bigpigeon.us webpage WW II - Germany  > ETO > France Liberated > Northern France, updated by RAC 17 Aug '19.
August 1944 - The Normandy Breathrough Exploited
As the German effort to contain the Normandy Breakout crumbled, German forces began withdrawing across the lower Seine River. Allied forces sped northeastward and eastward.
  • The salient on the south of the accompanying map shows Patton's Third Army progress as of 25 August.
  • Patton had detached a corps to liberate Brittany.
  • Some divisions from several Allied armies remained behind to deal with the Falaise Pocket.
Northwestern France - The Normandy Breakthrough Exploited
25 August 1944 - The Normandy Breakout Exploited
August 1944 - The Liberation of Paris
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 troops entered Paris on the evening of August 24, and the following day Paris was liberated.

Paris suffered little damage except from small arms fire and damage from barricade construction. Around 1,000 Parisian partisans died. 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.
25 August - mid September 1944 - The Allied Advance Continues
By 11 September, most of northern France and Belgium had been liberated.
  • Soon advanced Allied forces from the 15 August landing in southern France would push north and link with Patton's Third Army.
  • On 11 September, US First Army troops penetrated through the Siegfried Line and approached the historic German city of Aachen.
The Advance to Aachen
11 September 1944 - The Allied Advance Continues
The Allied Advanced Stalls
In mid-September 1944, some Allied commands, giddy with the successes of the last month, foresaw a 1944 ending to the war on the Western Front. How wrong they were!

Three months of heavy casualties but little progress followed. This was accompanied by supply shortages, partially due to the lack of ports. 

After logistic issues were resolved, our forces would suffer through the deadliest battle in the ETO. Only in February 1945 would rapid progress resume, but this progress would be accompanied by heavy losses.
Sources for the WW II - Northern France Liberated webpage
  • The webpage header photo shows General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French, returning from laying a wreath at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on 26 August 1944. Paris had been liberated the previous day by members of the French resistance and the French 2nd Armored Division. This photo is courtesy of historynet.com.
Pottawattamie County, Iowa WW II Deaths - Northern France Liberated (updated 17 Aug ’19)
World Wars > WW II > Pott. Co. Deaths has parental and spousal information.
  • Crockett, Oliver E., US Army; 23rd Inf. Regt., 2nd Inf. Div.; d. 11 Sep ’44, near Brest, Brittany.
  • Downs, Thomas G., Underwood, IA, USAAF; 85th Troop Carrier Sqdn., 437th Troop Carrier Gp., 9th AF; d. 27 Aug ’44, Colleville Landing Field, aircraft crash.
  • Johnson, Frank A., US Army; Co. D, 67th Armored Regt., 2nd Armored Div.; d. 26 Aug ’44 near the Seine River NW of Paris.
  • Kreger, Lewis E., US Army; 28th Inf. Regt., 8th Inf. Div.; d. 31 Aug ’44, near Brest, Brittany.
  • Logan, Robert W., US Army; B Troop, 113th Cavalry Recon Sqdn., 113th Cavalry Recon. Gp., d. 2 Sep ’44 in northern France of wounds.
  • Marshall, Warren B., US Army; Co. C, 104th Medical Bn., 29th Inf. Div.; d. 20 Aug ’44 in England of wounds received 14 Aug.
  • Thompson, Albert B., US Army; Co. A, 12th Combat Engineering Bn., 8th Inf. Div.; d. 30 Aug ’44, near Brest, Brittany.
  • Wilcken, Ono A., US Army; 2nd Inf. Regt., 5th Inf. Div.; d. 15 Aug ’44 near Chartres.
  • Wright, Bruce W., US Army; 13th Inf. Regt., 8th Inf. Div.; d. 31 Aug ’44, near Brest, Brittany.​