Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (Marshal Leclerc)

Philippe François Marie, Count de Hauteclocque (1902–1947), who adopted the nom de guerre Leclerc to protect his family in occupied France, was the foremost combat general of Free France and posthumous Marshal of France. Escaping German capture twice during the 1940 Battle of France, Leclerc fled to London to join General Charles de Gaulle.

In March 1941, after marching across 1,000 miles of Sahara desert to capture the Italian fortress of Kufra in Libya, Leclerc led his men in the historic 'Oath of Kufra': swearing never to lay down arms until the French tricolor flew once more over Metz and Strasbourg. Commanding the renowned French 2nd Armored Division (2e Division Blindée), Leclerc landed in Normandy in August 1944. On August 25, 1944, his tanks spearheaded the liberation of Paris, accepting the surrender of German General Dietrich von Choltitz. Three months later, he fulfilled the Oath of Kufra by taking Strasbourg in a surprise winter dash.