Liberation Of Paris (French: Libération de Paris)
(As Allied troops enter Paris on August 26, 1944, celebrating crowds on place De La Concorde scatter for cover from small bands of remaining German snipers.)
After more than four years of
Nazi Occupation, Paris is liberated by the French 2nd Armored Division and the
U.S. 4th Infantry Division. German resistance was light, and General Dietrich
von Choltitz, Commander of the German garrison, defied an order by Adolf Hitler
to blow up Paris’ landmarks and burn the city to the ground before its
liberation. Choltitz signed a formal surrender that afternoon, and on August
26, Free French General Charles de Gaulle led a joyous liberation march down
the Champs d’Elysees.
War Background:
Paris fell to Nazi Germany on
June 14, 1940, one month after the German Wehrmacht stormed into France. Eight
days later, France signed an armistice with the Germans, and a puppet French
state was set up with its capital at Vichy. Elsewhere, however, General Charles
de Gaulle and the Free French kept fighting, and the Resistance sprang up in
occupied France to resist Nazi and Vichy rule.
Liberation Debate:
The French 2nd Armored Division
was formed in London in late 1943 with the express purpose of leading the Liberation
of Paris during the Allied invasion of France. In August 1944, the division
arrived at Normandy under the command of General Jacques-Philippe Leclerc and
was attached to General George S. Patton’s 3rd U.S. Army. By August 18, Allied
forces were near Paris, and workers in the city went on strike as Resistance
fighters emerged from hiding and began attacking German forces and
fortifications. At his headquarters two miles inland from the Normandy coast,
Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower had a dilemma. Allied planners
had concluded that the liberation of Paris should be delayed so as to not
divert valuable resources away from important operations elsewhere. The city
could be encircled and then liberated at a later date. On August 21, Eisenhower
met with de Gaulle and told him of his plans to bypass Paris. De Gaulle urged
him to reconsider, assuring him that Paris could be reclaimed without
difficulty. The French General also warned that the powerful Communist faction
of the Resistance might succeed in liberating Paris, thereby threatening the
re-establishment of a democratic government. De Gaulle politely told Eisenhower
that if his advance against Paris was not ordered, he would send Leclerc’s 2nd
Armored Division into the city himself. On August 22, Eisenhower agreed
to proceed with the Liberation of Paris. The next day, the 2nd Armored Division
advanced on the city from the north and the 4th Infantry Division from the
south. Meanwhile, in Paris, the forces of German General Dietrich von Choltitz
were fighting the Resistance and completing their defenses around the city.
Hitler had ordered Paris defended to the last man, and demanded that the city
not fall into Allied hands except as “a field of ruins.” Choltitz dutifully
began laying explosives under Paris’ bridges and many of its landmarks, but
disobeyed an order to commence the destruction. He did not want to go down in
history as the man who had destroyed the “City of Light”–Europe’s most
celebrated city. The 2nd Armored Division ran into heavy German artillery,
taking heavy casualties, but on August 24 managed to cross the Seine and reach
the Paris suburbs. There, they were greeted by enthusiastic civilians who
besieged them with flowers, kisses, and wine. Later that day, Leclerc learned
that the 4th Infantry Division was poised to beat him into Paris proper, and he
ordered his exhausted men forward in a final burst of energy. Just before
midnight on August 24, the 2nd Armored Division reached the Hótel de Ville in
the heart of Paris. German resistance melted away
during the night. Most of the 20,000 troops surrendered or fled, and those that
fought were quickly overcome. On the morning of August 25, the 2nd Armored
Division swept clear the western half of Paris while the 4th Infantry Division
cleared the eastern part. Paris was liberated. In the early afternoon, Choltitz
was arrested in his headquarters by French troops. Shortly after, he signed a
document formally surrendering Paris to de Gaulle’s provincial government. De
Gaulle himself arrived in the city later that afternoon. On August 26, de
Gaulle and Leclerc led a triumphant liberation march down the Champs d’Elysees.
Scattered gunfire from a rooftop disrupted the parade, but the identity of the
snipers was not determined.
Aftermath:
Food Crisis:
Whilst the liberation was
ongoing, it become apparent that food in Paris was getting scarcer by the day.
The French rail network had largely been destroyed by allied bombing so getting
food in had become a problem, especially since the Germans had stripped Paris
of its resources for themselves. The allies realised the necessity to get Paris
back on its feet and pushed a plan for food convoys to get through to the
capital as soon as possible. In addition surrounding towns and villages were
requested to supply as much of Paris as possible. The Civil Affairs of SHAEF
authorised the import of up to 2,400 tons of food per day at the expense of the
military effort. A British food convoy labelled 'Vivres Pour Paris' entered on
August 29 and US supplies were flown in via Orleans Airport before being
convoyed in. 500 tons were delivered a day by the British and another 500 tons
by the Americans. Along with French civilians outside Paris bringing in
indigenous resources, within ten days the food crisis was overcome.
Resistance Over Collaboration:
The Uprising in Paris gave the
newly established Free French government and its President, Charles de Gaulle,
enough prestige and authority to establish a provisional French Republic. This
replaced the fallen Vichy State (1940–1944), and united the politically divided
French Resistance, drawing Gaullists, nationalists, Communists and anarchists
into a new "national unanimity" government. De Gaulle emphasized the role
that the French had in the Liberation and made it clear that Paris liberated
itself rather than was freed by the Allies.
De Gaulle drove the necessity for the French people to do their
"duty of war" by advancing into the Benelux countries and Germany. He
wanted France to be among "the victors", a belief that they escaped
the fate of having a new constitution imposed by the AMGOT threat like those
that would be established in Germany and Japan in 1945. On August 28th, the FFI, called
"the combatants without uniform", were incorporated into the New
French Army (nouvelle armée française). The New French Army was fully equipped
with U.S. equipment, such as uniforms, helmets, weapons and vehicles, and they
continued to be used until after the Algerian War in the 1960s.
In Popular Culture:
Filmography:
La Libération de Paris
(1944): La Libération de Paris
("The Liberation of Paris"), whose original title was L'Insurrection
Nationale inséparable de la Libération Nationale ("The National
Insurrection inseparable from the National Liberation"), was a short 30
minute documentary film secretly shot from August 16th to 27th by the French
Resistance. It was released in French theatres on September 1s
Is Paris Burning? (1966)
Diplomacy (2014)
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