Paris is liberated after four years of Nazi occupation

On August 251944after more than four years of Nazi occupationParis is liberated by the French 2nd Armored Division and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. German resistance was lightand General Dietrich von Choltitzcommander of the German garrisondefied 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 afternoonand on August 26Free French General Charles de Gaulle led a joyous liberation march down the Champs d’Elysees.

Paris fell to Nazi Germany on June 141940one month after the German Wehrmacht stormed into France. Eight days laterFrance signed an armistice with the Germansand a puppet French state was set up with its capital at Vichy. ElsewherehoweverGeneral Charles de Gaulle and the Free French kept fightingand the Resistance sprang up in occupied France to resist Nazi and Vichy rule.

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 1944the 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 18Allied forces were near Parisand 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 coastSupreme 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 21Eisenhower met with de Gaulle and told him of his plans to bypass Paris. De Gaulle urged him to reconsiderassuring 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 Paristhereby threatening the re-establishment of a democratic government. De Gaulle politely told Eisenhower that if his advance against Paris was not orderedhe would send Leclerc’s 2nd Armored Division into the city himself.

On August 22Eisenhower agreed to proceed with the liberation of Paris. The next daythe 2nd Armored Division advanced on the city from the north and the 4th Infantry Division from the south. Meanwhilein Paristhe 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 manand 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 landmarksbut 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 artillerytaking heavy casualtiesbut on August 24 managed to cross the Seine and reach the Paris suburbs. Therethey were greeted by enthusiastic civilians who besieged them with flowerskissesand wine. Later that dayLeclerc learned that the 4th Infantry Division was poised to beat him into Paris properand he ordered his exhausted men forward in a final burst of energy. Just before midnight on August 24the 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 fledand those that fought were quickly overcome. On the morning of August 25the 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 afternoonCholtitz was arrested in his headquarters by French troops. Shortly afterhe signed a document formally surrendering Paris to de Gaulle’s provisional government. De Gaulle himself arrived in the city later that afternoon. On August 26de Gaulle and Leclerc led a triumphant liberation march down the Champs d’Elysees. Scattered gunfire from a rooftop disrupted the paradebut the identity of the snipers was not determined.

De Gaulle headed two successive French provisional governments until 1946when he resigned over constitutional disagreements. From 1958 to 1969he served as French president under the Fifth Republic.