A series of British victories culminated in the destruction of the Italian 10th Army in the Battle of Beda Fomm in Libya in February 1941. Following this victory, British strategy focused on fighting fascist Italy in North Africa. In contrast, the British had seen their finest hour as they repelled the Nazi attempts to invade – with the Royal Air Force defeating the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain from July to October 1940. The Free French exiled in London – and the Resistance waging their heroic struggle within France – had to grapple with the ignominy of France’s capitulation and subsequent collaboration upon the precipitous collapse of the French military in May 1940.
The Allies had gone through a dark period before. Yet the Battle of Bir Hakeim played an invaluable role in boosting the pride of the Free French forces – the morale of “the France that fights, the only France, the true France, the eternal France”, as de Gaulle called it in his renowned speech at the Hôtel de Ville upon the Liberation of Paris in August 1944. Ask the average Parisian what Bir Hakeim is and they will tell you that it is a metro station – right next to an iconic bridge over the Seine with the same name. While Charles de Gaulle and his exiled Free French forces have a cherished place in France’s collective memory of World War II, the Battle of Bir Hakeim has receded into the background.
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