Opportunity at Falaise

Although it made some headway in Operation Totalize, the Canadian II Corps fell short of its ultimate objective of Falaise and only reached Hill 195, directly north of the town. General Simonds quickly put together another plan to capture Falaise …

1944-08-14

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Although it made some headway in Operation Totalize, the Canadian II Corps fell short of its ultimate objective of Falaise and only reached Hill 195, directly north of the town. General Simonds quickly put together another plan to capture Falaise that would start at noon on August 14. This time, the Canadians attacked during daylight with the 4th Canadian Armored Division to the West of Hill 195 and the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division on the East. They used a smoke screen to help advance in the face of the well-sited German anti-tank guns. Again, use was made of the Kangaroos, which had proved to be quite useful during Totalize. Progress was slower than planned because of strong German counter-attacks, but on August 16 the Canadians finally entered Falaise. It took another two days to clear the city of Resistance, but General Simonds had captured the first objective of Operation Tractable and was closer to closing the Falaise Pocket.

Falaise, France

The Falaise Pocket or Battle of the Falaise Pocket was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. A pocket was formed around Falaise, Calvados, in which the German Army Group B, with the 7th Army and the Fifth Panzer Army were encircled by the Western Allies. The battle is also referred to as the Battle of the Falaise Gap. The battle resulted in the destruction of most of Army Group B west of the Seine, which opened the way to Paris and the Franco-German border for the Allied armies on the Western Front.

Wikipedia: Falaise Pocket

German

Canadian

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Board Type: Countryside

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