What is Philippe Pétain?
{{Infobox Officeholder | name = Philippe Petain | image = Pétain - Portrait photographique 1941.jpg | caption = Pétain in 1941 | office = [[Chief of the French State]] | term = 11 July 1940 – 20 August 1944 | birth_date = 24 April 1856 | birth_place = [[Cauchy-à-la-Tour]], [[Pas-de-Calais]], [[Second French Empire]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1951|07|23|1856|04|24|df=y}} | death_place = [[Port-Joinville]], [[Vendée]], [[France]] | office1 = Prime Minister of France | termend1 = 11 July 1940 | termstart1 = 16 June 1940 | termend2 = 16 June 1940 | termstart2 = 18 May 1940 | office2 = Deputy Prime Minister of France }} '''Philippe Pétain''' (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951) was a [[French people|French]] [[General]] who served as leader of [[Vichy France]] between 1940 and 1944. During [[World War I]] Pétain was the hero of the [[Battle of Verdun]] and led the French Army until the end of the war in 1918. In 1940 during the [[Battle of France]] the French government asked him to govern the country. He surrendered to the Germans. From 1940 to late 1942, Vichy France was a [[client state]] of [[Nazi Germany]]. In November 1942 Pétain became a puppet of Nazi Germany as they fully occupied and disarmed Vichy France. 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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Petain, Philippe}} [[Category:1856 births]] [[Category:1951 deaths]] [[Category:Ambassadors of France]] [[Category:French criminals]] [[Category:French diplomats]] [[Category:French generals]] [[Category:French military personnel of World War I]] [[Category:French people of World War II]] [[Category:French prisoners]] [[Category:French Roman Catholics]] [[Category:Government ministers of France]] [[Categ