Neither man knew that the German commandant, Dietrich von Choltitz, convinced that the war was lost, schemed to surrender the city to the Allies intact, defying Hitler’s orders to leave it a burning ruin. And both men were concerned about partisan conflict in Paris that could leave the communists in control of the city and the national government. Eisenhower’s advisers recommended otherwise, but Ike wanted to help position de Gaulle to lead France after the war. But as they advanced, local forces in Paris began their own liberation, defying the occupying German troops.Ĭharles de Gaulle, the leading figure of the Free French government, urged General Dwight Eisenhower to divert forces to liberate Paris. The Allies intended to bypass Paris and cross the Rhine into Germany, ending the war before winter set in. Prize-winning and bestselling historian Jean Edward Smith tells the “rousing” (Jay Winik, author of 1944) story of the liberation of Paris during World War II-a triumph achieved only through the remarkable efforts of Americans, French, and Germans, racing to save the city from destruction.įollowing their breakout from Normandy in late June 1944, the Allies swept across northern France in pursuit of the German army.
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