The “Kufra vow”

On 23 November, 1944, Strasbourg was liberated by General Leclerc’s 2nd Armoured Division. In hoisting this flag to the summit of the cathedral, the Spahi Maurice Lebrun fulfilled the “Kufra vow”. On 21 December 1940, Philippe Leclerc had launched the battle of Kufra in Libya with 400 men and 56 vehicles. On 16 February 1941, the French put the Italians to flight and on 2 March Colonel Leclerc and his men made the vow that «we will never lay down our arms until our fine colours fly again from Strasbourg Cathedral.» This flag was made from pieces of material found in the cathedral district. The blue panel came from an apron belonging to Mme Lorentz, a shopkeeper in Place St Étienne, the white from a sheet and the red from a Nazi flag.