The Battle of Chambois was an August 1944 battle during the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Prior to the battle, a pocket had formed around

Falaise, Calvados Falaise () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Geography Falaise lies on the river Ante, a tributary of the river Dives, about southeast of Caen. History The area around Falaise has bee ...

, where the German

Army Group B Army Group B (German: ') was the title of three German Army Groups that saw action during World War II. Operational history Army Group B first took part in the Battle of France in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands. The second formation of Ar ...

, with the 7th Army and the

Fifth Panzer Army 5th Panzer Army (german: 5. Panzerarmee) was the name of two different German armoured formations during World War II. The first of these was formed in 1942, during the North African campaign and surrendered to the Allies at Tunis in 1943. The a ...

(formerly ) were encircled by the

Western Allies The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy ...

. The seizure of Chambois by American, Canadian and Polish forces saw the final closure of the Falaise Pocket on August 21, 1944 and the destruction of most of Army Group B.

Background

Following the success of

Operation Totalize Operation Totalize (also spelled Operation Totalise in recent British sources) was an offensive launched by Allied troops in the First Canadian Army during the later stages of Operation Overlord, from 8 to 9 August 1944. The intention was to bre ...

south of Caen on August 8 and 9, General

Harry Crerar General Henry Duncan Graham Crerar (28 April 1888 – 1 April 1965) was a senior officer of the Canadian Army who became the country's senior field commander in the Second World War as commander of the First Canadian Army in the campaign in N ...

, commander of the First Canadian Army, pushed south.

Operation Tractable Operation Tractable was the final attack conducted by Canadian and Polish troops, supported by a British tank brigade, during the Battle of Normandy during World War II. The operation was to capture the tactically important French town of Fal ...

was launched to break through the German lines and capture the tactically important towns of

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebe ...

and then the smaller towns of Trun and Chambois and to encircle large German formations. On August 18, 1944, Canadian forces captured Trun, while General Stanisław Maczek's Polish 1st Armoured Division headed towards Chambois to encircle 110,000 Germans in the Falaise pocket. Small corridors east of Chambois allowed small numbers of Germans to escape the pocket and head towards the river Seine. At the same time, to the south of Chambois, the American

90th Infantry Division 90th Division may refer to: ;Infantry * 90th Division (1st Formation)(People's Republic of China), 1949–1950 * 90th Division (2nd Formation)(People's Republic of China), 1950–1952 * 90th Light Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) * 90th Infantry Divi ...

pushed north to close the pocket at Chambois. On the morning of August 19 Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives was taken by Canadian forces, and at midday Polish forces attacked towards Chambois and against German positions on what was known as

Hill 262 Battle of Hill 262, or the Mont Ormel ridge (elevation ), is an area of high ground above the village of Coudehard in Normandy that was the location of a bloody engagement in the final stages of the Battle of Falaise in the Normandy Campaign du ...

, located north-east of Chambois. Polish forces then attacked the outskirts of Chambois. Chambois had been heavily shelled and was in ruins with German soldiers from various battered units flowing into the area. To the east of Chambois Polish and American forces linked up to finally close the Falaise pocket. The Allies continued to attack retreating elements of the German 5th and 7th armies and the

116th Panzer Division The 116th ''Panzer'' Division, also known as the "Windhund (Greyhound) Division", was a German armoured formation that saw combat during World War II. History Formation The 116th Division was constituted in the Rhineland and Westphalia areas ...

. A German counter-attack organised by General

Paul Hausser Paul Hausser also known as Paul Falk after taking his maiden name post war (7 October 1880 – 21 December 1972) was a German general and then a high-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS who played a key role in the post-war efforts by former mem ...

on August 20 failed to break Polish lines but did allow further German troops to escape the pocket. German troops and vehicles were trapped on the congested narrow roads and were easy prey for Allied artillery and air attacks. Late on August 20, Chambois finally fell to Polish forces and the Falaise pocket was sealed on August 21 with approximately 50,000 Germans trapped inside.

Aftermath

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. Remnants of German units retreated east towards the Seine but left much of their heavy armour and artillery behind. General Hausser was wounded in the jaw during the battle but escaped the encirclement.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambois Operation Overlord Battles of World War II involving the United States Battles of World War II involving Canada Battles involving Poland Military operations of World War II involving Germany August 1944 events Conflicts in 1944 1944 in France