Liberation of Paris

Liberation of Paris
Part of Operation Overlord of World War II

Parisians line the Champs Élysées for a parade conducted by the French 2nd Armored Division on 26 August 1944.
Date19–25 August 1944
(6 days)
Location
Paris and outskirts, France
48°52′25″N 2°17′47″E / 48.8735°N 2.29642°E / 48.8735; 2.29642
Result

Allied victory

Belligerents
Provisional Government of the French Republic France
 • Free France French Resistance
 United States
 United Kingdom
 Germany
Vichy France Vichy France
Commanders and leaders
Nazi Germany Dietrich von Choltitz Surrendered
Units involved
Free France FFI
France 2nd Armored Division
 • Spanish Exiles
United States 4th Infantry Division
Nazi Germany 325th Security Division
Milice
Casualties and losses
  • French Resistance:
  • Free French Forces:
    • 130 dead
    • 319 wounded[2]
  • United States: Unknown
  • United Kingdom: Unknown
  • 3,200 dead
  • 12,800 prisoners[1]

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.

  1. ^ a b "Libération de Paris [Liberation of Paris]" Archived 19 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine (in French). (PDF format).
  2. ^ "The Lost Evidence – Liberation of Paris". History.