11 July 2016
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Philippe Petain
The Vichy Government was established in France on 11 July 1940
On this day in history, 1940: The Vichy Government is established in France.
With the German military then occupying northern France, the position for Britain was increasingly vulnerable. Late May/early June had seen the evacuation of 350,000 British troops from Dunkirk by the ‘Little Ships’, back to the safety of British shores. Respite was temporary, however, and by September that year the German Blitzkrieg of British homes – and the Battle of Britain – had begun. Tough times for our ancestors on the Allied side in 1940.
Pictured: Philippe Petain, hero from the First World War, was appointed Premier of France in the summer of 1940, becoming leader of the Vichy Government. After the war he was disgraced, tried and convicted of treason.
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