a prickly personality wasn't either. Daladier was a virtual manic depressive who sustained himself through the crisis of 1940 by drinking heavily; many witnesses describe him reeking of Absinthe during cabinet meetings, but his public image was stronger and inspired more respect than his private one. Mandel’s character was outstanding for the role of an exiled leader; he’s was calm, unflappable, resolute and determined, the only thing going against him was that he was a Jew, and this was something that the Vichy regime and the Germans would have used for maximum propaganda effect. The best scenario would have been for both Daladier and Mandel to have got to England, preferably with Campinchi as well; Daladier would have become the head of the provisional government with Mandel providing the reliable anchor and capable administration, while Campinchi would have been able to issue orders to the French Fleet with at least some confidence of outweighing the orders issued by Darlan.

None would have equalled the prestige of Petain, but they all had more political prestige, clout and public profile than de Gaulle had, with the possibility of more colonies and men joining the Free French cause.
Thanks for this. Very interesting indeed.:)

This really does change the complexion of the war. French crews for DDs & corvettes would be an enormous help, especially for RCN escort groups.

It makes me wonder if this has Winston treating Fr more as equal, & if it only encourages stupid adventures in Africa & Italy...:eek:

Do French colonies have any manufacturing capacity to make up losses? (Obviously access to French gold reserves mean more shipping & weapons from the U.S.) Which also suggests no Bengal famine.

It's likely Italy is thrown out of North Africa before Rommel & DAK arrive.:eek::cool:

It's probable the forces going ashore for Neptune will add at least one French division in place of an American one, tho it's possible a stronger French ally will want an earlier (1943?) invasion: this may even be possible with more French money & manpower.

It obviously means France will have an equal share of Berlin & Germany postwar... It also probably means France is more strongly allied with Britain & the U.S. against the Sovs.

Does it move Fr to make colonies more into commonwealths postwar? Hence no wars in Algeria & Vietnam...:cool::cool: I wonder if a stronger French presence doesn't mean Canada avoids the 1944 conscription crisis & the rise of the FLQ, as well as the October Crisis.:cool:

Take a look at it from the other side, tho: what does Hitler do? Does he occupy all of France? Does he even offer a pissed off Vichy the chance to become a genuine (if junior) ally?:eek:
 
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Cook

Banned
Do you happen to know if he flew or sailed back perchance? Just wondering what an opportune plane crash might do for things with someone else in charge.
Weygand? He flew back from Syria to replace Gamelin.
 
There is also the possibility of Darlan going with his fleet to the UK but I am not sure if he would be any less offensive then De Gaulle.:D
 

Cook

Banned
Removing Weygand...now there lies an exciting notion.
Easy enough to achieve. Aside from the long flight back from Syria via Tunisia, when Weygand was given command he insisted on visiting the north in person to assess the situation. Not liking to fly, he’d wanted to go by train to visit his northern commanders; had he done so his train would have rolled into Abbeville from the south at about the time the panzers rolled in from the east; the image of the decrepit little jockey stepping of his train into the hands of the wehrmacht would have been an amusing one. As it was he flew to Belgium, overflying the Germans both on the way there and on the return; this at a time when the Luftwaffe already dominated the air.

There is also the possibility of Darlan going with his fleet to the UK but I am not sure if he would be any less offensive then De Gaulle.
Darlan was an Anglophobe, and one of the quickest Frenchmen to adjust his world view to the New Order in Europe. It is conceivable that he would accompany a French government of ‘hards’ to Algeria to continue the fight, but Darlan leading a French government in exile is less than credible.
 

Cook

Banned
Take a look at it from the other side, tho: what does Hitler do? Does he occupy all of France? Does he even offer a pissed off Vichy the chance to become a genuine (if junior) ally?
If it was a scenario in which the government flees to North Africa or England, surrendering only the army of Metropolitan France, then the Germans would occupy all of France and the war shifts to the Mediterranean; Hitler would be unable to ignore a French North Africa that refused to surrender. In such a situation, with France occupied but the French fleet and empire still holding out, Hitler would have no reason not to agree to Franco’s terms for entering the war in July – August 1940: agreeing to hand over French Morocco, French Sahara and half of Algeria to Spain.



If however the scenario was ‘the hards’ fleeing to England and after Petain capitulates, declaring themselves as the legitimate French government, perhaps able to win over the French fleet and some of the colonies, then mainland France would be governed the same way it was IOTL; ruled by Frenchmen, but only those Frenchmen willing to carry out the wishes of the Germans.
 
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