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The French empire at War, 1940–1945
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
1998
About this book
The French empire at war draws on original research in France and Britain to investigate the history of the divided French empire – the Vichy and the Free French empires – during the Second World War.
What emerges is a fascinating story. While it is clear that both the Vichy and Free French colonial authorities were only rarely masters of their own destiny during the war, preservation of limited imperial control served them both in different ways. The Vichy government exploited the empire in an effort to withstand German-Italian pressure for concessions in metropolitan France and it was key to its claim to be more than the mouthpiece of a defeated nation.
For Free France too, the empire acquired a political and symbolic importance which far outweighed its material significance to the Gaullist war effort. As the war progressed, the Vichy empire lost ground to that of the Free French, something which has often been attributed to the attraction of the Gaullist mystique and the spirit of resistance in the colonies. In this radical new interpretation, Thomas argues that it was neither of these. The course of the war itself, and the initiatives of the major combatant powers, played the greatest part in the rise of the Gaullist empire and the demise of Vichy colonial control.
What emerges is a fascinating story. While it is clear that both the Vichy and Free French colonial authorities were only rarely masters of their own destiny during the war, preservation of limited imperial control served them both in different ways. The Vichy government exploited the empire in an effort to withstand German-Italian pressure for concessions in metropolitan France and it was key to its claim to be more than the mouthpiece of a defeated nation.
For Free France too, the empire acquired a political and symbolic importance which far outweighed its material significance to the Gaullist war effort. As the war progressed, the Vichy empire lost ground to that of the Free French, something which has often been attributed to the attraction of the Gaullist mystique and the spirit of resistance in the colonies. In this radical new interpretation, Thomas argues that it was neither of these. The course of the war itself, and the initiatives of the major combatant powers, played the greatest part in the rise of the Gaullist empire and the demise of Vichy colonial control.
Topics
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Front matter
i -
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Dedication
v -
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Contents
vii -
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General editor’s introduction
ix -
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Acknowledgements
x -
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Abbreviations
xii -
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Maps
xiv -
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Introduction
1 - Part I The inter-war background
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1 The inter-war empire and French defence
10 - Part II Clashes of French empire in Africa 1940–41
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2 Territories divided, June-December 1940
38 -
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3 The empire between the Axis and the Allies, 1940–41
70 - Part III The second wave of Free French empire 1941–45
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4 The empire goes to war
100 -
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5 Empire as diplomatic incident
130 -
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6 Operation Torch and Free French imperial supremacy in Africa, 1942–45
159 -
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7 The fate of French Indo-China, 1940–45
191 - Part IV Contrasting colonial policies
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8 A new imperial order
224 -
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Conclusion
259 -
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Bibliography
265 -
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Index
289
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
September 13, 2023
eBook ISBN:
9781526121431
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781526121431
Keywords for this book
Anglo-French alliance; Charles de Gaulle; Free French movement; French colonial forces; French empire; French Indo-China; Madagascar invasion; North Africa nationalism; Operation Torch; Second World War; St Pierre and Miquelon islands; Vichy empire
Audience(s) for this book
For a non-specialist adult audience
