La Bellerie Farm
ROUTE OF THE 2ND FRENCH ARMORED DIVISION
August 7, 1944, General LECLERC is in DOMALAIN From August 6 to 9, 1944, General Leclerc and his 2nd French armored division experienced some turbulent times before taking part in the Liberation battle. The units set off on a 50-km drive to flank the German army from the south.
On Monday August 7, the General and part of his staff set off in absolute secrecy, leaving south of Avranches. He arrived in Domalain at around 8 a.m.: a hundred or so men, including officers, followed by elements of the 2nd DB. A cantonment is set up. Transmission groups set up field lines. Around 4 p.m., in total incognito, the General reached the farm of La Bellerie, where Christian GIRARD, aide-de-camp, had set up the General's office-truck caravan, in which he had a bed for the night. At 10 p.m., an order from the American General Staff obliged the General and his soldiers to leave immediately. Leclerc and his 2nd armored division set off into the night towards Le Mans, on their way to meet the legend inseparable from their victorious epic.
Contribution and photo credit Le Bourvellec Eric
