Few figures in modern French history have aroused more controversy than Marshal Philippe Pétain, who rose from obscurity to great fame in the First World War only to fall into infamy during the dark days of Nazi occupation in World War II.

With the bulk of the French Army already destroyed and Paris itself wide-open to attack, Petain, then eighty-four, immediately sought an armistice with Germany to halt further bloodshed. While others fled, Petain took what he considered the braver course by staying and doing what he could to safeguard the remnants of his army and his nation. So began his descent into collaboration, treason, and the destruction of all that he had accomplished and stood for throughout his life.