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| Europe |
| Paris Liberated! |
| 2006-08-25 |
Ah, the summer of 1944. I remember it well. The French countryside was alive with the sounds of birds and turning coats. Flowering baskets and collaborators hung from every lamp post. And a beautiful young woman named Lilli Marlene bade a tearful farewell to her beloved Otto, and prepared to welcome her beloved Hank, just as her mother had a generation before. I wrote that two years ago, to mark this occasion, the anniversary of the Liberation of Paris. The French have spun a myth over the generations of how General LeClerc and the forces of Free France entered the city in triumph. The facts are somewhat different and show that the French owe that event to the Fourth Infantry Division of the United States Army and to the Spanish expats of the French Second Armored Division. When commanded by officers with skills and backbone, the French soldier can fight as well as any. They are demonstrating that in Afghanistan today. In the Second World War, that type of officer was less prevalent and far too many French soldiers died because of it. The Resistance, equally covered with myths, spent as much time fighting among its various political flavors as it did fighting the Boche. |
| Posted by:Chuck Simmins |
| #5 Maybe we should order the 4th division to clear those same suburbs again! Put our troops at risk for a third time to rescue what has to be the most phenomenonal bunch of governmental ingrates ever assembled? I don't think so! Rush in to confiscate France's nuclear arsenal just before they fall into Muslim hands? Yes. But not a minute sooner. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-08-25 14:27 |
| #4 Nimble: there was a good article in MHQ several years ago entitled "The Myth of French Resistance." Like anything in MHQ, it was superb. |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-08-25 14:21 |
| #3 My favorite part of the story: "The 4th [division] bivouacked 12 miles south of the city as Germans retreated hastily across the Seine River. The 22nd set out in pursuit. That evening, 2nd French Armd. met strong opposition between Versailles and Paris. At midnight, the 12th was ordered to move into the city. EARLY Aug. 25, while the 8th and 22nd crossed the Seine, the 12th advanced north on Boulevard dÂ’Orleans, ready to take on all comers. For once, doughs found the job nearly accomplished before they arrived. [The} Third Bn. reached Notre Dame Cathedral at high noon, first Allied military unit to see the famous square for more than four years." . . . Moving to the north suburbs of Paris, the [4th] division cleared the city. Maybe we should order the 4th division to clear those same suburbs again! Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2006-08-25 11:48 |
| #2 Great news! Did this happen today? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-08-25 11:08 |
| #1 Can anyone recommend a good book on the real Resistance? Thanks. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-08-25 11:03 |