 was a city with a smoldering purpose. Signs in an alien tongue stood isolated. An alien flag flapped in the breeze. But behind the windows, there was meaningful preparation. Men checked their meager stock of arms. No single bullet could be wasted, and each vital grenade was inspected. Calmly, the French forces of the interior camouflaged their requisition cards. To heal the France, the first sparks were ready to burst into flames. The storied sain provides a natural bastion, winding through the heart of the capital. The men took their positions. The severed German forces could neither oppose the Allied entry from the south, nor effectively meet the imminent attack from within. The center of the bastion was the police headquarters. That was objective number one. It was here the battle began. Here the first blood was drawn. There were deaths and casualties in both camps. But the spilled blood brought first-class weapons to the FFI. They were put to immediate and effective use. Direct fire was played on the German staff commanding the Nazi garrison in the police headquarters. This was the first important success scored by the Paris resistance forces. It gave them a base from which to organize. It gave them authority. Tension of four years' duration had been relieved. Above all, it cleared the way for their leader, the ex-prefect of Corsica, the man who secretly directed the Paris police to stand by for orders. Now he came into the open as chief of resistance throughout France. The Gendarmerie had played the game with infinite tact. Nazi trigger fingers itched to massacre these men as they waited the sign. But they held together. They gathered arms and barricaded themselves in. Then, according to plan, Paris was in perfect coordination with the attackers outside. Came the moment of final inspection and the leader told the local chiefs his plan. He exorted the L'Evée en masse, the popular uprising. Once again, Paris had heard the call to the barricades. Legend has it that the very stones will rise and rise they did. Once again in the long history of man's fight for freedom, Paris tore up the cobblestones to make entrenchments. The eternal stood not only for herself, but for free men the world over. This gay and lively people rose to the moment, a fateful moment for the entire world. The barricades in place, the scene was set for action. Intense activity was underway inside resistance headquarters. Small Nazi units were deployed everywhere, but Allied divisions were approaching. Among them, the Clairs French Armored Division. German tanks tried vainly to find soft spots in the Hotel de Ville. Here is the call, citizens to arms. German snipers open up on the roof of Notre Dame. This Nazi is a mocked man, and this German convoy is doomed. It will never escape, and is cleared of German army. Only an occasional Nazi sniper remains behind, but he is hunted from every corner. The Hotel de Ville, the town hall, the air is electric with suspense. It was thought the Germans had fired their last shot. They were running into the thousands. But German treachery knows no end. Nazi story. We surrender, it says. Please don't shoot. And Frenchmen go in for the capture. Material damage is insignificant. It's a small price for the end of Nazi tyranny. As the French colors rose in triumph, the Nazi broke his sworn word. He counterattacked, added to his treachery was this evidence of his bestiality left behind within the gates of Paris. Today with the allies on the threshold of German soil, the memory of these guiltless men and women is too fresh to be forgotten. Promise has been given that the criminals responsible for these and countless other crimes are to be punished without exception. The crowds that cheer their freedom did so with four harsh years behind them. Four vividly remembered years. At the moment, however, before they face the sobering years of reconstruction, they can think of nothing but this glorious moment of liberation. Popular General Leclerc leads his relieving armored division past the Liberty Statue. They came to turn the tide of the treacherous Nazi counterattack. And they came at a dramatic moment in time to assure the victorious conquest of the resistance forces. Bullets again interrupt the jubilance, but only for a moment. Such scenes of delirious contrast did Paris finally find deliverance. The home of freedom is once again the home of free men. The Battle of Paris has been won. And the victorious end of the Battle of Europe is at hand.