In June 1944 Allied forces, invaded and forced the Germans to retreat. France was liberated and the Petain regime ended. Paris was liberated on August 25. On September 10, de Gaulle installed his provisional government in Paris. France could now again participate as a partner in the war. In 1945, the French army numbered 1,300,000 men, 412,000 of whom were fighting in Germany and 40,000 in Italy.