Appeal of 18 June as the beginning of the Resistance and Free French, historians have shown that the appeal was heard only by a minority of French people. De Gaulle's 22 June 1940 speech on the BBC was more widely heard. General de Gaulle became the "de facto" leader of the Free French Forces that had escaped to London in June 1940. Marshal Philippe Pétain, a hero of World War I, pledged to sign an armistice with Nazi Germany, and led the collaborating Vichy government while the Germans occupied the country's northern portion and several leading politicians, including Georges Mandel, Leon Blum, Pierre Mendès
Aircraft of the Battle of Britain for the award of a campaign medal Aircraft of the Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain (German: "Luftschlacht um England") was an effort by the German Air Force ("Luftwaffe") during the summer and autumn of 1940 to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF) of the United Kingdom in preparation for the planned amphibious and airborne forces invasion of Britain by Operation Sea Lion. Neither the German leader Adolf Hitler nor his High Command of the Armed Forces ("Oberkommando der Wehrmacht", or OKW) believed it was possible to carry out a successful amphibious assault on Britain until