Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque was born on November 22, 1902, in Belloy-Saint-Léonard (Somme). His family had ties to Action Française, but Leclerc rejected this far-right nationalist movement and the anti-Semitic ideas it promoted. As a young captain, he was taken prisoner in 1940. He escaped and joined de Gaulle’s “Free France” in London. The two men spoke, and the general appreciated Leclerc’s uniqueness and keen strategic sense. De Gaulle entrusted him with a mission: to bring French Equatorial Africa into the Free French Forces. A brilliant military leader, Leclerc fulfilled his mission. In 1943, on de Gaulle’s orders, Leclerc formed the 2nd Armored Division (2nd DB). By then, he had been promoted to colonel.
During World War II, anti-Nazi forces fought on several fronts: the domestic Resistance, led by highly active movements such as the FTP and FTP-M.O.I. (which merged with the FFI in 1944); the Allied armies; and General de Gaulle’s overseas Resistance. All of these forces fought against Hitler’s grip on Europe, and on France in particular.
The 2nd Armored Division landed in Normandy on August 1, 1944, and liberated Alençon on the 12th. On August 23, Leclerc, together with General de Gaulle and with the approval of the American allies, finalized a plan of action for the 2nd Armored Division’s entry into Paris.
There was heavy fighting in the streets as the city was liberated. The FFI clashed with the last German soldiers, but the 2nd Armored Division, commanded by Leclerc, entered the capital, and on August 25, von Choltitz, the German military governor of Paris, surrendered. In the presence of Leclerc, the Nazi troops’ surrender is signed by the communist Resistance colonel Rol-Tanguy, whose actions in Paris were decisive and quickly recognized as such. On August 26, de Gaulle and Leclerc paraded down the Champs-Élysées to thunderous applause.
On November 23, 1944, troops from the 2nd Armored Division liberated Strasbourg. In 1945, in Germany, Leclerc’s soldiers discovered the existence of extermination camps.
Leclerc represented France abroad: on September 2, 1945, and again on September 12, he co-signed the acts of capitulation and surrender of Japan, an ally of Hitler.
On July 12, 1946, Leclerc de Hauteclocque was appointed inspector of ground forces in North Africa and promoted to general of the army on the 14th. It was as General Leclerc that he went down in the history of World War II.
On November 28, 1947, he died in a plane crash in Algeria at the age of 45.
The National Assembly unanimously voted to grant him a state funeral. As a Companion of the Liberation, General Leclerc was posthumously promoted to the rank of Marshal of France.
References:
— Christine Levisse-Touzé, 2000, From Captain de Hauteclocque to General Leclerc. Éditions Complexe.
— Photo: Museum of the Order of Liberation
