Liberation of Paris

The Liberation of Paris (also known as the Battle for Paris) took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of the occupying German garrison on 25 August. The Liberation of Paris started with an uprising by the French Resistance against the German garrison. On 24 August, the French Forces of the Interior (Forces françaises de l'intérieur, FFI) received reinforcements from the Free French Army of Liberation and from the U.S. Third Army under General Patton. The capital region of France had been governed by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Second Compiègne Armistice in June 1940, when the German Army occupied northern and westmost France, and when the puppet regime of Vichy France was established in the town of Vichy in central France.

This battle marked the liberation of Paris and the exile of the Vichy government to Sigmaringen in Germany. However, there was still much heavy fighting to be done before France was liberated, including the Operation Anvil Dragoon amphibious landings in southmost France in September (near Marseilles), along the German-held seaports of western France (such as at Brest and Dunkirk), in Alsace Lorraine in eastmost France, and in northeastern France, such as along the Rhine River. The Wehrmacht Heer (German Army) fought doggedly in these areas for the rest of 1944.

Read more about Liberation Of Paris:  Background, Events Timeline, La Libération De Paris, Filmography, Liberation of Paris Notables

Famous quotes containing the words liberation and/or paris:

    The message of women’s liberation is that women can love each other and ourselves against our degrading education.
    Jane Rule (b. 1931)

    Beloved, may your sleep be sound
    That have found it where you fed.
    What were all the world’s alarms
    To mighty Paris when he found
    Sleep upon a golden bed
    That first dawn in Helen’s arms?
    William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)