Part 1: The beginning for Leclerc
Next to Charles de Gaulle himself, the most famous French General in WWII was undoubtedly General Philippe Leclerc. Leclerc was not his real name, as he had been sentenced to death by the Nazi puppet government, installed in Vichy, in the south of France, who viewed him as a traitor. His real name was Vicomte Philippe De Hautecloque, and as a Captain he refused to surrender in 1940. He was hunted by the Germans and French Vichy government alike, but despite being wounded managed to evade them and to escape to Britain, where he joined Charles de Gaulle’s Free French Forces.
Young French soldiers, who were rescued and evacuated at Dunkirk in May 1940, trained in England for the long fight ahead. In Camberly, armored division training took place, and General Leclerc took command of what would become the famous French crewed 2nd Armored Division. The rest, as they say, is history!
General Philippe Leclerc went into action with the British in Kufra, (Libya), at the end of January 1941. After a month of fighting, the Italian and Libyan garrisons surrendered, and General Leclerc achieved the first victory for the Free French Forces. From there, he began a long march to Egypt to join General Montgomery, who was extremely impressed by him, and he went on to fight through the North Africa Campaign. After this campaign, the units were formed into the 2nd Armored Division in 1943.
