That evening of 22 August, Gerow telephoned Leclerc and told him no serious opposition was expected to hinder his movement to the capital. Leclerc was to start at once, that night. Despite Gerow's wish, Leclerc waited until the morning of 23 August.
The eastward displacement to Paris occurred on two routes in conformance with Gerow's direction. The northern column, expected to be the main effort, consisted of the bulk of the French division in the lead, some American reconnaissance and engineer troops, and four firing battalions of the V Corps Artillery. The southern column had a French combat command, US reconnaissance elements, the V Corps headquarters, and Barton's 4th Infantry Division in that order of march. British troops failed to show up.
The force made good progress on 23 August, reaching points less than 20 miles from the capital by nightfall. There the heads of both columns met solid German opposition. Without consulting or telling Gerow, Leclerc changed his formation by transferring a combat command from the northern to the southern column. Probably he was trying to speed his advance. Perhaps he was favoring the commander of the southern group who was close to De Gaulle. Possibly he was reluctant to attack through Versailles. Maybe he was attracted to the wide Orleans-Paris highway. Was he displaying his resentment of American control in a matter he considered to be strictly French?
His decision was unfortunate in three respects. He inadvertently concentrated his force where the German defenses were the strongest and in the greatest depth. He put his southern column out of range of the V Corps Artillery. He impinged on the route reserved for the 4th US Infantry Division.
Leclerc's men attacked at dawn of 24 August. The northern column fought fiercely and gained about 15 miles. By evening the troops had reached the Pont de Sevres, a wide highway bridge across the Seine River and a principal entry into the city. The bridge was still intact, and a few tanks crossed into the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt. Paris proper was less than two miles away at the Porte de St. Cloud. But the men stayed where they were as enthusiastic civilians swarmed over them in eager welcome, pressing flowers, kisses, and wine on them.
The main effort in the south advanced about 13 miles with great difficulty. By nightfall, the head of the column was still about five miles from the closest entrance, the Porte d'Orleans. The Pantheon, the objective, was seven miles away. Notre Dame, the center of the capital, was eight miles distant.
The supposed expiration of the truce was very much on the minds of the Americans following French progress. To Bradley, who had taken unofficial charge of the operation, it was incredible that the French were making such little headway. They seemed to be procrastinating. They "stumbled reluctantly through a Gallic wall" Bradley later said, "as townfolk . . . slowed the French advance with wine and celebration." Gerow substantiated the impression. The German opposition appeared to be slight, Leclerc's attack halfhearted.
Hoping to shame the French into greater effort, Gerow asked Bradley whether he could order the 4th US Division into the city. An angry Bradley wondered how long after the truce Choltitz would wait for regular troops before destroying the capital. Bradley could hardly let the French "dance their way to Paris." He told Gerow, "To hell with prestige. Tell the 4th to slam on in and take the liberation." Precedence in favor of the French, Gerow informed Barton and Leclerc, no longer applied.
This information prompted Leclerc to make one more attempt that night. It was impossible for him to order the northern column to continue beyond the Sevres bridge because, as the French reported, "liaison between the columns for all practical purposes no longer exists." Leclerc's mistake or oversight was perhaps due to inexperience.
So Leclerc, who was with the main effort in the south, sent a small detachment of tanks and half-tracks forward. This force rolled along side roads and back streets, crossed the Seine River by the Pont d'Austerlitz, drove along the quays on the right bank, and reached the Hotel de Ville, the city hall, just before midnight, 24 August.
The bells of nearby Notre Dame began to ring joyously. Another church took up the refrain. A third joined. Soon all the churches in Paris were pealing in celebration. A cascade of sound washed over the city.
Few Parisians had gone to bed that night. The telephones were functioning, and everyone knew of the Allied soldiers in the suburbs. The church bells could mean only that the liberators had arrived.
On the following morning, 25 August, the official day of liberation, enormous crowds of excited Parisians welcomed the 2d French Armored Division, which swept the western part of Paris, and the 4th US Infantry Division, which cleared the eastern part. Everywhere were joy, delight, tears of happiness. Unbounded elation took hold of Parisians and the French and the whole civilized world.
Most of the Germans had melted away during the night. Two thousand remained in the Bois de Boulogne, seven hundred more in Luxembourg Gardens. A few small and scattered groups awaited capture.
In the early afternoon of 25 August, under the arcades of the rue de Rivoli, a young French officer sprang into the Hotel Meurice. He burst into Choltitz's suite of rooms. To Choltitz, who sat at his desk, he shouted in his excitement, "Do you speak German?" Choltitz replied coolly. "Probably better than you." He allowed himself to be taken prisoner.
In the presence of Leclerc and the French Resistance commander in Paris, Choltitz signed a formal act of capitulation. Teams of French and German officers circulated copies to the Germans still in the city.
As for the internal political situation, the Gaullists proved to be better organized and disciplined than their opponents. Taking advantage of the uprising on 19 August, they had seized and occupied the seat of government. They held the buildings and the facilities and thus the means of political control.
On 26 August, De Gaulle wrote and thanked Eisenhower for letting Leclerc liberate Paris. With cheering crowds present, De Gaulle, Leclerc, and members of the Provisional Government walked from the Etoile, now named the Place du General de Gaulle, down the Champs Elysees to the Place de la Concorde. De Gaulle then proceeded to the Cathedral of Notre Dame where an overflow congregation celebrated a mass of thanksgiving.
When Hitler learned that Allied troops were in Paris, he asked whether the capital was burning. "Brennt Paris?" Enraged by the negative response, he ordered artillery, V-weapons, and planes to destroy the city. His military commanders were busy with other matters. Getting their forces back to Germany, rearming the Siegfried Line, and preparing to keep the Allies out of their homeland were their priorities.
To make clear the participation of Allied troops in the liberation, Eisenhower marched the 28th US Infantry Division through the city to the front on 29 August. Eisenhower, Bradley, Gerow, De Gaulle, and Leclerc reviewed the parade. Eisenhower had invited Montgomery to attend, but he said he was too busy to come.
After a week of maintaining order in Paris, Leclerc took his men to the eastern part of France. There he rejoined Haislip's XV Corps. Leclerc had changed his opinion of American competence, he had learned to run his division effectively, and he gained great respect from his American commanders in the ensuing campaigns.
Gerow, the senior military commander in Paris, had sought to exercise control, but the French blocked his efforts. They immediately took over civil affairs without checking with Gerow as a matter of courtesy. Several days later, when Gerow formally turned the area over to them, they flatly said, "French authorities alone have handled the administration of the city of Paris since its liberation." They avoided giving the slightest sign of admitting their dependence on the Americans.
To the French, the Americans spoiled the occasion by intruding. The Americans felt their participation was small repayment for the dead soldiers lost between the Normandy beaches and the gates of the capital. They expected gratitude, but instead garnered resentment. Eisenhower was charitable. "We shouldn't blame them," he later wrote, "for being a bit hysterical."
The British refrained from taking part. Perhaps they regarded the event as a French affair. More likely, they were aware of anti-British feeling among the French, the result mainly of their destruction of the French fleet in 1940.
Eisenhower's reinforcement contributed to a legend which emerged immediately after the liberation and endured for many years. The 2d French Armored Division and the French Resistance, the story went, had, together and without outside help, expelled the Germans from the city.
This belief has changed over the past half-century. As the French commemorated and celebrated the arrival of Allied forces over the Normandy beaches on D-Day, they gradually became aware of the Allied role in liberating their country. They eventually acknowledged the American presence in freeing their capital. Only good friends like the Americans, the French have now decided, could share the privilege, the splendid moment. It was all right for the Americans to be there.
Additional Sources:
www.expage.com
www.jewishgen.org
teachpol.tcnj.edu
www.graham.day.dsl.pipex.com
histoireenprimaire.free.fr
www.paris.org
