25 August 1944
Liberation of Paris
The breakout of Allied forces from Normandy, combined with further landings in southern France (Operation Dragoon) in mid-August, made the German position in France impossible to maintain. On August 19 the underground French resistance movement in Paris staged an uprising against the German occupiers, leading Hitler to issue an order to the German governor, General Dietrich von Choltitz, to burn the city to the ground. Von Choltitz instead concluded a truce with the rebels on the 23rd, and two days later, when U.S. and French forces reached the city, he quietly surrendered after some initial token resistance. After more than four years of German occupation, France was free again.

Histories:
Northern France
The Breakout and Pursuit to the Seine

Campaign Map:
The Exploitation, 14-25 August 1944

Personal Accounts:
Rutgers Oral History Archive: Interview with Morton Kernis
Rutgers Oral History Archive: Interview with Vincent J. Gorman

Photographs:
Crowds of French patriots line the Champs Elysees after Paris was liberated on August 25, 1944
American troops in tank passing the Arc de Triomphe after the liberation of Paris, August 1944
American troops of the 28th Infantry Division march down the Champs Elysees, Paris, in the Victory Parade