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A biography of the Free-French general who fought in the Second World War and became Marshal of France posthumously. Learn about his early life, military career, battles, and death in Algeria.
- Escaping to England After Dunkirk
- Leclerc and The Free French Army in North Africa
- The “Oath at Kufra”
- The Fezzan Raids
- Operation Fezzan-2: Leclerc Reaches The Sea
- Force L and The Battle For Tunisia
- Force L Becomes The 2nd Free French Division
Philippe François Marie de Hauteclocque was born on November 22, 1902. The family was one of minor nobility that had served France since the Crusades. It had survived the upheaval of the Revolution to serve in the army of Napoleon and continued to serve in the army in the Great War, during which Philippe’s uncle was killed. Born into this military ...
De Gaulle wanted to continue the war from France’s colonies and hoped to win them over from Vichy control. On August 6, 1940, he sent a delegation of three men to British Nigeria to represent Free France. Leclerc was one of them. The French colony of Cameroon bordered Nigeria and was targeted first because the French colonists and the natives feare...
Leclerc then turned his attention to the other major town in southern Libya, Kufra. Close to the Egyptian border, the airport at Kufra was an important link between Italy and Italian East Africa. Leclerc decided to take it. He wrote to de Gaulle, “Whatever the difficulties, we will go and we will succeed.” Unlike the joint raid on Murzuk, Kufra wou...
The Axis was not ready to give up Libya. By March 31, newly arrived German General Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps were prepared to strike. In April the British were pushed back to the Egyptian frontier. Only the vital port city of Tobruk held out. Further, Germany invaded Greece, stretching British resources to the limit. Leclerc incessantly ask...
The British, meanwhile, were on the receiving end of another German offensive. They were thrown back from the Gazala Line to El Alamein. An orderly retreat was in part due to the stubborn stand of a brigade of French Foreign Legion troops (the 13e DBLE) at Bir Hakeim under the command of General Marie-Pierre Koenig. Leclerc would have to await even...
In the battle for Tunisia, Leclerc was assigned to fight on the left or inland flank of the Eighth Army. His command was reinforced with Greek and British troops. For the battle it was known as Force L. Rommel had hidden his men behind the Mareth Line, a French-built line of bunkers and trenches meant originally to fend off the Italians in the 1930...
A great victory parade was planned, but in another insult to de Gaulle, the French were to be represented by a former Vichy force, the Armée d’Afrique. Leclerc was furious. On the day of the event, he sent his troops through side streets to join at the rear of the parade, where they formed up and marched in defiance of Anglo-American wishes. He was...
Jacques-Philippe Leclerc (born November 22, 1902, Belloy-Saint-Léonard, France—died November 28, 1947, Colomb-Béchar [now Béchar], Algeria) was a French general and war hero who achieved fame as the liberator of Paris.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Learn how General Philippe Leclerc led the French 2nd Armored Division to liberate Paris from German occupation in August 1944. Find out how he cooperated with Allied forces, faced resistance from German garrison, and celebrated with the French people.
Oct 20, 2022 · Learn about the life and achievements of Philippe Leclerc, a hero of World War II who led the French 2nd Armored Division in the liberation of Paris and Strasbourg. Discover how he earned the admiration and respect of his men, his allies and his countrymen.
- Ellen Hampton
Learn how Philippe Leclerc, a French cavalry officer, escaped from German captivity and led his troops to liberate France from Nazi occupation. Discover his achievements in North Africa, Normandy, and Germany during World War II.
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Following a week of guerilla combat between Resistance fighters and the occupying German troops, General Philippe Leclerc’s Second Armored Division of the Free French Army rolled through the city on the night of August 24-25, 1944, supported by the U.S. Fourth Infantry Division.
