Ephemeris of August 19 in Paris: The Liberation of Paris

From August 19 to 25, 1944, Paris was finally liberated from German occupation. It was the triumph of the Allies and fighting France, and the establishment of General de Gaulle as leader of a liberated and victorious France.

It happened on August 19 in Paris. From August 19 to 25, 1944, the French capital, which had been occupied for 4 years by the Germans, was finally liberated by the Resistance and the Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur - with the invaluable help of the local population, the Communists and the Parisian police, finally committed to the cause of justice - and then, in a second phase, with the support of theFrench Liberation Army and General Leclerc's 2nd Armored Division, closely followed by General Barton's 4th American Infantry Division sent by General Eisenhower.

Since the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, Parisians have been eagerly awaiting the liberation of the city by American troops. However, theAllied General Staff wished to bypass the French capital on its advance from the West rather than deliver it, in order to take the shortest route to Germany, and above all to avoid having to supply 3 million Parisians - which would require the shipment of 4,000 tons of food a day. The liberation of Paris was not scheduled until the end of October.

After marching down the Champs-Elysées on July 14, despite the Vichy regime 's ban, Parisians took it upon themselves to engage in widespread resistance, responding to the calls of the Conseil National de la Résistance and the Comité Parisien de la Libération.

Railway workers, metro workers, postal workers and gendarmes went on strike, while the first posters calling for the city's liberation and insurrection appeared on the capital's walls. On August 15, the 21,000-strong police force, hitherto under German command thanks to Vichy collaboration, rallied to the fight against the invaders. In retaliation, the occupying forces shot 35 members of the Resistance at the Bois de Boulogne waterfall on August 16.

The Parisian Resistance, under the command of Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, regional head of the Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur, then engaged the German forces in battle, not only in the streets of Paris, but also in the suburbs of Saint-Denis, Neuilly, Vitry and Aubervilliers. On August 19, Resistance police officers stormed the Préfecture de Police and hoisted the tricolor flag.

In the hours that followed, the FFI took command of the Paris police force, and together they retook theHôtel de Ville. On the barricades, fighting reached a climax on August 22 with clashes at the Senate and the Grand Palais. The German defense gradually cracked.

On August 20, Charles de Gaulle met General Eisenhower and convinced him to change his plans, sending the 2nd French Armored Division, assisted by the 4th American Infantry Division, towards Paris. Convinced by General de Gaulle, Eisenhower also agreed that General Leclerc's French troops should retake the capital first.

On the evening of August 24 and the following day, French and Allied troops entered Paris, with the invaders defending only a few strategic points. Guided by Resistance fighters, they reached the Rue de Rivoli despite heavy fighting in the middle of the city, destroying German Panzers and armored columns in the process. TheGerman general staff was taken prisoner, and a ceasefire was signed at the Préfecture de Police by General Leclerc and German General von Choltitz. The Nazi capitulation was signed at the Gare Montparnasse on August 25.

On the evening of August 25, while fighting continued in the northern suburbs of the capital, Charles de Gaulle, head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, arrived in Paris. After stopping off at the Ministry of War and the Prefecture of Police, the general made his way to theHôtel de Ville, where he delivered his famous speech to the population, from which is extracted the famous "Paris outragé! Paris brisé! Paris martyrisé! But Paris liberated!

The following day, August 26, 1944, the radios all announced de Gaulle's return and his desire to commune with the people of Paris. The rendezvous was set for that day on the Champs-Elysées. After visiting the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the General marched down the avenue towards Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, amid a jubilant crowd and alongside the key players in the Liberation of Paris: Georges Bidault, President of the Conseil National de la Résistance, General Marie Pierre Koenig, head of the Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur, General Leclerc, members of the Comité Parisien de la Libération and soldiers.

It was the triumph of the Allies and fighting France, and the establishment of Charles de Gaulle as leader of a liberated and victorious France. In the minds of Parisians, the Victory Parade quickly replaced the sad Nazi parade on the same avenue 4 years earlier.

Ephemeris of August 19 in Paris: The Liberation of Paris

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