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Liberation pages:  Operation Cobra     OrBat, 1 Aug '44     Brittany, Aug–Sep 1944
Normandy, Aug 1944     OrBat, 25 Aug '44     Northern France & Belgium     Southern France
     ––––––––––––––––––– ETO – Northern France & Belgium ––––––––––––––––––––––

General de Gaulle 26 Aug '44
Paris Liberated
bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany  > The ETO > Liberation > Northern France & Belgium, © 2026 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 1 Jan 2026
​
In mid-August 1944, German forces began a general withdrawal from northern France and Belgium. The Allied armies pursued the retreating enemy across the Seine River and through Belgium and Luxembourg.
The Normandy Breakout Exploited, August 1944
As their effort to contain the Normandy breakout crumbled, German forces began withdrawing across the Seine River. Allied forces sped northeastward and eastward.
  • The salient on the south of the accompanying map shows Third Army progress as of 25 August.
  • Third Army's VIII Corps remained in the west in Brittany.
  • Some other Allied units temporarily remained behind to deal with the Falaise Pocket.
Northwestern France - The Normandy Breakthrough Exploited
The Exploitation, 14-25 August 1944
Scalable Version
Crossing the Seine, August 1944
The Seine River, which flows in a generally northwestern direction and passes through Paris, was the first major obstacle the Allied forces encountered in their drive across northern France. Here are some of the earlier crossings:
  • 19 & 20 August: XV Corps, Third Army at Montes-Glassicourt downstream from Paris.
  • 23 August: XX Corps, Third Army - multiple crossings in Fontainbleau area upstream from Paris.
The Liberation of Paris, 25 August 1944
General Eisenhower wanted to bypass Paris on the drive east through northern France. However, a Resistance uprising on August 19 forced his hand. An advanced column of French 2nd Armored Division troops entered Paris on the evening of August 24, taking position near Notre Dame Cathedral. The following day, additional forces entered Paris and the German garrison surrendered.

Paris suffered little damage except from small arms fire and barricade construction. However, around 1,000 Resistance fighters died in Paris.

​If you visit Paris, look for Ici Tombe (Here Died) signs on the walls in central Paris marking the spots where individual Resistance fighters died.
Liberation of Paris
The Liberation of Paris, 23-25 August 1944
 The Allied Advance Continues, 25 August–mid-September 1944
By 11 September, most of northern France and Belgium had been liberated.
  • Soon advanced Allied forces advancing north from the 15 August landing in southern France would link with Patton's Third Army.
  • On 11 September, Patch's First Army troops penetrated through the Siegfried Line and approached the historic German city of Aachen.
The Advance to Aachen
The Allied Advance Continues, 11 September 1944
Pursuit to West Wall
Pursuit to West Wall, 26 August - 14 September 1944
Scalable Version
The Allied Advanced Stalls, September 1944
In early September 1944, some Allied commanders, giddy with the successes of the last month, foresaw a 1944 ending to the war on the Western Front. How wrong they were!
  • A war of attrition, three months of heavy casualties with little progress followed. This was accompanied by supply shortages, partially due to inadequate port facilities. 
  • After logistic issues were resolved, our forces would suffer through German counteroffensives, including the deadliest battle in the ETO.
  • Only in February 1945 would major progress resume, but again progress would be accompanied by heavy casualties.
Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The ETO > Liberation > Northern France & Belgium webpage:
​Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - WWII Germany > The ETO > Liberation > Northern France & Belgium: 03-02 - WW II Germany > The ETO > Liberation > Northern France & Belgium: (six dead, updated 17 Jun '25)
† Hansen, Maurice Edward, SN 37-659-408, US Army, Audubon & Cass Cos.
  • Co. I, 22nd Inf. Regt., 4th Inf. Div., V Corps, First Army; Died of Wounds 3 Sep 1944 near Saint-Quentin, Aisne Dept., northern France.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > Liberation > Northern France & Belgium
† Johnson, Frank Allen, SN 37-189-738, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Co. D, 67th Armored Regt., 2nd Armored Div., XIX Corps, First Army; KIA 26 Aug 1944 near Seine River, NW of Paris, France.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > Liberation > Northern France & Belgium.
† Logan, Robert John, SN 20-743-488, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • Troop B, 113th Cavalry Recon. Sqdn., 113th Cavalry Gp., XIX Corps, First Army; DOW 2 Sep 1944, northern France near Tournai, Belgium.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > Liberation > Northern France & Belgium
​† Nelson, Chester Raymond, SN 17-040-689, US Army, Burt & Washington Cos., NE
  • 759th Tank Bn. (light), attached to 4th Cavalry Gp., VII Corps, First Army; DNB 20 Aug 1944 Orne Dept., Normandy; accident during battalion's 48-mile eastward night march.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > Liberation > Northern France & Belgium
† Olsen, Iver O., SN 6-933-625, US Army, Buena Vista Co.
  • 24th Cavalry Reconnaissance Sqdn., V Corps, First Army; KIA 6 Sep 1944 Belgium.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > Liberation > Northern France & Belgium
† Wilcken, Ono Ain, SN 37-472-752, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • 2nd Inf. Regt., 5th Inf. Div., XX Corps, Third Army; KIA 15 Aug 1944 near Chartres, Eure-et-Loir Dept., France.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > Liberation > Northern France & Belgium