page_title: La Nueve
section_title: Operations: From Normandy to Berchtesgaden
hierarchical_section_title: La Nueve / Operations: From Normandy to Berchtesgaden
caption_attribution_description: العربية: جماهيرٌ حاشدة من الفرنسيين الوطنيين مُصطفَّة في شارع الإليزيه لتُلقي نظرة على دبَّابات جيش فرنسا الحُرَّة وقطعٌ حربيَّةٌ أُخرى من اللواء المُدرَّع الثاني التابع للفريق أوَّل (الجنرال) لوكير وهي تعبر قوس النصر، بعد أن حُررت باريس من الاحتلال النازي يوم 26 آب \ أغسطس سنة 1944. يُمكنُ رؤية بعض اليافطات المرفوعة وسط الحشود تأييدًا للقائد شارل ديغول. English: Crowds of French patriots line the Champs Elysees to view Free French tanks and half tracks of General Leclerc's 2nd Armored Division passes through the Arc du Triomphe, after Paris was liberated on August 26, 1944. Among the crowd can be seen banners in support of Charles de Gaulle. Español: La multitud viendo a los blindados de la 2ª División Blindada, y al frente en la foto la semioruga "KICHI-KICHI", con su jefe DESTRAY, el chófer LAMBOURG y los ocupantes HABERMACHRER, THOMAS, CLERMONT, BISSON, ARANDA y ZIDONY, desfilando el 26 de agosto de 1944 en la avenida de los Campos Elíseos de París. Français&#160;: Foule sur les Champs Élysées regardant les blindés de la 2e DB avec des banderoles "De Gaulle au pouvoir" et "Vive De Gaulle", 26 août 1944. Le Half-track "KICHI-KICHI", avec à son bord l’Adjudant-chef DESTRAY, chef de voiture, LAMBOURG, chauffeur et l’équipage&#160;: HABERMACHRER, THOMAS, CLERMONT, BISSON, ARANDA et ZIDONY, défile le 26 août 1944 sur les Champs Elysées. Tiếng Việt: Quân đội Pháp trên đại lộ Champs-Élysées sau khi Paris được giải phóng năm 1944.
context_page_description: The 9th Company of the Régiment de marche du Tchad, part of the French 2nd Armored Division was nicknamed La Nueve. The company consisted of 160 men under French command, 146 of whom were Spanish republicans including many anarchists, and French soldiers. All had fought during the liberation of French North Africa, and later participated in the Liberation of France.
  The 9th Company's most notable military accomplishment was its important role in the Liberation of Paris. Men of La Nueve were among the first to enter the French capital on the evening of 24 August 1944, with half-tracks bearing the names of the Spanish Civil War battles of Teruel and Guadalajara, and accompanied by engineering personnel and three tanks, Montmirail, Champaubert and Romilly, from the 501ᵉ Régiment de chars de combat.
context_section_description: The 2nd Armored Division was transferred from Morocco to Great Britain, only arriving in Normandy at the beginning of August 1944. The 9th Company landed on Utah Beach during the night of 31 July – 1 August 1944. The 2nd Armored Division was at that point integrated into the Third United States Army, led by General George Patton. La Nueve engaged in combat against German units on the outskirts of Château-Gontier and Alençon, and from 13 to 18 August, fought in the vanguard of the division at Écouché. The 2nd Armored Division was attacked by the Waffen-SS, Adolf Hitler and Das Reich divisions, the 9th and 116th Panzer divisions and the 3rd Parachute Division, with fighting lasting until the arrival of the 2nd British Army in reinforcement. The company's anarchists revealed their courageous character during this battle, as one mortar unit carried out a coup de main attack 3 km behind German lines on 14 August, taking 130 German prisoners, capturing 13 vehicles and liberating 8 Americans.
  The city of Paris revolted against the German occupation on 20 August 1944. General Charles de Gaulle urged the Supreme Allied Command to allow the French troops to support the insurrection, backing Leclerc, who wanted to take advantage of the rebellion led by the French Resistance to quickly liberate Paris. On 23 August 1944, La Nueve set off towards Paris with the rest of the division. Around 8:00 pm on 24 August, accompanied by a squadron of tanks from the 501ᵉ Régiment de chars de combat, the 9th Company entered Paris through the Port d'Italie. At 9:22 pm, the section led by Amado Granell was the first to reach the Hôtel de Ville, and the half-track "Ebro" fired the first shots against a group of German machine guns. Subsequently, Lieutenant Granell, ex-superior officer of the Spanish Republican Army, was the first "French" officer to be received by the National Council of the Resistance within City Hall. While awaiting the surrender of the German General Dietrich von Choltitz, Governor of Paris, La Nueve was sent to occupy the Chamber of Deputies, the Hôtel Majestic (headquarters of the German military high command in France) and the Place de la Concorde. In the afternoon of 25 August, at 3:30 pm, the German garrison surrendered, and General von Choltitz was held prisoner by Spanish soldiers until being handed over to a French officer.
  The next day, Allied troops entered Paris in triumph. The Spanish soldiers participated in the victory parade, with four half-tracks chosen to form General De Gaulle's escort along the Champs-Elysées. They paraded under the flag of the Second Spanish Republic, and a giant banner sporting the same colours was used for several minutes during the opening of the parade. The 9th Company was then stationed in the Bois de Boulogne from 27 August to 9 September, before heading off to combat once more. On 12 September, the company distinguished itself in the capture of Andelot, during which 300 German soldiers were taken prisoner. On 15 September, the men of La Nueve crossed the Moselle river at Châtel-sur-Moselle and established a bridgehead against the German lines. The company's merit did not go unnoticed, with General De Gaulle personally awarding medals to the soldiers in the city of Nancy on 26 September. Captain Raymond Dronne, Canarian sub-lieutenant Miguel Campos, Catalan sergeant Fermín Pujol and the Galician corporal Cariño López all received the Médaille militaire and Croix de guerre 1939–1945. Combat in Alsace began in November 1944, and La Nueve entered into Strasbourg, the last big French city under occupation, on 23 November. On 1 January 1945, Captain Raymond Dronne paid his respects to his troops in a letter:
  The Spanish have fought remarkably. They are tricky to command but have a great deal of courage and combat experience. Some of them are experiencing a clear moral crisis due to the losses we've suffered and above all to the events in Spain.
  The 2nd Armored Division were relieved of active duty at the end of February for fifty days of rest, in the Châteauroux region. At the end of April the
caption: Units of the 2nd Armored Division parade along the Champs-Élysées after the Liberation of Paris
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