GAULLE Charles de. 6 L. A. S. "C." and a note, 8-27 May 1940, to his wife Yvonne de Gaulle; 2 pages in-4 each, and an envelope. War letters to his wife, during the fighting at the head of his tanks, when he was promoted to general. 8 May. "My dear little wife, [...] Still nothing new here. I am spending days here which I think will be my last in my present post. I will have to be in Poissy (?) towards the end of this month (between the 20th and 30th probably). But between now and then, I'll have to do a tour of France to see where the elements in training are. So I expect to be in Colombey on the 13th. The outcome of the Norwegian affair will undoubtedly create difficulties for Paul Reynaud, although he had nothing to do with it, on the contrary. We had counted on the British fleet which, in the end, did little because the old gentlemen in London (such as Chamberlain) prevented Churchill from taking any risks. I believe, however, that P. R. will pull through"... 10 May. "The war, the real war, has begun. I would, however, be rather surprised if the present operations in Holland and Belgium were really to constitute the great Franco-German battle. That will come, in my opinion, a little later. In any case, I would like the 4th Armoured Division to be ready as soon as possible. In any case, we must expect increasing air activity and, consequently, take precautions. He recommended that great care be taken in Colombey: "So be very careful, during the day to get in and get people in if there is an alert, and at night to turn off the lights. [...] I take you in my arms and kiss you with all my heart that loves you"... 15th May. "Here I am in the middle of a fight. Called yesterday at great urgency to form a Division. From this point of view, everything is going well. I've been given all they can give me. We'll soon see what happens next. Things are very serious. I'm confident that we'll be able to overcome them. However, you have to expect anything. There's nothing really urgent for you, whatever happens. But you must be kept informed, if possible by General Bret, so that you are not surprised, if ever... "... 21 May. "I am writing to you after a long, hard fight which, incidentally, went very well for me. My Division is being formed by fighting and I am not being denied the means, because if the general atmosphere is bad, it is excellent for your husband. I don't know where things are going. However, today I have a slightly better impression that our command is beginning to pull itself together. But be ready to withdraw if necessary. [...] On your feast day, I was in the middle of a battle and this battle - a rare occurrence since the beginning of this war - was a happy one. In my thoughts I sent you my warmest wishes, Vonne"... He gives his address: "Colonel de Gaulle Commanding the Division, Sect. 15.231". 24th May. "Still fighting. But things aren't going badly for me. I have the impression that the surprise is over and that we're on the road to recovery. But how many feathers we have left and will leave again! I became a General yesterday. I found out in a letter that Paul Reynaud, Minister of War, had sent to me on the line, announcing that he had signed my promotion on the proposal of Gal Weygand"... 24th May. On an envelope, he writes: "Nothing very new, but it's all the rage... Many love to my darling little wife. C. " 27th May. "We (the Division) are in a relative respite at the moment. I think a lot about you and our children. [I wrote to you that I had been promoted to General on the 24th of this month". He advises his wife not to stay at La Boisserie: "But you should try to get your silver taken there, as the uninhabited houses - as I can see - are at risk of being looted not so much by the troops as by the refugees"... LNC, I, p. 928-933.