Philippe Pétain

I was a soldier before anything else, trained to weigh men, shells, and days. In 1916 at Verdun I took a front buckling under fire and held it. I insisted on artillery, steady supply, and relief by rotation: divisions in, divisions out before they shattered. Endurance, not display, was my method; the line endured.

In 1917, after the Nivelle failure, the army mutinied. I took command, improved rations and leave, curtailed wasteful offensives, and punished where I judged example necessary. Discipline is not only the lash; it is also the promise that lives will not be squandered.

After victory I was made Marshal of France. I commanded in the Rif, taught the profession of arms, and served in governments. I was cautious by temperament, sparing of blood when I believed prudence could achieve the aim.

In 1940 the state collapsed. I judged continued battle on the mainland a ruin and asked for an armistice. At Vichy I assumed the powers of Chief of State and proclaimed a National Revolution: work, family, fatherland. Under my authority France enacted the Statut des Juifs and collaborated with Germany. I said I was shielding the country; in practice, people were persecuted and deported. After Liberation I was tried and condemned; de Gaulle commuted the sentence on account of age and former service. I ended my days under guard on the Ile d'Yeu.