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00:00In June 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy.
00:07It would take them nearly a hundred days to break German resistance.
00:16A hundred days of glory in a vast operation unequaled in history.
00:26A hundred days of living hell.
00:30Civilian men, women and children were violently thrown into the chaos.
00:45A hundred days during which the outcome of the battle hung in the balance several times.
00:51A hundred days of honor and horror.
01:01Through the stories of the men and women, civilians and soldiers, Germans and Allies who lived through it.
01:13We can relive the story of these hundred days during which the whole world held its breath.
01:19On the sixth of June, 1944 the Allies landed on five French beaches in Normandy.
01:34On the 6th of June, 1944, the Allies landed on five French beaches in Normandy.
01:48After a terrible battle, they broke through the Atlantic Wall and took the beaches.
01:5510,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or disappeared.
01:59Despite these losses, in just a few days, the Allies occupied a single beachhead 50 miles long.
02:08But their position was vulnerable to any German counterattack.
02:13If Hitler's divisions arrived in large numbers, the Allies could be thrown back into the sea.
02:20Thanks to two artificial harbors known as mulberries, the British and Americans landed up to 3,000 tons of material a day.
02:27The Battle of the Beaches was over.
02:31The Allies now had to advance inland, but the Normandy campaign was to become a nightmare.
02:46The Anglo-American offensive got bogged down.
02:49Hitler was helped by an unforeseen advantage, the weather.
02:53Between the 19th and the 22nd of June, a storm blew up and destroyed the American Mulberry Harbor at Omaha Beach.
03:05126,000 GIs and 140,000 tons of material could not be put ashore.
03:10The logistical battle was now of prime importance.
03:18Lack of men and armaments meant that the Americans couldn't advance through the Cotentin Peninsula to capture Cherbourg as quickly as planned.
03:26To make matters worse, the British were supposed to take Caen on the 7th of June.
03:32Two weeks after that date, General Montgomery had to admit, to a very angry Eisenhower, that he'd failed.
03:40Allied strategists had underestimated the importance of Normandy's boccage landscape.
03:53Every hedgerow was a death trap, concealing snipers.
04:00While the Atlantic Wall had not been effective, the boccage was formidable.
04:05The Mobile War had become transformed into a grueling positional war.
04:21The commanders thought they would get out of this trap in a few days.
04:25They were wrong.
04:26At the end of the month of June 1944, the Allies were still making no headway.
04:35Rain was falling non-stop and caused 50% of air missions to be cancelled.
04:40It was a time of great despondency.
04:42The Americans were still trying to reach Cherbourg.
04:50Karl von Schlieben, a Hitler loyalist who had fought on the Russian front, held the fort with 21,000 men.
04:59The FĂĽhrer had ordered him to hold out until the last bullet.
05:02But the Germans didn't expect the lightning attack launched by the American General Collins, who was nicknamed Lightning Joe.
05:13His armoured columns cut across the Cotontin Peninsula and took the high ground above Cherbourg.
05:18The Germans didn't stand a chance, but they obeyed orders and fought on.
05:35Scattered throughout the town, their snipers caused havoc.
05:43The G.I.s had to fight from house to house.
05:48The G.I.s had to fight for the last drop of their blood.
05:53Cherbourg's commander, Karl von Schlieben, as well as Robert Sattler, commander of the naval dockyard,
05:59had ordered their troops to defend the town to the last drop of their blood.
06:04They were the first to raise their hands.
06:07They surrendered to General Collins.
06:09Just a few months earlier, these senior officers had been happily swimming in the English Channel.
06:26Whenever he lost a battle, Hitler laid the blame on his generals.
06:30He ranted.
06:31That loudmouth Schlieben was nothing but a great coward.
06:38The Allies took 40,000 prisoners, who were not sorry their war was over.
06:43The Americans had at last reached their objective, except for one detail.
06:53The Germans had sabotaged all military installations.
06:57It would be several weeks before this deep-water port could be used.
07:02The people of Cherbourg came out to celebrate their liberation.
07:19Paul Vastel recounts,
07:20We haven't heard the church bells ring out for four years, and now, this time it was true.
07:28We were free.
07:32The town's mayor, Paul Renaud, gave General Collins and his men a warm welcome at the town hall.
07:38General Collins tried his hand at addressing the people in their own language.
08:04Mr. Le Maire et citoyens de Cherbourg,
08:11Nous sommes heureux aujourd'hui de joindre notre voix Ă la vĂ´tre
08:17pour crier Ă plein poumon,
08:22Vive la France!
08:34By the 1st of July, 1944, there were a million English and American soldiers in Normandy.
08:50Time was against the Germans.
08:52They could do nothing to slow down the non-stop flow of material pouring off the ships.
08:58Especially as the Allies had a trump card.
09:08They controlled the skies.
09:13German squadrons were conspicuously absent.
09:19To such an extent that a joke was circulating in the Wehrmacht.
09:22If you see a white plane, it's American.
09:25If you see a black plane, it's English.
09:27If you don't see anything, it's the Luftwaffe.
09:33Hitler's generals were losing patience.
09:39The commander-in-chief, Marshal Keitel, asked head of the Western Front, von Rundstedt,
09:44What are we going to do?
09:46Von Rundstedt retorted,
09:48Make peace, idiot.
09:50His insolence certainly led to his dismissal.
09:56The FĂĽhrer had sworn that Germany would win whatever the cost.
10:00And the troops shared his elation.
10:07The young soldiers were not ready to lay down their weapons.
10:10The defense of the Fatherland and the hope of medals drove them on.
10:23Hans Werk, a member of the Hitler Youth.
10:27We'd been trained to fight to the death for the Fatherland.
10:30And that's what we wanted to do.
10:31Eisenhower was worried by such fanaticism.
10:45The hails of shells, the sniper's bullets, the atrocious weather,
10:49and ever-present death caused an epidemic of mental sickness to spread.
10:54What's your trouble?
10:59I can't stand seeing people killed.
11:02Did you see people killed?
11:06Lots of them.
11:07What?
11:08Lots of them.
11:10Well, what happened up there?
11:15They got the men on a forward slope.
11:19The Germans started showing them.
11:21The illness disabled thousands of soldiers, both English and American.
11:40They were traumatized by all the bloodshed they'd seen.
11:43Some were in such a state of shock, they could no longer fight.
11:46You're back on the battlefield now.
11:51What are you doing?
11:52You're in your hole now.
11:54What's happening?
11:55The shells have burst out of air.
11:59Yes, go on.
12:02The shells are coming in.
12:04Where are you?
12:06I'm going out of my hole.
12:08And what happens then?
12:10I'm going with my other buddy, but he's dead.
12:15What do you do then?
12:16I'm crying, so I'm sorry.
12:27Some combatants thought they were still on the battlefield.
12:31At the slightest noise, they threw themselves to the floor to shelter from imaginary shells.
12:36Some of the generals opted for strong-arm tactics, shooting the wimps, to make an example of them.
12:47But the psychiatrists preferred treating the sick, so they could send them back to their units.
12:52The dream of a rapid victory was buried in the Bocage.
13:13Faced with the stalemate at the front, the Allies increased the shelling of the towns of Normandy.
13:22Civilian populations lived through days of terror.
13:25Joseph Potier, a swarm of incendiary bombs rained down on the district.
13:40There were flames everywhere, and a fire leaped from one building to another near my house.
13:45It was terrifying.
13:46Le Havre, Saint-LĂ´, Caen, Valogne, and many other towns were treated as if they were German towns, as enemies.
13:56The death toll of the bombings was devastating.
14:0214,000 civilians perished in Lower Normandy, more than the number of soldiers killed on the evening of 6th of June, and for only paltry gains.
14:17A British soldier observed,
14:20It was all more like a game of slaughter than anything else.
14:23It was as if, in order to liberate people, you had to kill half of them and destroy their houses and everything they owned.
14:31Funny method.
14:37So many civilians decided to flee from the devastated towns.
14:41Just like in 1940, it was an exodus, but this time, people were running away from the Allies.
14:47Jacqueline Simon-Mancorget, a French officer, had the task of protecting civilians.
14:57Everything had been destroyed.
14:59The flow of refugees was endless.
15:01We had to keep setting up reception centers.
15:04We could never have imagined such a situation.
15:07The refugees lost everything.
15:14Their houses, families, and sometimes their lives.
15:18Vichy propaganda poured oil on the fire by caricaturing the Allied help that was supposing to be liberating France.
15:39Radio London was represented by an anti-Semitic cartoon.
15:43The British and Americans are depicted as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck destroying cities.
16:00Minister Aldrich K Casey
16:01Come on, Leonie, we will find our Biftec Frits.
16:09Here is L'Ontre, friends of the French.
16:12Our show is finished.
16:20Despite the saturation bombing,
16:22the British were still blocked outside the town of Caen.
16:27It was painfully obvious that Montgomery was powerless.
16:31The stalemate was heightening tension.
16:35Eisenhower flew into a rage.
16:37After dropping 7,000 tons of bombs on advanced enemy positions,
16:41we've only advanced six miles.
16:44Can we afford 1,000 tons of bombs for every mile?
16:50The American generals railed against the British,
16:53who were leaving the G.I.s to fight on alone.
16:56The Allies were at breaking point.
17:01One month after the landings,
17:06only a tiny part of the territory had been liberated.
17:10Nevertheless, the 14th of July was celebrated
17:12in a number of towns in Normandy.
17:15In the small town of Isigny,
17:17free at last from the Germans,
17:19the Allies were fated.
17:22Louis Bereton, one of the heads of the American Air Force,
17:25gave a speech in his very best French.
17:28I can't tell you how I'm happy
17:32to find me again in France on the 14th of July.
17:38It's been 155 years
17:40that the Bastille has fallen.
17:44At this time, everyone is looking at France.
17:47Today, everyone is looking at you again.
17:50The Bastille, because it's on your own and on your own and on your own,
17:56the armies of Bosch are definitely destroyed.
17:59But perhaps not for forever.
18:05We bring you not only secure materials,
18:09but also something not less important,
18:13l'amitié, la sympathie et l'inspirant.
18:28Et maintenant, de la part de mon gouvernement, je vous salue.
18:34L'Avrame, L'Avrame !
18:46After the speeches and the hymns, it was time for the handouts.
18:50Major Hargreaves, a British Army doctor, wrote to his wife.
19:07The poor children all around us are wildly excited at the sight of chocolate and sweets.
19:13The farmer's wife told me that her children had gone without sweets for three years.
19:19A lot of the children are pale and very thin.
19:23I'm afraid that many of them are suffering from tuberculosis.
19:40A member of the resistance, Charles Le Vaillant, recounted,
19:44It was the first 14th of July of freedom.
19:47After all, we had the crowds on our backs for four years.
19:50We felt liberated.
19:52Without the sound of boots in our counter-side, we were relieved.
19:55We felt free, and especially free to think what we wanted.
20:00bit chords
20:04...
20:07d
20:0900
20:1200
20:48Five days later, on the 19th of July, after a massive bombing raid, the town of Caen was at last taken by the Allies.
20:57But it was more than 43 days after D-Day.
21:01The town was destroyed. 9,000 houses were flattened. Only 1,000 were still standing.
21:09Sometimes, refugees were cared for. But generally, they were alone. They had fled their villages.
21:22They gave each other news as well they could. The radio became their lifeline.
21:32The Allies tried hard to bring in supplies, to care for people, to restore phone lines.
21:44The Allies tried hard to bring in supplies, to care for people, to restore phone lines.
21:58But faced with such destruction, bitterness sometimes broke through.
22:06Jeanne Le Corçu, a 14-year-old girl from Caen, took a British soldier to task.
22:11Why have you done this to us? Why were all these civilians killed? Aren't we your friends?
22:18The soldier answered,
22:20We get ourselves killed for you, and this is how you thank us?
22:24The two faces of war. The joy of liberation, the sorrow at such destruction.
22:39Germany fought back. Might she cave in?
22:44Plenty of Allied soldiers hoped so in their prayers, which sometimes seemed to be answered.
22:54On the 20th of July, 1944, a German officer, Klaus von Stauffenberg, planted a bomb in the FĂĽhrer's headquarters.
23:05Several men were seriously wounded, but Hitler was spared.
23:12When the Germans learned that their leader had survived, they wept with joy.
23:17Thanks to God, the FĂĽhrer has survived, was heard in the streets of Berlin.
23:24Hitler was slightly injured, and felt that he had escaped by a miracle.
23:28Just one dressing blocked up his ear.
23:31He went to visit victims of the attempted assassination.
23:38The Allies hoped that the plot would have weakened the regime.
23:44But on the contrary, it merely served to strengthen it.
23:49Purge after purge followed.
23:50Imbued with a sort of mysticism, Hitler confided.
23:58Clearly, nothing can happen to me.
24:00My destiny is to follow my path and complete my task.
24:09The British were still at a standstill.
24:12Despite the capture of Caen, reinforcements were building up in the rear,
24:16but were having difficulty getting to the front.
24:18They had to advance, whatever the cost.
24:23Especially as in the East a month before,
24:26the Soviets had launched a vast operation.
24:29Bagration.
24:31More than 2 million men, 4,000 tanks, 25,000 cannons, and 6,000 planes
24:36were advancing from Belarus.
24:38If the Anglo-American army didn't break through,
24:42the red flag would flutter over a great part of Europe.
24:47Aware of the danger, the American general Bradley swung into action.
24:54On the 25th of July, he launched Operation Cobra.
24:57Unable to break through to Caen in the British sector,
25:02the offensive would take place on the American side, in the Cotentin.
25:07The aircraft of the U.S. Air Force bombed the enemy lines.
25:12The Germans were pulverized by 4,000 tons of bombs.
25:16The Americans poured into the breach.
25:25They liberated Perrier, Coutence, then hurtled south towards Avranches.
25:31The army could at last be deployed.
25:33Stunned by the violence of the clash, the Germans fled,
25:39leaving behind them the dead and wounded.
25:41But the Americans didn't use kid gloves.
25:45Their carpet bombing also hit friendly troops.
25:48Over 600 of them were killed.
25:55Among them was General Leslie McNair,
25:58sent to the front as an observer.
26:00A monumental blunder that the censors tried to cover up.
26:05It didn't work.
26:07The war correspondents recounted the drama,
26:10much to the annoyance of the Allied leaders.
26:19The American troops fanned out.
26:22A smaller group headed for Brittany.
26:24Another went east to surround the German troops
26:27in the area south of Falaise, the Falaise Pocket.
26:30It was an unexpected chance to wipe out a large part of the German army.
26:40The mission was assigned to the American George Patton.
26:45The general, with the ivory-handled colts and the chromed helmet,
26:49was a headstrong warrior known for his bad temper.
26:52Commanding the third army, he galvanized his troops.
26:59I believe that an ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood.
27:02The harder we push, the more Germans we kill.
27:05The more Germans we kill, the fewer of our men will be killed.
27:08His third army raced to attack from the south.
27:20The English and Canadians attacked from the north.
27:24The Germans were trapped.
27:25German soldier Fritz Marr remembers.
27:50We threw ourselves face down on the ground.
27:55I rested my head on the earth, as far as my helmets allowed.
27:59My beautiful earth.
28:00I thought, open up just a little and take me into your bosom.
28:04But the victory was less spectacular than expected.
28:11The Allies could have completely surrounded the German army.
28:14But once again, Montgomery's troops hadn't advanced quickly enough.
28:20Despite the pincer movement, nearly 100,000 enemy soldiers managed to flee from that hell.
28:34He was a famous trumpet man from all Chicago way.
28:40He had a boogie style that no one else could play.
28:43He was the top man at all.
28:45It was 70 days since D-Day.
28:47On Omaha Beach, the atmosphere had changed.
28:51He's the boogie-boogie bugle.
28:53The Allies' logistical chain was now running smoothly.
28:57The Normandy lock was blown.
28:59The British and Americans were pushing forward along every French road.
29:03To the immense satisfaction of French General Leclerc,
29:07who had landed in France with his 2nd Armoured Division on 1st August,
29:11he confided,
29:12I feel as if I'm reliving the situation in 1940,
29:16but in reverse, the enemy in total disarray,
29:18his columns taken completely by surprise.
29:21At the same time, on the 15th of August,
29:33a Franco-American expeditionary force landed in Provence.
29:38The operation, named Dragoon,
29:40unfolded much better than the one in Normandy.
29:42The Allied forces under Generals Patch and de Lattre de Tassigny
29:49advanced rapidly up the Rhone Valley.
29:54In the face of such military superiority,
29:57Hitler admitted defeat.
29:59For the first time, he gave the order for a general withdrawal,
30:03leaving the way open for the Allied armies.
30:06The arrival of the Allies brought joy to the liberated towns,
30:29but sometimes violence broke out.
30:32Collaborators, real or presumed,
30:37were summarily executed.
30:42Women accused of fraternizing with the occupiers
30:45had their heads shaven
30:46and were publicly humiliated on town squares.
30:54One woman recounted,
30:57They sat us on chairs with the hair clippers.
31:00As the hair fell,
31:02they applauded,
31:03laughed,
31:04and whistled.
31:05We were terrorized.
31:08I recognized some who had been with the Germans the day before,
31:12but now they were wearing the FFI armband.
31:14This spontaneous purging caused about 10,000 deaths.
31:30The euphoria of liberation was not enough to wipe out people's resentment.
31:36Hatred ran rife in the summer of 44,
31:38the summer of dances and firing squads.
31:48Even the liberators could descend into violence.
31:52While they were universally cheered,
31:54the atrocious behavior of some of them spoiled the party.
32:00Some soldiers offended time and time again,
32:03from simple theft to armed robbery.
32:05Others committed crimes,
32:08especially rape.
32:12For the British and Americans,
32:13France was a land of milk and honey,
32:16the land of wine,
32:17of love and easy women.
32:19Why not enjoy it all?
32:22The land of Rabelais
32:24seemed like an immense outlet for sex,
32:26where some of the warriors
32:27claimed their due.
32:32Such violence appalled
32:33the civilian population.
32:36An article in the Cherbourg press
32:38sounded the alarm.
32:42Scenes of savagery and bestiality
32:44despoil our countryside.
32:46Men are pillaging,
32:47raping,
32:47murdering.
32:48All security has disappeared in our homes,
32:50as well as on our roads.
32:52Real acts of terror
32:53are spreading panic.
32:54Before long,
32:58a grim joke
32:59was going around
33:00the Normandy population.
33:03Under the Germans,
33:04our men had to hide themselves.
33:06With the Americans,
33:07we have to hide our women.
33:13Officers repressed
33:14these awful crimes
33:16and immediately punished the guilty
33:18before they discredited
33:19the whole army.
33:20The British and Americans
33:31pushed on at last
33:32towards the east.
33:33The Normandy campaign
33:34was over.
33:35The Battle of Paris
33:36was just beginning.
33:43In the capital,
33:44the atmosphere was electric.
33:46Parisians were awaiting
33:47their liberation.
33:48Hitler ordered
33:51the military governor
33:52of Paris,
33:53General von Scholtitz,
33:54to put down
33:55any attempt to revolt.
33:5720,000 heavily armed Germans
33:59were tasked
34:00with defending the capital
34:01and were even told
34:02to destroy it
34:03if the FĂĽhrer so ordered.
34:07In spite of this grave threat,
34:09the police came out on strike
34:11and seized the police headquarters
34:12on the 19th of August
34:14and then defended it
34:16against German assaults.
34:18In a stroke of cruel irony,
34:24the men who had rounded up
34:25the Jews
34:26were manning the front line
34:27alongside the resistance.
34:31Inspector Roger Belbéoche
34:32of the Communist resistance
34:34was amused.
34:36In the courtyard
34:37of the police headquarters,
34:39a miracle happened.
34:40Everyone was a resistant.
34:42It was quite simple.
34:43Every policeman was a resistant.
34:45All you had to do
34:46was tear a picture
34:47of Marshal PĂ©tain to shreds
34:48and walk around
34:49with an FFI armband.
34:51A popular uprising broke out,
34:57led by the head of the FFI
34:58of the Paris region,
35:00the communist Henri Roletonghi.
35:02His watchword was,
35:04everyone get his own crowd.
35:07Parisian woman,
35:08Hélène Kranz,
35:09said,
35:09The battle began
35:11between the two sides,
35:13the FFI on our left
35:14and Germans on our right.
35:16It raged for three full hours
35:17in the street.
35:19My mum locked me in the house.
35:22We closed the shutters
35:23because of the bullets
35:23flying around.
35:28As Paris rose up,
35:29De Gaulle,
35:30back in France,
35:31met Eisenhower
35:32on the 20th of August.
35:35The capital was not
35:37among the Americans' objectives.
35:39But De Gaulle was adamant
35:41that Paris should not suffer
35:42the same fate as Warsaw.
35:44It was essential
35:45to support the insurgents
35:46and avoid a bloodbath.
35:48De Gaulle also wanted
35:49to prevent the FFI
35:51led by the communists
35:52taking power.
35:53He intended to restore
35:55the republic
35:55and place himself
35:57at its head.
35:59Eisenhower did not see
36:00things in the same light.
36:01De Gaulle argued.
36:04The fate of Paris
36:06is of paramount interest
36:07to the French government.
36:09For this reason,
36:09I find that I must intervene
36:11and insist you send in troops.
36:16Eisenhower finally agreed.
36:28General Leclerc's
36:29Second Armored Division
36:30was the first to rush
36:31to the aid of the Parisians.
36:34But at the request
36:35of the Pentagon,
36:36black soldiers
36:37were transferred
36:38from this unit
36:39even before it was created.
36:41Washington did not wish
36:42them to march proudly
36:44down the Champs-Elysées.
36:46Although this war
36:47was being waged
36:48in the name of liberty,
36:49racism had still not
36:50disappeared from
36:51the U.S. Army's ranks.
36:53While Paris descended
37:05into turmoil,
37:06Hitler ordered
37:07von Chontitz
37:08to reduce
37:09the city to rubble.
37:11The Grand Palais
37:11was already ablaze.
37:16The streets
37:17were full of barricades
37:18to hinder the movement
37:19of German troops.
37:20Parisians resisted,
37:22but they had
37:23precious few weapons
37:24and could not
37:25fight on for long.
37:34On the 25th of August,
37:36Leclerc's division
37:37entered the city
37:37just in time.
37:40After four years
37:44of darkness,
37:45Paris was going
37:46to be free at last.
37:50Both the people
37:51and their liberators
37:52dissolved into tears.
37:58Edgar Morin,
37:59a young resistant.
38:01Leclerc's tanks arrived,
38:03exhausted men
38:04with tears in their eyes,
38:05as we ourselves
38:06were weeping.
38:07We were living
38:08a sublime moment
38:09of happiness
38:09that will remain
38:11in my memory
38:11as one of the most
38:12beautiful moments
38:13of my life.
38:20With the arrival
38:21of the Allies
38:22and the rebellion
38:23of the population,
38:24the Germans capitulated.
38:28Terror had changed sides.
38:31a German soldier
38:35recalled.
38:37We set out
38:38on the most humiliating
38:39march of our lives.
38:41We were bombarded
38:42with insults.
38:44The throng crowded
38:45round us,
38:45yelling,
38:46Hang the murderers!
38:47Gang of murderers
38:48and thieves!
38:49Death to the crowds!
38:51We were beaten,
38:52pushed and shoved,
38:53spat on.
38:54Wild animals
38:55had been set on us.
38:56In the afternoon
39:06of the 25th of August,
39:07General de Gaulle
39:08went to the Paris
39:09town hall.
39:11He was resentful
39:12and spoke not one word
39:14of thanks to the Allies
39:15who had wanted
39:15to keep him from power.
39:17Paris,
39:19Paris outraged,
39:22Paris brisé,
39:24Paris martyrisé,
39:26mais Paris libéré,
39:30libéré par lui-même,
39:33libéré par son peuple
39:34avec le concours
39:36des armées de la France
39:38avec l'appui
39:40et le concours
39:41de la France
39:42toute entière,
39:44c'est-Ă -dire
39:45de la France
39:46qui se tente,
39:47c'est-Ă -dire
39:48de la seule France,
39:50de la vraie France,
39:52de la France
39:53Ă©ternelle.
40:09The next day,
40:10the 26th of August,
40:11the whole population
40:12gathered on the Champs-Élysées.
40:132 million Parisians
40:16cheered de Gaulle
40:17and celebrated
40:18the long-awaited liberation.
40:25Captain Drone
40:26of the 2nd AD wrote,
40:28A human wave flooded
40:31the most beautiful avenue
40:32in the world.
40:34General de Gaulle
40:34was there.
40:35For him,
40:36it was a consecration.
40:37It showed that he had
40:38the direct support
40:39of the people
40:40that he so sorely
40:41wanted and desired.
40:44From that moment on,
40:45how could anyone
40:46pretend that he did not
40:47legitimately represent France?
40:49The liberation of Paris
40:55by the revolt
40:56of its people
40:57has become a part
40:58of history forever.
41:00It is seen as a prelude
41:02to the subsequent fall
41:03of the Reich.
41:05The Allies
41:06were not thanked
41:07by de Gaulle,
41:07but the people
41:08of Paris
41:09took care of that.
41:14Hello, baby,
41:16mademoiselle.
41:17Hello, baby,
41:19mademoiselle.
41:20Come not with me,
41:22mademoiselle.
41:23I have to return
41:25to my company.
41:27You're good for me,
41:28mademoiselle.
41:30Me good for you,
41:32mademoiselle.
41:32Le peuple de Paris
41:34est bon et joli.
41:41Nous sommes tellement contents
41:43de réapprendre.
41:45Merci Ă tous.
41:47Nous sommes bien contents
41:48que les Anglais,
41:48les Américains,
41:49les Français
41:49soient venus nous délivrer.
41:50Je suis très émotionnel
41:51de voir tous ces belles armées
41:53qui nous font vraiment
41:53notre choix Ă tous.
41:55Et je crie,
41:55vive la France
41:56et vive les Alliés.
41:57Au revoir,
41:57Paris,
41:59il y a le jour de Paris
42:00Ă l'Ottawa.
42:02But the enthusiasm
42:12generated by these
42:14memorable days
42:15soon faded.
42:18Robert Kappa
42:18was there.
42:21The day Paris
42:22was liberated
42:23was the most
42:24unforgettable ever.
42:25And seven days later
42:26came the most
42:27miserable day.
42:28There was nothing
42:29left to eat,
42:30nothing to drink.
42:31The girls had all
42:32gone back home
42:33to recount
42:34what they'd seen.
42:35The shops were shut,
42:36the streets were empty,
42:37and suddenly
42:37we realized
42:38that the war
42:39wasn't over.
42:40It was raging on
42:42less than
42:4220 miles away.
42:46Indeed,
42:46the fight
42:47had to go on.
42:48in mid-September,
42:57the armies coming
42:58from Normandy
42:59and the expeditionary
43:00force that had
43:01landed in Provence
43:02at last joined forces.
43:04It had taken nearly
43:05a hundred days
43:06to liberate
43:07the greater part
43:08of the country.
43:13The challenge
43:14of Overlord
43:15had been won.
43:18But the war
43:19was not over.
43:21It would take
43:21another eight months
43:22to be finally done
43:24with the Third Reich.
43:25Over 117,000 soldiers
43:40killed between June
43:41and August 1944
43:42have their resting place
43:44in Normandy.
43:46Such a heavy price
43:47to pay.
43:48The Battle of Normandy
43:50was decisive
43:51in the liberation
43:52of France.
43:58Old stones,
44:00graves,
44:00ruined bunkers
44:01remind us
44:02of those days
44:03of tears
44:04and glory
44:04that helped us
44:05to conquer
44:06that brown plague
44:08and taste once more
44:09the intoxication
44:10of freedom.
44:13May all liberated
44:14people swear
44:15they will never forget.
44:22The Battle of Normandy
44:52You