The Tragic Fall of a French Hero: Marshal Petain’s Betrayal of France
Henri Philippe Petain, commonly known as Marshal Petain (1856 – 1951), was once a highly respected French national hero. He was acclaimed for his World War I role in holding back the Germans in the 1916 Battle of Verdun, which earned him the nickname “The Lion of Verdun“. He later sullied his reputation with a betrayal of France. In his twilight years, after France’s defeat in 1940, Petain headed the collaborationist Vichy Regime, a German puppet government. Since his earliest days as an officer, Petain had a rapport with and understanding of common soldiers that made him immensely popular with his men. His rise until WWI was slow, however.
Petain’s emphasis on defense in modern war, which proved correct in WWI, challenged the French Army’s orthodoxy that an attack could overcome any obstacles if the men had sufficient elan, or spirit. He rose quickly through the ranks during the war, and in 1916 was appointed to command the defense of Verdun in the war’s bloodiest battle. Verdun was retained by the French, in the face of fierce German attacks. The following year, an incompetently planned attack failed and led to widespread mutinies throughout the French Army. Petain, the general most trusted and beloved by common soldiers, was sent to restore the situation. He did so with a carrots-and-sticks mix of reforms to improve the soldiers’ lives, combined with the execution of the mutiny’s ringleaders. By war’s end, Petain was a beloved national hero.