Charles de Gaulle - Patriot Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lille, France

Charles de Gaulle was born on November 22nd, 1890 in the northern French town of Lille, close to the Belgian border. He was the third of five children of a Roman Catholic family. His father taught philosophy at a Jesuit college.

Answer: Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle was rarely referred to by his given names. To most of the world he was known simply as General de Gaulle.

Answer: His military career commenced immediately after completing his education.

After completing his formal education, Charles de Gaulle enrolled at the French military academy of Saint-Cyr, graduating in 1912. The 'Ecole Speciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr' was the foremost military college of France, and equivalent to Britain's Sandhurst or the USA's West Point.

Answer: True

In March, 1916 he was seriously wounded during bitter fighting at the Battle of Verdun. Left for dead, he was captured and his wounds treated. After recovering he made five unsuccessful attempts to escape, and was transferred to the high security prison at Ingolstadt, where he remained for the duration of the war.

Answer: Poland

The French and British governments sent military missions to assist Poland in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921. Though small in numbers, these missions were rich in expertise, and consisted of experienced officers and military advisers. Charles de Gaulle served with distinction and earned Poland's highest military award, the Virtuti Militari.

Answer: He married once, and had three children.

He married Yvonne Vendroux, affectionately referred to by public and media as 'Tante Yvonne', on 7th April 1921. The marriage produced one boy and two girls, Philippe, Elisabeth, and Anne. Anne, the youngest child, had Down's Syndrome and died at the age of twenty.

Answer: le Brigand

Le Grand Constable was one of de Gaulle's nicknames used by fellow students at Saint-Cyr military academy. La Grande Zohra, meaning the big camel, was used by critics of de Gaulle's policy of granting independence to Algeria. Le Colonel Motor referred to his enthusiasm for a mobile armoured army, against the more popular defensive military policies such as construction of the Maginot Line.

There are no records of de Gaulle being referred as le Brigand.

Answer: Colonel

Charles de Gaulle was promoted to colonel in 1937, and commanded a tank regiment. At the outbreak of war in France, he was given command of the 4th Armoured Division, and repulsed a German attack at Laon near the Belgian border in north east France. As a result of this action he was promoted to Brigadier General, becoming the youngest general in the French army.

Answer: True

Though still maintaining his military rank, on 6th June, 1940 General de Gaulle became Under Secretary of State for National Defense and War in the government of Prime Minister Paul Reynaud. France capitulated on 22nd June, 1940, and General de Gaulle went into exile in Britain as leader of Free French Forces.

Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henri Geraud, Charles de Gaulle, and Winston Churchill

Both Henri Geraud and Charles de Gaulle attended the Casablanca Conference as joint leaders of Free French Forces. Eventually Geraud lost his influence, and de Gaulle became sole leader. Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill attended the Yalta Conference, where strategy on post war European borders was agreed, but Stalin declined an invitation to attend the Casablanca Conference. Harry S. Truman did not become president of the USA until 1945, so had no part in these meetings.

Answer: Sir Edward Louis Spears, British liason officer to General de Gaulle

Although this remark is often attributed to Winston Churchill, it was in fact made by Major General Sir Edward Louis Spears.
General de Gaulle could be equally outspoken at times, and once said of his meetings with Churchill "When I am right, I get angry. Churchill gets angry when he is wrong. So we were often angry at each other".
The Cross of Lorraine was the symbol of Free French Forces, whose flag depicted the cross in the centre of the French tricolour.

Answer: Eight days later on 14th June, 1944.

General de Gaulle flew into Britain from Algeria on 5th June, 1944, the day before the Normandy invasion. Eight days later he landed at Bayeux, which had by then been liberated, and made a triumphal entry to Paris on 26th August, 1944.

Answer: Disagreement over the constitution of the new Fourth Republic of France.

The French goverment adopted the new constitution of the Fourth Republic on October 13th, 1946. Charles de Gaulle believed this gave parliament too much authority, which could then be swayed by political priorities and allegiances to the detriment of the French people.
In 1947 de Gaulle made an unsuccessful attempt to oppose the national government, by forming a movement called Rassemblement du Peuple Francais (Rally of the French People).
De Gaulle and his party returned to power in 1958, and he was elected President of France. He was then re-elected in 1965, but resigned in April 1969 following a defeat in the Senate over constitutional reforms.

Answer: none

Charles de Gaulle had specified that no heads of state should be present at his funeral, which was attended only by family members, close friends, and some of his wartime companions. There was however a service held in his honour at Notre Dame Cathedral, which was attended by many heads of state. On the day of his funeral, all church bells in France were tolled in his honour.

Answer: a Paris suburb

Charles de Gaulle International Airport is France's main airport, and one of the busiest in the world. The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French navy, and in 2001 played an active role in Operation Enduring Freedom, against the Taliban government of Afghanistan. Charles de Gaulle, born September 25th, 1948, is the grandson of General Charles de Gaulle, and was a European Parliament member from 1994 to 2004.