Figure 1.--Americans entering Paris on August 25 were engulfed by jubilent French civilians. Here a GI with a jeep is engulfed by Parisians. Notice the biy behind the little girl who has found a great seat in the jeep. |
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The French Government had declared Paris an open city as the Wehrmact approached early in the War (June 1940). As a result the city was largely undamaged. After D-Day Hitler had decided to destroy Paris rather than surrender it to the Allies. The Germans had drawn up a plan to do just this. Charges were placed on bridges, major buildings, and historic monuments like the Eifel Tower. The Paris Ressistance rose up against the German occupation forces as Allied armour divisions raced to cross the Seine. The Allies had decided to bypass Paris as they persued the Germans north. French Forces of the Interior (FFI) attacked Germans retreating through the city. The Germans were pulling out of the city, but still had heavy weapons. The FFI was only lightly rmed. There was intense fighting in the city. About 2,000 civilians were killed, mostly the result of snipers. At first the Allies were going to bypass the city. Pleas from out-gunned resistance fighters caused Eisenhower to change his mind. General Bradley gave the Free French Division commnded by Leclerec the honor of liberating the city. Leclerec raced north to join the resistance fighting in the city. Hitler as the Allies approached ordered the city to be destroyed. The German commander refused to carry out the orders. He was concerned that the SS might arrest him before he could surrender to the Allies. Allied forces entered the city (August 25). The city was in chaos. Celebrations were occuring on one corner and a block away fighting was raging.
The long awaited Allied Cross Channel invasion came in Normandy (June 6, 1944). It surprised the Germans who were expecting the Allies to invade further north at the Pas de Caalais. Allied losses were much lighter than had been anticipated, in large part because Hitler interfered with his military commanders, limiting their ability to respond immediately. While the Germans proved unable to dislodge the Allies from their breachhead, the heavy defenses at Calais and the hedgerows kept the Allied bottled up in Normandy for several weeks.
The Allied after weeks of costly fighting in the Bokage countty finally broke out from the Normandy beachhead at the end of July. The offensive named Operation Cobra broke the badly streached Germans. British and Canadian troops under Montgomery finally captured Caen after a major air attack (July 9). They were unable to break the German lines, however, in part because the rubble created by the air attack in Caen slowed the advance and the Germans were able to regroup west of the city. The major break through came further south. Patton's Third Army after a concentrated carpet bombing shattered the vaunted Panzer Lehr Division. The Americans pierced the German lines with armoured thrusts near St. Lô and rapidly fanned out behind German lines. While American Sherman tanks were inferior to the German tanks, they were faster and more numerous. Perfect for rapid maneur. Allied air power made it impossible for the Germans to contain the American offensive. The Wehrmacht was devestated and the Americanss moved to trap the Germans in a pocket forming around Falaise. German units were forced to abandon their tanks and flee east.
Efforts to surround an entire German army failed when SS units held an escape rour open at Falaise, allowing a substantial part of the Germany forces to escape. American airpower, however, wreked havoc on the retreating Germans.
Second Invasion (August 15, 1944)
The Americans landed another force on the French Mediterranean coast between Marseilles and Nice (August 15). The German hold on France was broken.
Allied Sweep North
The Allies had decided to bypass Paris as they persued the Germans north.
The Allies after closing the Falaise pocket were intent on persuing the retreating Wehrmact. The major Allied concern was to ensure that the Wehrmacy was unable to resestanlish a defensive line at the Seine. Paris was not a major target. The U.S. 4th Infantry Divsion was, however, just to the West of Paris.
The French Government had declared Paris an open city as the Wehrmact approached early in the War (June 1940). As a result, after nearly 5 years of War, the city was largely undamaged.
Pierre Laval presides over the last meeting of Vichy Ministers. The Germans advise Maréchal Pétain to depart for the East. Laval turns over Paris to the Préfet de la Seine and the Préfet de Police. Laval leaves the Hôtel Matignon with a German escort.
Parisians as best they could by listening to the BBC and Free French broadcasts followed the Allied breakout from Normandy. It was clear that the Germans were withdrawing from France. The first action in Paris was the Paris Métro, Gendarmerie and Police going out on strike (August 15). The postal workers followed (August 16). Finally a general strike broke out (August 18). Parisians began to mobilize and the barricades began to go up.
After D-Day Hitler conceived of making Paris a fortess city. He wanted the city defended to the end. In particular he wanted every bridge in the city destroyed. The city would be destroyed rather than surrendered to the Allies. The Germans had drawn up a plan to do just this. Charges were placed on bridges, major buildings, and historic monuments like the Eifel Tower. I believe this was primrily to deter Resitance Actins.
Generalleutnant Dietrich Choltitz was the commander of the Germany garrison in Paris.
Choltitz had been the commander of the 84th German Army Corps when the Allies landed at Normandy. Hiler was displeased with his performance, both on D-Day and later when failed to check General Bradley's breakthrough at St Lô.
HItler replaced Choltitz and assigned him to Paris. The commander there, General von Stülpnagel, was arrested after being implicated in the July Bomb Plot. Hitler thus gave Choltitz control of the city. Choltitz had command of a sizeable garrison.
There were 20,000 German troops outside the city under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Hubertus von Aulock. Choltitz kept 5,000 men under his personal command in Paris. He had 50 artillery pieces and a company of tanks. It was sufficent to defeat an internal rising because it was well armed with heavy weapons.
The Paris Resistance was organized by the French Forces of the Interior (FFI). The Germans were pulling out of the city, but still had heavy weapons. The FFI was only lightly armed.
Skirmishes began when the barricades began to appear (August 18). Allied armour divisions were racing to cross the Seine. Fighting with the Germans begame more serious (August 19). The FFI attacked Germans attempting to retreat through the city.
Choltitz's hesitated to supress the rising by force. He agreed to truce with the FFI (August 20). he more extreme FFI leaders, primarily the Communists, were opposed to the truce. M Raoul Nordling, the Swedish consul-general in Paris, attempted to maintain the truce. He also managed to save resistance members held by the Germans.
Intense Serious fighting occurred (August 22). When the truce broke down, Choltitz attacked with the tanks at his disposal. Hitler ordered ordered him "Paris is not to fall in the hands of the enemy, except as a heap of ruins." (August 23). Choltitz was considered loyal and Hitler expected him to follow orders. But he saw nohing to be gained by destroying Paris. Hitler asked his staff, “Is Paris burning?” They had no heavy weapons and amunition for their light weapons was rapidly being exhausted. About 1,500-2,000 civilians were killed, mostly the result of snipers.
At first the Allies were going to bypass the city. Eisenhower as usual was focused on the military situation. He concluded that Paris was so large with the Germans could effectively use the city and that street fighting there would slow the Allied advance. He was especially concerned ith possible street fighting in which the mobility of the Allied forces, one of its primary advanyages, ould be loss. Eventually pleas from out-gunned resistance fighters caused Eisenhower to change his mind. De Gaulle and the Free French reportedly threatened to break the Allied command structure and make a dash for Paris on their own.
De Gaulle assured Eisenhower that they would encounter little German resistance in Paris. General Bradley gave the Free French Division commnded by Leclerec the honor of liberating the city. Leclerec raced north to join the resistance fighting in the city. Hitler as the Allies approached ordered the city to be destroyed. There was some sharp fighting with the between the Germans and Leclerc's French 2nd Armored Division, but the Allies had the heavy weapons that the FFI lacked. The resistance and the advancing Allies quickly reduced the remaining collaborationist and German pockets.
The German commander was General Dietrich von Choltitz. He was a dedicated Wehrmacht officer acustomed to obey orders. In the end he saw nothing to be gained for Germany in destroying the city.
After fighting the Allies in Normandy, he was fully aware of the strategic situation.
He knew it was only a matter of gtime before Pris fell. The limited damage done to the city is in large measure due to Choltitz who refused to carry out Hitler's orders.
He was concerned that the SS might arrest him before he could surrender to the Allies. He surrendered after first confirming that he was surrendring to the French Army and not the FFI (August 25).
Allied forces entered the city (August 25). The city was in chaos. Celebrations were occuring on one corner and a block away fighting was raging.
De Gaulle moved into the War Ministry on the rue Saint-Dominique (August 25). He delivered a rousing speech to the people of Paris the Hôtel de Ville. Snipers fire at him from a hotel, but missed. His words were heard around the sorld, “Paris! Paris outraged! Paris broken! Paris martyred! But Paris liberated!” Parisians until then only knew him from his emotional radio broadcasts.
The Allies conducted an emense victory parade down the Champs-Élysées (August 26). Germans snipers were still firing. The U.S. 28th Infantry Division marched through the city (August 29). They were not parade ground troops, but men headed north to pesue the fleeing Germans. Jubilent crowds cheered the American and Free French forces.
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