On This Day

Generals Giraud & de Gaulle reach agreement on constitution

Henri Honoré Giraud was a French Army general best known for his escape from German captivity in 1942 and subsequently as one of the leaders of the French Resistance and a rival of Charles de Gaulle.

Henri Honoré Giraud was a French Army general best known for his escape from German captivity in 1942 and subsequently as one of the leaders of the French Resistance and a rival of Charles de Gaulle. He was outmanoeuvred by de Gaulle and sidelined in April 1944, leading to his resignation. Giraud also escaped from German captivity during the First World War, having been wounded and captured during the Battle of St. Quentin in 1914. He further distinguished himself at the Battle of La Malmaison in 1917, where he commanded the battalion that captured the Fort de Malmaison, and during the Rif War in 1925.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Giraud was placed in command of the Seventh Army and tasked with executing the ill-fated Breda manoeuvre during the Battle of France in May 1940.

Historical Significance

Henri Honoré Giraud was a French Army general best known for his escape from German captivity in 1942 and subsequently as one of the leaders of the French Resistance and a rival of Charles de Gaulle.

Events Before

  1. German officer Claus von Stauffenberg is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel

    Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a German army officer who is best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair, part of…

  2. Negro Baseball League star Josh Gibson suffers a nervous breakdown and is admitted to the hospital for rest and treatmen

    Negro Baseball League star Josh Gibson suffers a nervous breakdown and is admitted to the hospital for rest and treatment; he is released in time for preseason training

  3. Adolf Hitler declares "Total War" against the Allies

    Adolf Hitler declares "Total War" against the Allies

  4. Soviets announce they have broken the long siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany by opening a narrow land corridor, though

    Soviets announce they have broken the long siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany by opening a narrow land corridor, though the siege is not fully lifted until a year later

  5. German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to Soviet troops at Stalingrad

    Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) during World War II who is best known for his surrender of the German 6th Army…

Events After

  1. German air raid on Allied airfields at Eindhoven, Saint-Trond, and Brussels

    German air raid on Allied airfields at Eindhoven, Saint-Trond, and Brussels

  2. Franklin D. Roosevelt is sworn in for an unprecedented and never-to-be-repeated fourth term as US President

    Franklin D. Roosevelt is sworn in for an unprecedented and never-to-be-repeated fourth term as US President

  3. Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps in Poland - now commemorated as International Holocau

    Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps in Poland - now commemorated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day [1]

  4. WWII: US troops under General Douglas MacArthur enter Manila in the Philippines after a month-long battle, ending three

    WWII: US troops under General Douglas MacArthur enter Manila in the Philippines after a month-long battle, ending three years of Japanese military occupation

  5. Declaration of Liberated Europe is signed at the Yalta Conference by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Josep

    Declaration of Liberated Europe is signed at the Yalta Conference by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, declaring that liberated nations are to establish democratic governments through free elections

More from the 1940s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on June 3, 1944?
Henri Honoré Giraud was a French Army general best known for his escape from German captivity in 1942 and subsequently as one of the leaders of the French Resistance and a rival of Charles de Gaulle. He was outmanoeuvred by de Gaulle and sidelined in April 1944, leading to his resignation. Giraud also escaped from German captivity during the First World War, having been wounded and captured during the Battle of St.
Why is Generals Giraud & de Gaulle reach agreement on constitution significant?
Henri Honoré Giraud was a French Army general best known for his escape from German captivity in 1942 and subsequently as one of the leaders of the French Resistance and a rival of Charles de Gaulle.

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