The 80th anniversary of the liberation of Paris will be commemorated by President Macron in a ceremony on Sunday, August 25. We look at how the events unfolded 80 years ago when the city "freed itself" - with massive help from the Allies.
The Allied high command had come to understand by 1944 that Hitler gave more importance to symbolic, rather than military, targets.
This had been illustrated by the Germans’ over-engagement in the Blitz of London, Stalingrad, Kursk and Moscow, all of which hastened their own defeat.
The Supreme Allied commander in the west, General Dwight D. Eisenhower knew that the Germans – on a whim of Hitler – might try to hold Paris, sacrificing the City of Light to delay the inevitable invasion of Germany.
“The city no had no tactical significance. Despite its historic glory, Paris was nothing more than an ink spot on our maps to be bypassed as we headed toward the Rhine," wrote US General Omar Bradley in his memoirs.
However, unlike the Allied high command, General de Gaulle was highly attached to symbols.
He knew that the only way to unite the Free French Forces, the various Resistance factions and the people of France was to take the capital.
Visactu / The Connexion
Communist insurrection in Paris
As the Allies advanced through the north-west of France in July and early August, the city simmered into a mood of insurrection.
The German forces in Paris numbered around 20,000 men, many of whom were veterans of the Eastern front.
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However, they were poorly equipped in terms of artillery and armour, with only 100 captured French light tanks at their disposal.
Hoping to pacify the city with terror, the SS sent 2,000 more people to Buchenwald concentration camp on August 15.
But around them posters and graffiti started to appear calling for a general strike, for people “to kill the enemy” and for the Free French Forces (FFL) to come.
Another SS round-up on August 16 saw 35 members of the FFL executed in the Bois de Boulogne.
The French Resistance and FFL infiltrators were unbowed and in the following days their attacks on German patrols intensified into a rebellion led by the Communist resistance of Henri Rol-Tanguy.
On August 20, General de Gaulle warned General Eisenhower that bypassing the city could lead to two unfavourable outcomes: either the Resistance being crushed, or a Communist victory in Paris.
The mission of liberating Paris was entrusted to General Bradley, who delegated it to Major General Leonard T. Gerow, under whose command was the French 2nd Armored Division, led by General Leclerc.
Scouts from General Leclerc's division enter Paris on August 25, 1944Musée de la Liberation / Fonds Famille Cabagnol
As General de Gaulle had requested, French forces would free Paris, albeit as part of the US Army and wearing American uniforms.
The Germans were expecting them. On August 23, the commander of the German forces in the city General Dietrich von Choltitz, received a chilling order from Hitler: “Paris must not pass into the enemy's hands, except as a field of ruins.”
General Leclerc advanced on the city from the south on August 24, much to the annoyance of the US army command who had ordered him to attack from the west.
Overly impetuous, he outran his artillery support and his M4 Sherman tanks were bogged down at roadblocks, suffering hundreds of casualties.
The Germans were resisting but General von Choltitz knew that without massive reinforcements, there was little he could do to defend a city of this size against the combined strength of the Allies.
In addition, he did not share Hitler’s desire to see Paris turned to rubble and refused to destroy the city’s monuments.
The next day, with strong US support, General Leclerc’s 2nd Armored Division entered the city, seizing choke points.
Police join insurrection
With victory close, French police openly joined the Resistance fighters in attacking the occupiers from all sides.
By 15:00 General Choltitz had been captured and taken to General Leclerc, where he signed the surrender of the city.
The Germans lost 3,200 men, with 12,800 taken prisoner. The French lost 1,600. The number of US losses is not known.
That evening, General de Gaulle toured the city, pronouncing in front of the mairie his iconic speech:
“Paris outraged! Paris broken! Paris martyred! But Paris liberated! Liberated by itself. Liberated by its people."
The commemorations will be concentrated around the Musée de la Libération de Paris at Place Denfert-Rochereau on Sunday, August 25. They include a picnic, from midday, at the Serment-de-Koufra gardens, a ceremony at 15:45 at the General Leclerc monument, Porte d'Orléans, and a parade from the Porte d'Orléans to Place Denfert-Rochereau from 16:15. The official ceremony attended by the President at Place Denfert-Rochereau (invitation only) starts at 17:45. The museum itself is also hosting a special exhibition on the representation of the Liberation of Paris in cinema, which runs until September 18.
