Arms of the 2ème D.B., the Second Armoured Division commanded by Lerclerc. The Division's emblem features the Cross of Lorraine.

The French 2nd Armored Division, commanded by General Leclerc, fought during the final phases of World War II in the Western Front. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1684x2140, 558 KB) Photograph by Rama File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Military history of France during World War II Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque French 2nd Division... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1684x2140, 558 KB) Photograph by Rama File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Military history of France during World War II Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque French 2nd Division... Cross of Lorraine The Cross of Lorraine is a heraldic cross. ... Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (November 22, 1902 - November 28, 1947), was a Marshal of France and a famous French military leader. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... During World War II, the Western Front was the theater of fighting west of Germany, encompassing France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemberg, and Denmark. ...

It landed in Normandy on August 1, 1944, about two months after the D-Day landings, and served under General Patton's Third Army. The division played a critical role in Operation Cobra, the Allied breakthrough from Normandy, when it served as a link between American and Canadian armies and made rapid progress against German forces. They all but destroyed the 9th Panzer Division and defeated several other German units. The 2nd Division's losses amounted to 141 killed and 58 medium and light tanks while they killed 4,500 Germans, captured 8,800, and destroyed 118 heavy and medium tanks. Mont Saint Michel, one of the famous symbols of Normandy. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ... General George Smith Patton Jr. ... Distinctive Unit Insignia // Activation and World War I The Third U.S. Army was first activated as a formation during the First World War on November 7, 1918, at Chaumont, France, when the General Headquarters of the American Expeditionary Forces issued General Order 198 organizing the Third Army and announcing... Operation Cobra was the codename for the World War II operation planned by United States Army General Omar Bradley to break out from the Normandy area after the previous months D-Day landings. ... German 9th Panzer Division, sometimes simply called as 9th Panzer Division came into existence after 4th Light Division was reorganized in January 1940. ...

The most celebrated moment in the unit's history involved the rescue of Paris. Allied strategy emphasized destroying German forces retreating towards the Rhine, but when the French Resistance under Colonel Rol staged an uprising in the city, Charles de Gaulle threatened to send the Division into Paris, single-handedly, to prevent the uprising being crushed as had recently happened in Warsaw. Eisenhower agreed to send help. After hard fighting that cost the 2nd Division 35 tanks, 6 self-propelled guns, and 111 vehicles, von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, surrendered the city at the Hotel Meurice. Jubilant crowds greeted French forces, and de Gaulle conducted a famous parade through the city. The Liberation of Paris in World War II took place in late August 1944 after the battle of Normandy. ... The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1. ... Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ) (22 November 1890 - 9 November 1970), in France commonly referred to as le général de Gaulle, was a French military leader and statesman. ... Dwight David Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969, popularly known as Ike) was an American soldier and politician. ... General der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz (November 9, 1894, Schloss Wiese, Silesia - November 4, 1966, Baden-Baden) was the German military governor of Paris during the closing days of the German occupation of that city during World War II. In World War I, von Choltitz served at the Western frontier...

Eventually, the 2nd Division finished its campaigning at the Nazi resort town of Berchtesgaden in Southeastern Germany. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Nazism. ... Berchtesgaden is a town in the German Bavarian Alps. ...

Hundreds of Leclerc men were exiled spaniards that fighted fascism since 1936 (Spanish civil war). They were usually at the very edge front. First soldiers to arrive to Paris city hall or Eagle's Nest.[1]

See also

• Military history of France during World War II

France, along with the United Kingdom, was one of the first participants in World War II after declaring war on Nazi Germany following its invasion of Poland in 1939. ...

External links

• 2nd Armored Division