Includes bibliographical references (pages 225-229) and index.

"The liberation of Paris tells the dramatic story of the Allied decision in World War II to divert from the strategic plan in order to save the City of Light from chaos and assist de Gaulle's efforts to become France's new leader even as the German general in charge of the occupation defied his orders to destroy the city as the Allies closed in."--,Provided by publisher.

Following their breakout from Normandy in late June 1944, the Allies swept across northern France in pursuit of the German army. As they advanced, local forces in Paris began their own liberation, defying the occupying German troops. Charles de Gaulle urged General Dwight Eisenhower to divert forces to liberate Paris. Neither man knew that the German commandant, Dietrich von Choltitz, convinced that the war was lost, dissembled and schemed to surrender the city to the Allies intact, defying Hitler's orders to leave it a burning ruin. Smith shows how the decision to free the city slowed the Allied momentum and allowed the Germans to regroup, prolonging the war for another six months. -- adapted from jacket