| Original caption: “Eisenhower and Commanders Visit Arc De Triomphe – General Dwight D. Eisenhower (center), Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Western France, stands with some of his commanders a the Are de Triomphe in Paris. Left to right, front row: An unidentified officer whose face has been censored; Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley, Commander of the Twelfth Army group; General Eisenhower; Lieutenant General Joseph Pierre Koenig, Commander of the French Forces of the Interior, and Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, Deputy Supreme Commander.” Allied High Command during their tour of Paris. United States Army General Omar N. Bradley (February 12, 1893 – April 8, 1981), as 12th Army Group Commander, oversaw the deployment of the 28th Infantry Division and 5th Armored Division through Paris, an iconic event. General Dwight D. Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969), Commander, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) had more of a political objective, to assure French General Charles De Gaulle (November 22, 1890 – November 9, 1970) that the Provisional Government would administer Paris. General Marie-Pierre Kœnig (October 10, 1898 – September 2, 1970), seen in this view next to an unidentified officer to Eisenhower’s left, was military governor of Paris. United Kingdom Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur William Tedder (July 11, 1890 – June 3, 1967) was Eisenhower’s Deputy Commander of SHAEF. Early Saturday morning, August 26, 1944, after the liberation was complete, Eisenhower decided he would go into Paris and pay tribute to de Gaulle. Doing so publicly would further enhance de Gaulle’s position. Still at his headquarters in Tournièrs, Eisenhower and his driver Kay Summersby (November 23, 1908 – January 20, 1975) left late that morning for Bradley’s headquarters in Chartres, a 6-hour trip. They went through the Falaise battlefield for a 2nd time, and Kay said, “I was glad when we emerged from the Falaise section, leaving the sickly odor and sight of death far behind.” They passed through Gacé, the tactical headquarters of Bernard L. Montgomery’s (November 17, 1887 – March 24, 1976), 21st Army Group, and Eisenhower stopped to invite Montgomery to join him. Montgomery was not there but later sent a short message to Eisenhower declining. He was too busy, he said. Some historians assume he was obeying British Foreign Office instructions to stay away so that Eisenhower’s call on de Gaulle “would be an undiluted American gesture of recognition.” Eisenhower was not disappointed that Montgomery declined. “It’s just as well,” he told Summersby. “The less I see of him, the better it is for my blood pressure.” When Eisenhower and Kay arrived at his headquarters in Chartres that afternoon, Bradley wasn’t there. He was in Brest, on a quick inspection visit, but he returned soon after they arrived. According to Bradley, Eisenhower “suggested we slip quietly into Paris for a glimpse of the city the following morning.” Bradley later recorded the day trip in his memoirs. “With General Joseph-Pierre Koenig, whom de Gaulle had named French military governor of Paris, we drove up the Boulevard des Invalides to where the gilded Dome des Invalides stood over the tomb of Napoleon. After halting briefly at the crypt, we crossed the Seine to the broad Place de la Concorde and drove up the leafy Champs Elysées. A huge Tricolor filled the Are de [riomphe from its arch to the street. As Eisenhower dismounted to salute France’s unknown warrior, a jubilant crowd bore down on him. His way back to the car was blocked and a wedge of Military Police struggled to clear a path to its door. But when Ike had closed to within an arm’s length of safety, he was collared from the rear by a huge tousled Frenchman who slathered him on both cheeks. The crowd squealed in delight as Ike reddened and fought free. Cut off from the car, I made my way to an escort jeep where a handsome young lady purred over the driver. Later as I rubbed a smear of her lipstick from my cheek, I joked Ike on my better fortune. “I’ll leave the accolades to you,” I told him, “and take my chances with the crowd.” The visit to Paris was a moving experience for the Allied Command. Kay Summersby may have expressed it best. “I hate lofty, dramatic words. But there in Paris that August day—a Paris still resounding to liberating gunfire, a Paris absolutely wild with mass happiness over something intangible called Freedom — I knew exactly what the war was all about.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii0491.jpg |
| Image Size | 297.55 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1276 x 1244 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 28, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Paris |
| State or Province | Île-de-France |
| Country | France |
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| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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