PETAIN VERDUN HERO OR VICHY TRAITOR?

Philippe Pétain, Marshal of France and hero of Verdun during WWI, tarnished his reputation beyond redemption as a collaborator with the Nazis during WWII and head of the puppet Vichy government

- MICHAEL E HASKEW

Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain was a prominent figure in French political and military affairs during the first half of the 20th century. One of the most enigmatic individuals of modern history, Pétain became a national hero during the epic struggle at Verdun in World War I but tarnished his reputation beyond redemption a generation later, collaborating with the Nazis in 1940 and serving as head of the puppet Vichy government during World War II.

Pétain was an officer of the French Army, military strategist and tactician, diplomat, and politician. His career with the French Army spanned 46 years, during which he served as commander of all French troops during World War I, chief of staff of the army and minister of war. He also served as deputy prime minister and prime minister of the French Republic during the dark early days of World War II. Pétain subsequently became chief of the French State of Vichy, the puppet regime subservient to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis after the fall of France in the summer of 1940.

Pétain was born on 24 April 1856 in the village of Cauchy-á-la-Tour, in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France. He was the son of a farmer, Omer-Venant, and his great uncle – Father Abbe Lefebvre – was a Catholic priest who had served in Napoleon’s army. Tales of his great uncle’s adventures during the fabled military campaigns of that era convinced young Philippe to pursue a military career.