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Liberation of Paris
The Liberation of Paris (French: libération de Paris) was a battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Armistice of 22 June 1940, after which the Wehrmacht occupied northern and western France.
The liberation began when the French Forces of the Interior—the military structure of the French Resistance—staged an uprising against the German garrison upon the approach of the US Third Army, led by General George S. Patton. On the night of 24 August, elements of General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque's 2nd French Armored Division made their way into Paris and arrived at the Hôtel de Ville shortly before midnight. The next morning, 25 August, the bulk of the 2nd Armored Division and US 4th Infantry Division and other allied units entered the city. Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the German garrison and the military governor of Paris, surrendered to the French at the Hôtel Le Meurice, the newly established French headquarters. General Charles de Gaulle of the French Army arrived to assume control of the city as head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic.
The Allied strategy emphasised destroying the German forces retreating towards the Rhine, and the French Forces of the Interior (the armed force of the French Resistance), led by Henri Rol-Tanguy, staged an uprising in Paris.
The Battle of the Falaise Pocket (12–21 August), the final phase of Operation Overlord, was still ongoing, and General Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, did not consider the liberation of Paris a primary objective. The goal of the US and of British Armed Forces was to destroy the German forces and therefore to end World War II in Europe, which would allow the Allies to concentrate all of their efforts on the Pacific Front.
The French Resistance began to rise against the Germans in Paris on 15 August, but the Allies were still pushing the Germans toward the Rhine and did not want to get embroiled in a battle for the liberation of Paris. The Allies thought that it was too early to take Paris. They were aware that Adolf Hitler had ordered the German military to completely destroy the city in the event of an Allied attack. Paris was considered to have too great a value, culturally and historically, to risk its destruction. They were also keen to avoid a drawn-out battle of attrition like during the Battle of Stalingrad. It was also estimated that in the event of a siege, 4,000 short tons (3,600 t) of food per day, as well as significant amounts of building materials, manpower and engineering skill, would be required to feed the population after the liberation of Paris.[citation needed] Basic utilities would have to be restored and transportation systems rebuilt. All of those supplies were needed in other areas of the war effort. De Gaulle was concerned that military rule by Allied forces would be implemented in France with the implementation of the Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories. That administration which had been planned by the American Chiefs of Staff had been approved by US President Franklin Roosevelt but had been opposed by Eisenhower. Nevertheless, De Gaulle, upon learning the French Resistance had risen up against the German occupiers and unwilling to allow his countrymen to be slaughtered as was happening to the Polish Resistance during the Warsaw Uprising, petitioned for an immediate frontal assault. He threatened to detach the French 2nd Armored Division (2e DB) and to order it to single-handedly attack the German forces in Paris, bypassing the SHAEF chain of command in so doing, if Eisenhower delayed approval unduly.
On 15 August, in the northeastern suburb of Pantin, 1,654 men (among them 168 captured Allied airmen), and 546 women, all political prisoners, were sent to the concentration camps of Buchenwald (men) and Ravensbrück (women), on what was to be the last convoy to Germany. Pantin had been the area of Paris from which the Germans had entered the capital in June 1940.
The same day, employees of the Paris Métro, the Gendarmerie and Police went on strike; postal workers followed the next day. They were soon joined by workers across the city, which caused a general strike to break out on 18 August.
On 16 August, 35 young FFI members were betrayed by an agent of the Gestapo. They had gone to a secret meeting near the Grande Cascade in the Bois de Boulogne and were gunned down there.
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Liberation of Paris AI simulator
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Liberation of Paris
The Liberation of Paris (French: libération de Paris) was a battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Armistice of 22 June 1940, after which the Wehrmacht occupied northern and western France.
The liberation began when the French Forces of the Interior—the military structure of the French Resistance—staged an uprising against the German garrison upon the approach of the US Third Army, led by General George S. Patton. On the night of 24 August, elements of General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque's 2nd French Armored Division made their way into Paris and arrived at the Hôtel de Ville shortly before midnight. The next morning, 25 August, the bulk of the 2nd Armored Division and US 4th Infantry Division and other allied units entered the city. Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the German garrison and the military governor of Paris, surrendered to the French at the Hôtel Le Meurice, the newly established French headquarters. General Charles de Gaulle of the French Army arrived to assume control of the city as head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic.
The Allied strategy emphasised destroying the German forces retreating towards the Rhine, and the French Forces of the Interior (the armed force of the French Resistance), led by Henri Rol-Tanguy, staged an uprising in Paris.
The Battle of the Falaise Pocket (12–21 August), the final phase of Operation Overlord, was still ongoing, and General Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, did not consider the liberation of Paris a primary objective. The goal of the US and of British Armed Forces was to destroy the German forces and therefore to end World War II in Europe, which would allow the Allies to concentrate all of their efforts on the Pacific Front.
The French Resistance began to rise against the Germans in Paris on 15 August, but the Allies were still pushing the Germans toward the Rhine and did not want to get embroiled in a battle for the liberation of Paris. The Allies thought that it was too early to take Paris. They were aware that Adolf Hitler had ordered the German military to completely destroy the city in the event of an Allied attack. Paris was considered to have too great a value, culturally and historically, to risk its destruction. They were also keen to avoid a drawn-out battle of attrition like during the Battle of Stalingrad. It was also estimated that in the event of a siege, 4,000 short tons (3,600 t) of food per day, as well as significant amounts of building materials, manpower and engineering skill, would be required to feed the population after the liberation of Paris.[citation needed] Basic utilities would have to be restored and transportation systems rebuilt. All of those supplies were needed in other areas of the war effort. De Gaulle was concerned that military rule by Allied forces would be implemented in France with the implementation of the Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories. That administration which had been planned by the American Chiefs of Staff had been approved by US President Franklin Roosevelt but had been opposed by Eisenhower. Nevertheless, De Gaulle, upon learning the French Resistance had risen up against the German occupiers and unwilling to allow his countrymen to be slaughtered as was happening to the Polish Resistance during the Warsaw Uprising, petitioned for an immediate frontal assault. He threatened to detach the French 2nd Armored Division (2e DB) and to order it to single-handedly attack the German forces in Paris, bypassing the SHAEF chain of command in so doing, if Eisenhower delayed approval unduly.
On 15 August, in the northeastern suburb of Pantin, 1,654 men (among them 168 captured Allied airmen), and 546 women, all political prisoners, were sent to the concentration camps of Buchenwald (men) and Ravensbrück (women), on what was to be the last convoy to Germany. Pantin had been the area of Paris from which the Germans had entered the capital in June 1940.
The same day, employees of the Paris Métro, the Gendarmerie and Police went on strike; postal workers followed the next day. They were soon joined by workers across the city, which caused a general strike to break out on 18 August.
On 16 August, 35 young FFI members were betrayed by an agent of the Gestapo. They had gone to a secret meeting near the Grande Cascade in the Bois de Boulogne and were gunned down there.