--- title: "Life and Death of Philippe Leclerc" description: "Discover the life and death of Jacques-Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, the Free French commander who liberated Paris, fulfilled the Oath of Kufra, and became a Marshal of France." url: "https://www.normandy1944.info/home/commanders/life-and-death-of-philippe-leclerc" date: "2026-07-26T20:18:29+00:00" language: "en-GB" --- ![Life and Death of Philippe Leclerc](https://www.normandy1944.info/images/commanders/French/Phillpe_Leclerc/d-day-normandy-beyond-commanders-philippe-Leclerc-background.png) # Life and Death of Philippe Leclerc ## Highest military rank: Maréchal de France (1952) Country of origin: French [](#) [](#) - [Life and Death of Philippe Leclerc](#) Commanders ## Who was Philippe Leclerc? **Jacques-Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque** was one of the most celebrated French commanders of the **Second World War**. After escaping German captivity in **May 1940**, he joined [**Charles de Gaulle**](https://www.normandy1944.info/home/commanders/life-and-death-of-charles-de-gaulle) and the **Free French Forces**. From the deserts of Africa to **Normandy**, **Paris**, **Strasbourg** and **Berchtesgaden**, Leclerc became a symbol of French resistance, liberation and restored national honor. ### Quick Facts **Full name:** Philippe François Marie de Hauteclocque **Known as:** Jacques-Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque **Born:** 22 November 1902, Belloy-Saint-Léonard, France **Died:** 28 November 1947, near Colomb-Béchar, French Algeria **Age at death:** 45 **Nationality:** French **Highest rank:** Général d'armée **Posthumous rank:** Maréchal de France, awarded on 23 August 1952 **Commands:** Free French Forces in Chad, Leclerc Column, 2e Division Blindée, French Far East Expeditionary Corps **Known for:** Oath of Kufra, Liberation of Paris, Liberation of Strasbourg, capture of the Obersalzberg **Years of service:** 1924–1947 ### Early Life **Philippe François Marie de Hauteclocque** was born on **22 November 1902** in **Belloy-Saint-Léonard**, near Amiens in northern France. Born into an old aristocratic family, he was the fifth of six children of **Adrien de Hauteclocque** and **Marie-Thérèse van der Cruisse de Waziers**. He received a strict Catholic upbringing, a faith that remained important throughout his life. Between **1922** and **1924**, he studied at the prestigious **École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr**. He later continued his military training at the **École d'application de la cavalerie de Saumur**. On **10 August 1925**, he married **Thérèse de Gargan**, with whom he would have six children. De Hauteclocque served with cavalry and colonial units, including the **8e régiment de spahis marocains** in Morocco. He took part in operations during the **Rif War** and later commanded the **38th Goum**, a light infantry company of Moroccan soldiers. In **1934**, he was promoted to **capitaine** and received the **Légion d'honneur** for his service in North Africa. ### Outbreak of War and Daring Escapes At the outbreak of **World War II**, De Hauteclocque served as a **capitaine** in the **4th Infantry Division**. During the German offensive in **May 1940**, his unit was forced back and encircled near **Lille**. He was captured by German forces on **29 May 1940**, but quickly escaped and returned to the French lines. On **15 June 1940**, he was wounded during a German air attack near the **Aube River** and evacuated to a hospital in **Tonnerre**. When German troops overran the area, he was captured a second time. On **17 June 1940**, he escaped again by jumping from a hospital window. After hearing **Charles de Gaulle's** call to continue the fight, De Hauteclocque resolved to reach London. To protect his wife and children from reprisals in occupied France, he adopted the alias **Leclerc**. > After crossing Spain and Portugal, he reached Britain and formally joined the **Free French Forces** on **25 July 1940**. ### The Desert Campaigns and the Oath of Kufra Recognizing his energy and determination, **Charles de Gaulle** sent Leclerc to Africa in **August 1940** to rally French colonial territories to the Free French cause. The mission succeeded in **Cameroon**, **Chad** and the **French Congo**. Appointed military commander in **Chad**, Leclerc built a small but highly mobile desert force. In early **1941**, he launched an operation against Italian positions in Libya. His victory at the oasis fortress of **Kufra** gave the Free French a powerful symbolic triumph. On **2 March 1941**, Leclerc and his men swore the famous **Oath of Kufra**, promising not to lay down their arms until the French flag flew once again over **Strasbourg Cathedral**. This oath became one of the defining moments of Leclerc's military career. In **January 1943**, the **Leclerc Column** reached **Tripoli** and linked up with **General Bernard Montgomery's** British Eighth Army. Leclerc's desert veterans then took part in the Allied campaign in Tunisia. ### The 2nd Armored Division On **5 May 1943**, Leclerc was promoted to **général de division**. With American equipment and new reinforcements, his desert force was reorganized into the **2e Division Blindée**, or **2nd Armored Division**. The division trained in Morocco and later in Great Britain in preparation for operations in France. Leclerc was fiercely patriotic and deeply conscious of France's diminished position within the Allied coalition. Like **De Gaulle**, he was determined that French forces should play a visible and decisive role in the liberation of their own country. ### Landing in Normandy The **2e Division Blindée** landed at **Utah Beach** on **1 August 1944** and was assigned to [**Lieutenant General George S. Patton's**](https://www.normandy1944.info/home/commanders/life-and-death-of-george-s-patton-jr) U.S. Third Army. Leclerc and Patton shared an aggressive approach to armored warfare and developed mutual respect, although Leclerc's independence sometimes caused tension with Allied commanders. The division entered heavy combat during the fighting around **Argentan** and the **Falaise Pocket**. Leclerc wanted to drive rapidly toward **Paris**, but Allied commanders initially intended to bypass the city in order to preserve fuel and maintain the advance into Germany. ### The Liberation of Paris On **20 August 1944**, the **French Resistance** began an uprising in Paris. **Charles de Gaulle** insisted that French troops must take part in liberating the capital. After pressure from De Gaulle and Leclerc, [**Lieutenant General Omar Bradley** ](https://www.normandy1944.info/home/commanders/life-and-death-of-omar-nelson-bradley)authorized the advance. Advanced elements of Leclerc's division entered Paris on **24 August 1944**. The following day, **25 August 1944**, Leclerc entered the city and accepted the surrender of the German commander, **General Dietrich von Choltitz**, who had refused to carry out **Adolf Hitler's** order to destroy the French capital. > For many French citizens, the liberation of **Paris** by French troops under Leclerc symbolized the restoration of national honor after four years of occupation. On **26 August 1944**, De Gaulle led a victory procession down the **Champs-Élysées**. ### Strasbourg and the Fulfilment of the Oath After Paris, the **2e Division Blindée** returned to the front. In September 1944, Leclerc's forces fought German armored units and continued the Allied advance eastward. On **23 November 1944**, Leclerc's troops liberated **Strasbourg**. The French flag flew over the cathedral, fulfilling the **Oath of Kufra** sworn in the Libyan desert more than three years earlier. ### The Capture of Berchtesgaden In the final weeks of the war in Europe, Leclerc's division advanced into southern Germany. On **4 May 1945**, elements of the **2e Division Blindée** reached the **Obersalzberg** near **Berchtesgaden**, the site of [**Hitler's**](https://www.normandy1944.info/home/commanders/life-and-death-of-adolf-hitler) mountain retreat. The end of the campaign was overshadowed by a controversial incident near **Karlstein** on **8 May 1945**, when twelve French nationals who had served in the **Waffen-SS Charlemagne Division** were captured and summarily executed by men of the 2e DB. No formal investigation followed in the chaotic aftermath of Germany's surrender. ### Indochina and the Limits of Empire After the war in Europe, Leclerc was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the **French Far East Expeditionary Corps** in **French Indochina**. On **2 September 1945**, he represented France aboard the **USS Missouri** in Tokyo Bay during the signing of the Japanese surrender. In Indochina, Leclerc initially fought against the **Viet Minh**, led by **Ho Chi Minh**. However, he soon recognized the strength of Vietnamese nationalism and warned that France could not solve the situation by military force alone. He urged political negotiations, but his advice was rejected by the French government. > Frustrated by the direction of French policy, Leclerc requested a transfer. His warnings proved prophetic as the **First Indochina War** escalated into a long and costly conflict. ### Death On **28 November 1947**, **Jacques-Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque** was killed when his **B-25 Mitchell** transport aircraft crashed during a sandstorm near **Colomb-Béchar** in French Algeria. Everyone on board was killed. His death shocked France. He was given a solemn state funeral and buried in the **Crypte des Invalides** in Paris, among France's greatest military figures. ### Legacy **Leclerc** is remembered as one of the greatest French commanders of the Second World War. His journey from defeated France to **Kufra**, **Normandy**, **Paris**, **Strasbourg** and **Berchtesgaden** made him one of the central symbols of Free France. On **23 August 1952**, he was posthumously elevated to **Maréchal de France**, the highest military dignity in France. His memory is preserved in monuments, streets, memorials and military institutions across France. The modern French **AMX-56 Leclerc** main battle tank also bears his name, reflecting his enduring association with armored warfare and French military prestige. ![Life and Death of Philippe Leclerc](https://www.normandy1944.info/images/commanders/german/D-Day-Normandy-Beyond-Commanders-Phillipe-Leclerc-2026.jpg) Personal information - Philippe Leclerc - Born: 22 November 1902 - Belloy-Saint-Léonard, France - Died: 28 November 1947 - near Colomb-Béchar, French Algeria --- Highest achievement: Maréchal de France (1952) --- --- [ More info can be found here ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_Leclerc_de_Hauteclocque) Page updated on: 05 July 2026 Philippe Leclerc's medals and awards Below are some of the primary medals and awards associated with this biography, illustrated in part by identical, period-original examples from my personal collection. ![Legion of Honour](https://www.normandy1944.info/images/medals/french/Knight-of-the-Legion-of-Honour.png) Legion of Honour Awarded for excellent civil or military conduct delivered. ![Médaille militaire](https://www.normandy1944.info/images/medals/french/Me%CC%81daille_militaire.png) Médaille militaire Awarded for exceptional military service and acts of bravery. ![Croix de Guerre](https://www.normandy1944.info/images/medals/french/croix-de-guerre.png) Croix de Guerre Awarded for military duty during World War II. ![Companions of Liberation](https://www.normandy1944.info/images/medals/french/Companion-of-the-Liberation.png) Companions of Liberation Awarded for exceptional service in the liberation of France and outstanding devotion to the Free French cause. ![War Cross for foreign operational theatres](https://www.normandy1944.info/images/medals/french/Croix_de_guerre_des_the%CC%81a%CC%82tres_dope%CC%81rations_exte%CC%81rieures.png) War Cross for foreign operational theatres Awarded for citations for courage during foreign operations. ![Distinguished Service Order](https://www.normandy1944.info/images/medals/british/Distinguished-Service-Order.png) Distinguished Service Order Distinguished services during active operations against the enemy. #### Cite this historical page I aim to provide accurate, open-access accurate historical records. 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