‘The NATO circus — A dangerous act’. In 1958, the Soviet satirical weekly magazine Krokodil deplores the submissive attitude of the United Kingdom (depicted as a lion, the symbol on the royal coat of arms) and France (shown as a rooster) in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), which is portrayed as a US soldier. Under the eye of their American trainer, the two animals juggle with nuclear weapons, causing panic among the crowd. Soviet cartoonist Ganf also highlights the nuclear threat represented by the Atlantic Alliance and its allies. While the United Kingdom has had nuclear weapons since 3 October 1952, it is not until 13 February 1960 that France explodes its first atomic bomb.

On 17 September 1958, General de Gaulle sends a letter to Harold Macmillan, British Prime Minister, in which he calls for the French memorandum on the reform of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to be the subject of lengthy discussions between France, the United States and the United Kingdom.

On 17 September 1958, General de Gaulle sends a memorandum to the US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and to the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, in which he sets out the need for a reform of the integrated structures of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

‘Charles the Avenger. NATO’s new building becomes operational …’ In December 1959, Opland, Dutch cartoonist, sheds light on the tempestuous relations between General de Gaulle and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

On 5 September 1960, President de Gaulle holds a press conference at the Élysée Palace during which he sets out his views on the reform of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and on the role that France might play in such a reform.

During an interview in March 1961, the French Foreign Minister, Maurice Couve de Murville, outlines France's policy towards the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

In an address delivered to the US Atlantic Council in Washington on 14 January 1963, US General Lauris Norstad, a former Supreme Allied Commander, refers to the question of authority and control over the nuclear potential within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

In 1964, the cartoonist Behrendt illustrates how ‘Twenty years after’ the Allied landings on the Normandy Beaches, General de Gaulle is calling for the withdrawal of US troops from French soil.

During the 1965 ‘NATO appeal’, General de Gaulle clearly underlines the separate role that France expects to play within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

‘Icarus de Gaulle’. On 30 April 1965, Ernst Maria Lang, German cartoonist, takes an ironic view of the desire for national sovereignty harboured by General de Gaulle who wants to stay away from NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and ‘fly by himself’.

On 21 February 1966, General de Gaulle holds a press conference at the Élysée Palace during which he announces France’s withdrawal from the integrated military structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

On 7 March 1966, General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, sends a letter to the US President, Lyndon B. Johnson, to inform him of France’s decision to resume total control of sovereignty within its national territory and of its intention to withdraw its forces from the integrated command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

On 11 March 1966, the French Government sends an aide-mémoire to its partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in which it announces its decision to withdraw its ground and air forces from the Alliance’s integrated command.

Map showing the location of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) land, sea and air forces in France in 1966.

On 10 March 1966, General de Gaulle officially announces his intention to withdraw French troops from NATO integrated military command. René Pleven, former French Defence Minister, former Prime Minister and the inspiration behind the abandoned project for a European Defence Community (EDC), is one of the opponents to this decision and signs the public petition launched as a sign of protest.

In an address to the French National Assembly on 13 April 1966, Georges Pompidou, French Prime Minister, explains the reasons behind the unilateral withdrawal of French troops from the integrated military command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

In an address to the French National Assembly on 14 April 1966, René Pleven, former French Defence Minister, criticises President de Gaulle’s decision to withdraw French troops from NATO’s integrated military command and indicates the dangers of this unilateral decision for the security of Europe.

On 14 March 1967, the American General Lyman Lemnitzer, who holds joint command of SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) and the US forces stationed in Europe, presides over the departure of US troops from the Saint-Germain-en-Laye base. At 4 p.m., the French and American flags are lowered before detachments of soldiers from both countries, and a group of US soldiers folds the Stars and Stripes which flew over the base.

The announcement on 10 March 1966 that France intends to withdraw from the Atlantic Alliance’s integrated military command results in SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) leaving its base in Marly-le-Roi, Yvelines, where it has been housed since 1951, and transferring to Brussels and Casteau, Belgium, in March 1967.

On 31 March 1967, the new Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is officially opened in Casteau, near Mons, Belgium.

On 10 March 1966, General de Gaulle officially announces that France intends to withdraw from the Atlantic Alliance’s integrated military command. Forced to leave its headquarters previously located at Marly-le-Roi, Yvelines, the Alliance transfers its headquarters to Brussels and Casteau, Belgium, pursuant to an agreement signed in Brussels on 13 May 1967 between Pierre Harmel, Belgian Foreign Minister, and the US General Lyman Lemnitzer, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

On 18 December 1964, the French daily newspaper Le Monde considers the likelihood and the implications of French military neutrality vis-à-vis the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

On 25 February 1966, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera considers the causes and possible consequences of a withdrawal of French military forces from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's command structure.

On 25 February 1966, Peter Limbourg, representing the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Paris, sends a note to the German Foreign Ministry in which he outlines France's policy towards the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

In a statement to the Bundestag on 17 March 1966, Gerhard Schröder, German Foreign Minister, comments on the unilateral decision taken by General de Gaulle to withdraw French forces from the integrated command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and emphasises the importance of the Atlantic Alliance’s European defence system.

In March 1966, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit analyses the impact of General de Gaulle’s Atlantic policy on Franco-German relations.

On 22 March 1966, the US President, Lyndon B. Johnson, sends a letter to General de Gaulle in which he expresses concern over France’s decision to withdraw from the integrated military structures of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

On 16 March 1966, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung analyses the financial and military repercussions of the withdrawal of French troops from the integrated military structures of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

In March 1966, France took the unilateral decision to withdraw from NATO integrated command. Having drawn conclusions from this withdrawal, on 12 April 1966, the United States sends a memorandum to the French Government with regard to France’s position within NATO.

In June 1966, during its 12th ordinary session in Paris, the Assembly of Western European Union (WEU) considers a report submitted by Duncan Sandys, rapporteur for the Committee on issues relating to defence and arms, on the implications of the withdrawal of French troops from the integrated military command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Dans ses Mémoires, le général de Gaulle évoque la politique de désengagement de la France vis-à-vis des structures militaires intégrées de l'Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN) et décrit le mémorandum dans lequel la France a plaidé en septembre 1958 pour la création d'un directoire tripartite - États-Unis, Grande-Bretagne et France - pour assumer la direction de l'OTAN.

Du 2 au 4 septembre 1959, le général de Gaulle reçoit dans sa maison de Colombey-les-deux-Églises le président américain Dwight D. Eisenhower et lui expose les préoccupations de la France en ce qui concerne l'usage des armes atomiques et la participation du pays aux structures intégrées de commandement de l'Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN).

In his memoirs, Alain Peyrefitte, former French Information Minister, explains why, already in late 1964, General de Gaulle wanted US troops seconded to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to leave French territory.

In his memoirs, Alain Peyrefitte, former French Information Minister, recalls how General de Gaulle revealed to him the underlying aims of the memorandum which France sent to its allies on 17 September 1958 with a view to establishing a Directorate whereby France, the United Kingdom and the United States would be at the head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Dans ses Mémoires, Paul-Henri Spaak, secrétaire général de l'Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN) entre 1957 et 1961, évoque la portée du mémorandum que la France adresse, le 17 septembre 1958, au président américain Dwight Eisenhower et au Premier ministre britannique Harold Macmillan pour leur proposer la création d'un directoire tripartite à la tête de l'Alliance atlantique.

Dans ses Mémoires, le chancelier allemand Konrad Adenauer rappelle comment, le 30 juillet 1960, le général de Gaulle l'a entretenu de son projet de réforme de l'Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN) et de réorganisation institutionnelle des Communautés européennes.