"He approached, then he disappeared!"

Translation: Il s'est approché, puis il a disparu !

[SusanGalla374178]

Il s'approcha; puis il a disparu

[Jojo553168]

You usually use the same tense in such sentences:

→ Il s'est approché, puis il a disparu !
→ Il s'approcha, puis il disparut !

[Stonnington]

Jojo, when should we use the 2nd sentence?

[NicoletteD587450]

I'm not Jojo, but this is the past historic tense which is used in literary situations; it is usually seen in books, but not spoken, except in some French dialects.

[Stonnington]

Thanks

[InvertedGo]

I believe that is the passé simple. It's basically the literary equivalent of the passé composé.

[Stonnington]

Thanks