80 years ago, the liberation of Paris began.
It lasted "until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944", ending its occupation of more than 4 years by Nazi Germany.
The initial plan was to bypass Paris to conserve resources and move more quickly to the Rhine, but circumstances made the Allies liberate the city sooner than originally planned.
'Is Paris Burning?' (1965) by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre tells the story of the liberation of Paris in WWII.
It "is written as a series of vignettes based on interviews with, and the written memoirs of, the people involved, on all sides, in the liberation of Paris", including members of:
- the various factions of the French Resistance
- the Free French Forces and citizens of Paris
- the American Armed Forces
- the occupying German Army
The title "Is Paris Burning?" (German: Brennt Paris?) "was a demand said to have been directed by Adolf Hitler at his military governor of Paris, General Dietrich von Choltitz, or in another account at Hitler's chief of staff, General Alfred Jodl, in August 1944 as Paris was falling to the Allies."
Many strategic structures and historical landmarks were ordered to be destroyed but, luckily, this was avoided.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_Paris_Burning%3F