Nov 12 1939 King George VI in France Giraud Petain Chamberlain Press Photo

Description

This is a nice, original, and quite scarce photo of King George VI in France. To his left is Henri Giraud and to his right is Philippe Petain. Neville Chamberlain can be seen in between the rows of soldiers.
This was during the "Phony War" period of World War II, the eight months after Britain and France had officially declared war on Germany but did not engage in serious military land operations. Six months after this photo was taken, Chamberlain was to step down as Prime Minister. On the same day Winston Churchill took the office of Prime Minister, the Germans began their surprise attack in the Ardennes forest, and France fell in six weeks. Of the 425,000 men of the British Expeditionary Force, 66,000 were lost as well as all of their heavy equipment and much of their light weaponry.
Henri Giraud was captured and taken to Königstein Castle near Dresden, which was used as a high-security POW prison where he would make a legendary escape.
Giraud planned his escape carefully over two years. He learned German and memorized a map of the area. He made a 150 feet (46 m) rope out of twine, torn bedsheets, and copper wire, which friends had smuggled into the prison for him. Using a simple code embedded in his letters home, he informed his family of his plans to escape. On 17 April 1942, he lowered himself down the cliff of the mountain fortress. He had shaved off his mustache and wearing a Tyrolean hat, traveled to Schandau to meet his Special Operations Executive (SOE) contact who provided him with a change of clothes, cash and identity papers. Through various ruses, he reached the Swiss border by train. To avoid border guards who were on the alert for him, he walked through the mountains until he was stopped by two Swiss soldiers, who took him to Basel. Giraud eventually slipped into Vichy France, where he made his identity known. He tried to convince Marshal Pétain that Germany would lose, and that France must resist the German occupation. His views were rejected but the Vichy government refused to return Giraud to the Germans. Giraud
After Germany and Italy occupied and disarmed France in November 1942, Pétain became a mere puppet of the Nazi-Germany military administration.
After the war, Pétain was tried and convicted for treason. He was originally sentenced to death, but due to his age and World War I service his sentence was commuted to life in prison. He died in 1951.
Measures 8" x 6"
There are 3 small feather creases, photo is sharp. Tiny remnants of black mounting paper on back corners.
Please review photos and Email me with any question. A great addition to any collection!