Before the 2nd French Armoured Division left North Africa General Leclerc addressed as many of his men as could be gathered together. He reminded them of their epic journey across the Sahara and thanked them for their faith in his leadership. He then promised that he would lead them to France to clear the Germans out of Paris, then to Strasbourg, and finally push the Germans right back to their own country.
Most of those who heard that speech were just a little sceptical of all those promises but were duly encouraged nevertheless. When we moved away from Morocco and were camped on the Algerian coast, near Oran, it seemed most likely that Italy was to be our destination. However, as we sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar even the greatest doubters had to admit that we were going the right way.
We duly landed in Britain and joined the widespread preparations for The Great Invasion. Sometime later, after crossing the Normandy beaches, we became part of General Patton's Army group that broke out of the beach-head and set off South East, too far South to take Paris. After being the spearhead division of that army for about a week we were told to pull off the road to let an American division roar past us. It was the first time I had seen a whole armoured division go past in one convoy. It seemed endless but finally we set off again, this time to the North. Immediately the whole division was seething with rumour. Were we really going to Paris? The possibility became more and more likely and finally we were halted on the main road from the West to the capital. The road was blocked by a German strong point about five miles ahead where an American infantry division had so far failed to break through.
Although no official announcement had been made it was pretty certain that we would at least be part of the force to relieve the embattled people of Paris. The Resistance had risen up about a week before and the Germans were bottled up in five or six enclaves. However, German reinforcements had got through and the Resistance were running short of ammunition and everything else. Unless help arrived during the next few days the Germans would regain control.
It is difficult to describe the excitement that was generated among the Frenchmen at the prospect of liberating their Capital. Many of our men actually came from the city but many more had relatives or friends there. Paris represents something quite different to French people than London does to the English. Londoners would like to believe that their city represents the high point of the culture of the nation, but few who live outside London would agree. For the French, at least in 1944, Paris was France.
Rumour and hearsay were everywhere but the story of Leclerc's appeal to the American, General Bradley, commanding the army group is probably somewhere near the truth. He is said to have asked if we could take over and promised to have the road open before nightfall. Bradley agreed and Leclerc used the method of a tank charge which had been practised in Morocco. The German strong point was ideally suited for this form of attack.
The enemy were strongly ensconced in a two-storey garage and showroom building on the East side of a cross-roads. They had four, eighty-eight millimetre, anti-tank guns in the building and several others hidden away in the surrounding fields in order to forestall any attempt to by-pass the strong point. Leclerc assembled six Shermans just out of sight of the Germans beyond a slight rise in the road, with six more tanks behind. The road was just wide enough to take six tanks abreast.
The Germans were taken completely by surprise when the tanks came roaring over the crest of the rise, going flat out and all guns firing. The enemy were evidently as near the end of their endurance as the Americans had been. They turned and ran.
I did not see this epic charge but later I drove past the scene and the debris of the battle clearly confirmed what we had first thought to be rather exaggerated reports.
After that engagement the road to Paris was open. We received orders to get going immediately and rendezvous at Rambouillet. I arrived there during the night and found a very well organised collecting area. Black-out restrictions were ignored and the Resistance people had everything ready for us.
Somebody had grasped very clearly what the ambulances would require. There would be three categories of casualty; army, civilian and German. Army cases would go to our own Field Hospital, even then being set up on the outskirts of the city. Civilians would go to the city's hospitals and the German Air Force Hospital in the city would be left to cope with German cases. The key to the efficient working of these arrangements would be a guide in each ambulance who knew the city well, knew which hospital had beds available and could speak the language of the driver. Whoever had organised this had done brilliantly. My guide was a twenty-two year old second-year medical student who knew every back street and short-cut, was efficient and, as a bonus, was a very attractive girl.
There has been a lot of speculation since the great day when we took the city as to who was the first British man to get there. It is all quite pointless because we were divided into our usual small units; in my case a force of six Shermans, one ambulance with others on call and two half-tracks of infantry. Our objective was the Avenue Victor Hugo and the Place de L'Etoile. We were under the command of Colonel Langlade who features in my second story. Several strong points were dealt with on the way to our rendezvous but the overriding problem was the size of the crowds of civilians. They just swarmed all over us. They kissed us, fed us, pressed drink on us and offered even more exotic and impractical entertainment if only we would stop. However, we were soon reminded that there was a war going on. Moving slowly through the crowds we were suddenly sprayed by the indiscriminate firing of machine guns from the roof tops. We had been warned of this possibility and the tanks and half-tracks were ready with instant response. The vast crowds of civilians showed their familiarity with gun-fire by disappearing as fast as they had appeared, but leaving several sad heaps lying in the road. Madeleine, my guide, showed her mettle on that first attack. She had done a stint in casualty at her training hospital and was quite as fast and efficient as I was, probably more so. We had the first of the civilian wounded into a nearby hospital within minutes of the shooting.
The day went on like that with greater or lesser delays and it was growing dark when we finally drove into Place de L'Etoile. We were directed to a piece of pavement reserved for us which was to be our base for the next few days.
Madeleine announced that she was going home and produced a bicycle in some mysterious way. I noticed a large bag suspended from the handlebars but was too tired to worry. Later, after a short sleep, I was clearing up and noticed that my dirty clothes and my slightly better uniform were missing. The bag on the handlebars was explained.
The scene in the Place L'Etoile is one that I shall always remember. Four tanks were arranged together in the middle of the Square with planks laid across their turrets. Lights had been erected and leading entertainers of the day produced a continuous cabaret. The only names I can remember are Maurice Chevalier, Edith Piaf and Yves Montand but there was a constant stream of very glamorous women belting out their particular sort of songs to the cheers of the assembled soldiers. All I wanted to do was sleep which I did succeed in managing in short spells. We were continuously on call, so my sleep was fitful to say the least.
Madeleine reappeared, literally at day-break, with my best uniform cleaned and pressed and hung on a clothes hanger! All my clothes were washed and mended and, to cap it all, a box of delicious cakes were included. The family must have been up all night; and Madeleine had already got the list of available beds and a map of the streets still under German control.
After breakfast our section was detailed to capture a large warehouse area bristling with eighty-eight millimetre guns. The Resistance people begged to be allowed to go in after the initial bombardment but were refused. Their actions in such circumstances, when the enemy were clearly defeated, were too barbaric even for our Frenchmen. In fact, after our tanks had surprised the gunners manning the eighty-eights, they all surrendered. That gave us plenty of work because the inside of the building was a nasty sight. We spent the morning sorting out the casualties in order of severity and ferrying them to the German hospital.
This was the pattern until the Germans finally surrendered altogether, leaving the streets to even wilder celebrations which only slowly died down. At length our work became negligible and we were taken sightseeing, although there were few sights to see. The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower were closed, not surprisingly, and one day about a week after the surrender Madeleine and I were sitting on a wall outside her house, with one of my colleagues and his guide, when we clearly heard a heavy gun fire in the distance. Then a shell whined overhead to explode in the city. It was the start of a counter-attack and, within a few hours, we were on the way to deal with it. In fact, it turned out to be little more than a gesture by the retreating Germans but the party was over and it marked the end of an unforgettable period in my life.