Book Description

“A fine, racy account of the Occupation and Liberation of Paris—a rattlingly good read” (Giles MacDonogh, author of After the Reich). During the fall of 1944, once the Western Allies had gained military advantage over the Nazis, the crown jewel of Allied strategy became the liberation of Paris—the capital of France so long held in captivity. This event, however, was steeped in more complexity when the Allies returned than in 1940 when Hitler’s legions first marched in. In 1944, the city was beset by cross-currents about who was to reclaim it—the French Resistance, the long-suffering Parisians themselves, or the Anglo-American armies which had indeed won the victory. This book punctures the myth parlayed by Is Paris Burning? and other works that describe the city’s liberation as mostly the result of the Resistance insurrection in the capital. Amidst the swirling streams of self-interest and intrigue that beset Paris on the eve of its liberation, this book makes clear that Gen. Leclerc and his 2nd Armored Division were the real heroes of the liberation and that marching on their capital city was their raison d’etre. At issue was the reconstitution of France itself after the dark night of its soul under the Germans, and despite the demands of the Anglo-Americans and France’s own insurrectionists. That a great power was restored is now manifest, with this book explaining how it was ensured. “Gets the full five stars . . . The prose here really does bring wartime France to life.”—War History Online