Portal:Military history of France/Selected unit/4

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The French 2nd Armored Division, commanded by General Leclerc, fought during the final phases of World War II in the Western Front.

It landed in Normandy on August 1, 1944, about two months after the D-Day landings, and served under General Patton's Third Army. The division played a critical role in Operation Cobra, the Allied breakthrough from Normandy, when it served as a link between American and Canadian armies and made rapid progress against German forces. They all but destroyed the 9th Panzer Division and defeated several other German units. The 2nd Division's losses amounted to 141 killed and 58 medium and light tanks while they killed 4,500 Germans, captured 8,800, and destroyed 118 heavy and medium tanks. (More...)