Faya Largeau, 1942. Coll. Ploux-Vourc’h, Musée de la Libération de Paris –  musée du général Leclerc – musée Jean Moulin (Paris Musées)
from
16 March
to
16 July
2023
Exposition

The desert soldiers

Leclerc and the British (1940-1943)
From 16 March to 16 July 2023, the Musée de la Libération de Paris – Musée du général Leclerc – Musée Jean Moulin will shine a light on a unique and epic chapter of the Second World War.

While France had fallen to the hands of Nazi Germany, some French decided to keep on fighting.Philippe de Hauteclocque, known as “Leclerc", was among them. In August 1940, General de Gaulle sent him to French Equatorial Africa to convince these territories to join the Free French. He then entrusted him with another mission: to show that the Free French did not accept the armistice of June 1940 and would continue the war. In the Libyan desert, with British help, Leclerc led his small column of soldiers against the Italian positions and wrote the Saharan saga of the Free French Forces.

The exhibition will recount this history, at the musée de la Libération de Paris – musée du général Leclerc – musée Jean Moulin, from Nigeria to Chad, from the Libyan oases to Tunisia. Over the course of various missions in pirogue, reconnaissance operations, or raids in hostile environment, we will discover these portraits of known or unknown soldiers, as well as a brotherhood of arms between the Free French and the British against their enemies : the Italian forces, the Afrika Korps, and the desert.

With around fifty rarely-exhibited items – films, photographs, weapons, uniforms, equipment, and other military gear, sometimes redesigned to contend with the desert – visitors will dive into the heart of the Sahara Desert.

Half of these items are coming from the museum’s own collections, with one room from the permanent exhibition being dedicated to this historic chapter. The temporary exhibition will dig deeper into the history of the Free French soldiers from the Leclerc column, highlighting their necessary relationships with British allies. Portraits, documents, items, and photographs will tell the story of a varied yet common commitment.

The exhibition will also include many items coming from partner museums in France and abroad, such as the Musée de l’Ordre de la Libération, the Musée de l’Armée, the Musée de Strasbourg, the lmperial War Museum and the National Army Museum in London.

#LesSoldatsDuDésert1940

Public et Horaire

  • Enfant / Adolescent
  • Famille
  • Adulte
Les horaires en détail

Museum

Musée de la Libération de Paris - Musée du Général Leclerc - Musée Jean Moulin
Musée de la Libération de Paris - musée du Général Leclerc - musée Jean Moulin

Place Denfert-Rochereau
4 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy
75014 Paris
France

Infos Pratiques

Horaires de l'exposition

Musée de la Libération de Paris - musée du général Leclerc - musée Jean Moulin
4 avenue du Colonel Rol Tanguy, Place Denfert Rochereau, 75014 Paris

Tél : 01 71 28 34 70

 

Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

. Free access to the permanent exhibition

. Free visit of the Rol-Tanguy CP by appointment in situ

. Exhibition: Full price: 9 € / Reduced price: 7 €

 

Public

  • Enfant / Adolescent
  • Famille
  • Adulte

One chapter of a broader history

In the summer of 1940, Vichy France had negotiated an armistice with the Germans and left the battlefield.The United Kingdom remained alone against the Reich and Italy. It relied on all the forces joining London – such as the forces of General de Gaulle. For the leader of the Free French, it was essential for France to return to war alongside the Allies.

Starting in September 1940, far from the European capitals, Italian and British military leaders tried to gain control over the Mediterranean Sea, as well as access to the Suez Canal. Farther still, on the other side of Libya, a small Free French column from Chad, led by Colonel Leclerc, was conducting raids on Italian positions. As Malraux would call them, they were “epic tramps,” relying on British supplies for gears and weapons. The victory won by Leclerc with 400 men on 1 March 1941 in Kufra – an Italian fort in the middle of the Sahara – would be the first autonomous achievement of the Free French Forces.

The exhibition will take visitors to British Nigeria, where Leclerc landed in August 1940, to Cameroon, taken by the Free French a few weeks later, but also to Chad and to the Italian-held oases of Libya, under attack from the Leclerc column, all the way to Tunisia to fight the Afrika Korps.

The exhibition will take visitors to British Nigeria, where Leclerc landed in August 1940, to Cameroon, taken by the Free French a few weeks later, but also to Chad and to the Italian-held oases of Libya, under attack from the Leclerc column, all the way to Tunisia to fight the Afrika Korps.

Strong personalities

This history could not have been written without the deeds of strong-willed men – most notably of leaders, such as Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle, who led the war effort, despite some disagreements between them.

On the ground, nothing would have been possible without some steadfast personalities. First among them was Philippe de Hauteclocque, a young French Captain who joined General de Gaulle to keep on fighting. Tasked with political and military missions, he quickly learned how to manage both situations and men and became one of the great military leaders of the Free French Forces. During this “saga of the sands,” he met with the British, who were as headstrong as they were daring. Among them, Ralph Bagnold, a “Saharan master.” Specialist in desert navigation, he was the founder of the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG): a legendary motorized unit, designed to conduct raids far behind Italian lines. Bagnold was the one who contacted the Free French in Chad to get supplies for his motorized patrols.

On the French side, many portraits of soldiers and officers bring to life and tell the story of this “Leclerc column,” such as Lieutenant-Colonel Jean Colonna d’Ornano. A renowned meharist, he joined the Free French Forces when Chad was rallied to the cause. In November 1940, eager to fight, he arranged for his participation in the British raid against Murzuk. The operation was a success, but Colonna d’Ornano was shot in the throat and became the first Free French soldier to die in battle.

Iconic items

To help discovering the saga of the Leclerc column, the collections of the museum and of major partner institutions have been put to good use.

Visitors will be able to look at equipment from the LRDG, on loan from the Imperial War Museum and the National Army Museum, including the famous insignia of the “desert scorpions.” The Kufra victory will be evoked with the authentic camera that took the aerial picture of the Kufra oasis on 31 December 1940, preserved by the Musée de l’Armée. Also on display, will be the flag taken to the Sahariana, on loan from the Musée de Strasbourg, and the uniform and compasses of André Geoffroy, from the 2nd Reconnaissance and Combat Company (coming from the Musée de l’Ordre de la Libération).

Dive into the desert sands

The highly evocative scenography by Alexis Patras was designed based on the photograph collections of the museum. It is meant to immerse visitors inside the vastness of the Sahara, with a boldly graphic vision of the desert. While a comprehensive timeline will contextualise every event, the visit will also include portraits and thematic focuses revealing a great political history, as well as a human and military adventure. With excerpts from letters, soldier testimonies, and even filmed archives from various sources (ECPAD, IWM), images and voices will bring this adventure to life in support of the visit.

 

Interactive and innovative devices

Several digital mediation devices designed by Opixido will provide younger visitors with a ground-level experience. They will explain how to fight against extreme weather conditions in a hostile desert or show the various methods to free motorized vehicles stuck in sand. Binoculars placed in various spots during the visit will provide vantage points restoring the topography of the Saharan dunes, thanks to specifically processed archival photographs. To go further, digital notices will grant the opportunity to handle technical equipment: compass, transmitter-receiver, aerial camera, sun-compass. Those four essential instruments for surviving in the desert will be contextualised historically and their handling in 3D will offer an entertaining mission, to better understand this immersion into the desert.

affiche de l'exposition les soldats du désert

Curator

Sylvie Zaidman, General Curator and Director of the Musée de la Libération de Paris - musée du général Leclerc - musée Jean Moulin

 

Scientific Advisor

Christine Levisse-Touzé, Historian, Honorary General Heritage Curator for the City of Paris, Associate Director of Research Emeritus at the Sorbonne University

Général Michel, Chairman of the Fondation Maréchal Leclerc de Hauteclocque

Gavin Mortimer, British writer and historian
 

Robert Rumble, Curator from the Imperial War Museum

Faya Largeau, 1942. Coll. Ploux-Vourc’h, Musée de la Libération de Paris –musée du général Leclerc – musée Jean Moulin (Paris Musées)

Faya Largeau, 1942. Coll. Ploux-Vourc’h, Musée de la Libération de Paris –musée du général Leclerc – musée Jean Moulin (Paris Musées)