At the culmination of the Second World War, several nations in Europe were devastated politically, socially, and economically because of the attack on Germany. The European countries were in pieces and a good number of people perceived that they would not recuperate from such an extensive damage. Nevertheless, in the midst of these trying times in anticipation for a brighter future, a number of nations in Europe made great efforts to recover and restore power. During this time, a person by the name of Charles de Gaulle took the mantle to lead the nation of France. De Gaulle envisioned his country to become identified as a great global power. He intended to lead the French people into their new blossoming future. He was seen as being at the forefront during his country’s engagement in the Second World War. However, he disappointedly turned down the offer of gaining government authority in the 1940’s. At last, in 1958, he regained his position with the hope of establishing his country’s autonomy and reinstating its influence in the world, but his intentions were not fully realized. Early life and influences On November 23, 1890, in the northern industrial city of Lille, a man named Charles de Gaulle was born to a nationalist, traditionalist, but quite socially progressive catholic bourgeois family (Blumberg, p.58; Simkin, para.1 ). He was the second of five children of Henri de Gaulle. De Gaulle’s father, Henri, was a teacher of philosophy and literature at a Jesuit college. He ultimately established his own school. Henri was also a veteran of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, wherein the Prussians disappointedly conquered what the French considered as the strongest army at that time. This humiliating defeat made a great impact to the life of the patriotic Henri. He swore to retaliate and regain the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. Henry’s attitude profoundly influenced the lives of his sons. Therefore, he brought them up to act as the instruments of accomplishing his revenge mission and the reinstatement of their country as the supreme power in Europe. From childhood, the parents of Charles de Gaulle taught him a lot about the history of his country. One of de Gaulle’s great-great-grandparents, Jean Baptiste de Gaulle, served as a counselor to the king while his grandfather, Julien Phillippe de Gaulle authored a book about the history of Paris. On his tenth birthday, Charles was given this book as a present. He greatly treasured this book and read it many times. Charles de Gaulle was also dedicated to the publications made by Julien Phillippe’s wife, Josephine Marie. One of the literary works by Josephine, The liberator of Ireland, greatly inspired the young man’s life. This book gave him a demonstration of a man’s struggle against religious or political discrimination. He emulated this example in his own life. Possibly the main influence on de Gaulle’s character can be attributed to his uncle, who was also called Charles de Gaulle. He authored a book on the subject of the Celts. The book called for the unification of the Breton, Scots, Irish, and Welsh people. Military Career De Gaulle did not go to a polytechnic college; he started his military career in 1909 on admission to the elite military academy of Saint-Cyr because of the passion he had for his home country. One o