Following the Allied invasion of Sicily in the second half of 1943, German resistance stiffened. It was not until June 4, 1944, that the Allies liberated Rome. To avoid great loss of life among his troops, General Eisenhower intended to bypass Paris as the Allies marched across France. But French resistance fighters inside Paris and French troops in the liberation army called for a quick and clean capture of their capital. On August 19, Eisenhower changed his mind after receiving word of an uprising in Paris. He sent the Second Free French Armored Division, supported by U.S. troops, into the city. Paris fell to the Allies on August 25 without great struggle because the German commandant disobeyed Hitler's orders.