Operation Tractable was the final attack conducted by
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
and
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
troops, supported by a British tank brigade, 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 Norma ...
during
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 opposin ...
. The operation was to capture the tactically important
French town 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. This operation was undertaken by the
First Canadian Army
The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 ...
with the
1st Polish Armoured Division
The Polish 1st Armoured Division (Polish ''1 Dywizja Pancerna'') was an armoured division of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. Created in February 1942 at Duns in Scotland, it was commanded by Major General Stanisław Macze ...
(''
Generał brygady
Generał brygady (, literally ''General of a brigade'', abbreviated gen. bryg.) is the lowest grade for generals in the Polish Army (both in the Land Forces and in the Polish Air Force). Depending on the context, it is equivalent to both the mod ...
''
Stanisław Maczek
Lieutenant General Stanisław Maczek (; 31 March 1892 – 11 December 1994) was a Polish tank commander of World War II, whose division was instrumental in the Allied liberation of France, closing the Falaise pocket, resulting in the destructio ...
) and a British armoured brigade against
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 ...
of the ''
Westheer
The (Western Army) is the name given to the German Army fighting on the Western Front after 1941. The was the largest command structure for the .
History
It was composed of Army Group H, which was based in the Netherlands under Generaloberst Ku ...
'' in what became the largest encirclement on the
Western Front during the Second World War. Despite a slow start and limited gains north of Falaise, novel tactics by the 1st Polish Armoured Division during the drive for Chambois enabled the
Falaise Gap to be partially closed by 19 August 1944, trapping about 150,000 German soldiers in the Falaise Pocket.
Although the Falaise Gap was narrowed to a distance of several hundred metres, by attacks and counter-attacks between battle groups of the 1st Polish Armoured Division and the
II SS Panzer Corps
The II SS Panzer Corps was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on both the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern and Western Front (World War II), Western Fronts during World War II. It was commanded by Paul Hausser during the Thir ...
on
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 dur ...
(Mont Ormel) the gap was not closed quickly and thousands of German troops escaped on foot. During two days of nearly continuous fighting, the Polish forces assisted by
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
-fire, managed to hold off counter-attacks by parts of seven German divisions in hand-to-hand fighting. On 21 August, elements of the First Canadian Army relieved the Polish survivors and sealed the Falaise Pocket by linking up with the
Third US Army
The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...
. This led to the surrender and capture of the remaining units of the German
7th Army in the pocket.
Background
Following break-out by the US
1st and
3rd Armies from the beachhead 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 Norma ...
after
Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra was the codename for an Offensive (military), offensive launched by the United States First United States Army, First Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Invasion of Norman ...
on 25 July 1944,
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
ordered a counter-offensive against Allied forces in the form of
Operation Lüttich
Operation Lüttich (7–13 August 1944) was the codename of the Nazi German counter-attack during the Battle of Normandy, which occurred near U.S. positions near Mortain, in northwestern France. ''Lüttich'' is the German name for the city of Liè ...
.
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Omar Bradley
Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893April 8, 1981) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. Bradley ...
, commander of the US
12th Army Group
The Twelfth United States Army Group was the largest and most powerful United States Army formation ever to take to the field, commanding four field armies at its peak in 1945: First United States Army, Third United States Army, Ninth United Stat ...
, was notified of the counter-offensive by signals deciphered via
Ultra
adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. '' ...
radio intercepts and prepared to defeat the counter-offensive and to encircle as much of the ''Heer'' force as possible.
By the afternoon of 7 August, Operation Lüttich had been defeated. Parts of the German
7th Army became further enveloped by the Allied advance out of Normandy.
[Van der Vat, p. 163]
Following the failure of Lüttich, the town of Falaise became an objective of the Commonwealth forces, since its capture would cut off virtually all of Army Group B (''
Generalfeldmarschall
''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...
''
Günther von Kluge
Günther Adolf Ferdinand von Kluge (30 October 1882 – 19 August 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II who held commands on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. He commanded the 4th Army of the Wehrmacht during the invasion o ...
). To achieve this, 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 ...
, commanding the new Canadian 1st Army and
Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Guy Simonds
Lieutenant-General Guy Granville Simonds, (April 23, 1903 – May 15, 1974) was a senior Canadian Army officer who served with distinction during World War II. Acknowledged by many military historians and senior commanders, among them Sir Max Has ...
(
II Canadian Corps
II Canadian Corps was a corps-level formation that, along with I Corps (United Kingdom), I (British) Corps (August 1, 1944 to April 1, 1945) and I Canadian Corps (April 6, 1943 to November 1943, and April 1, 1945 until the end of hostilities), ...
), planned an Anglo-Canadian offensive,
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 ...
. The attack was to break through the defences in the Anglo-Canadian sector of the Normandy front. Totalize would rely on an unusual night attack using the new
Kangaroo armoured personnel carriers to achieve a breakthrough of German defences supported by US heavy bombers the next day. Despite initial gains on
Verrières Ridge Verrières is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:
* Verrières, Ardennes
* Verrières, Aube
* Verrières, Aveyron
* Verrières, Charente
* Verrières, Marne
* Verrières, Orne
* Verrières, Puy-de-Dôme
* Verrières, ...
and near Cintheaux, the Canadian offensive stalled on 9 August, with powerful German counterattacks resulting in many casualties for the Canadian and Polish armoured and infantry divisions.
[Bercuson, p. 230] By 10 August, Canadian troops had reached Hill 195, north of Falaise but needed another set-piece attack to overcome the German defences.
Prelude
Tactics
![Operation Tractable](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Operation_Tractable.svg)
Operation Tractable incorporated lessons learned from Operation Totalize, notably the effectiveness of mechanized infantry units and tactical bombing raids by heavy bombers.
[Bercuson, p. 231] Tractable was launched a daylight attack. An initial bombing raid was to weaken German defences and was to be followed by an advance by the
4th Canadian (Armoured) Division
The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. The division was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the World War I, First World War. During the World War II, Second World War the division was reactivated ...
on the western flank of Hill 195, while the
3rd Canadian Infantry Division attacked on the eastern flank with the
2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade
The 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the Canadian Army that saw active service during World War II. The brigade was composed of the 6th, 10th and 27th Canadian Armoured regiments and saw service in northwest Europe, landin ...
in support. Their advance would be protected by a large smokescreen laid down by Canadian artillery.
Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Bernard Montgomery
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and t ...
hoped that Canadian forces would achieve control of Falaise by midnight on August 14. From there, all three formations would advance towards
Trun, east of Falaise, with the additional assistance of the
1st Polish Armoured Division
The Polish 1st Armoured Division (Polish ''1 Dywizja Pancerna'') was an armoured division of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. Created in February 1942 at Duns in Scotland, it was commanded by Major General Stanisław Macze ...
, numbering approximately 10,000 men. Once in Trun, a linkup with the
Third US Army
The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...
at Chambois could be quickly accomplished.
The main defence of the road to Falaise was the
12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, which included the remnants of two infantry divisions. German forces within the Falaise Pocket approached 350,000 men. Had surprise been achieved, the Canadians would likely have succeeded in a rapid break-through. On the night of 13/14 August, a Canadian officer lost his way while moving between divisional headquarters. He drove into German lines and was promptly killed. The Germans discovered a copy of Simonds' orders on his body.
As a result, the 12th SS Panzer Division placed the bulk of its remaining strength—500 grenadiers and 15 tanks, along with twelve
8.8 cm PaK 43 anti-tank guns— along the Allies' expected line of approach.
Battle
Initial drive for Falaise
![Canadian Advance Falaise Ruins](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Canadian_Advance_Falaise_Ruins.jpg)
Operation Tractable began at 12:00 on 14 August, when 800
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...
and
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester.
The Halifax has its or ...
heavy bomber
Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...
s of
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...
struck German positions along the front.
As with Totalize, many of the bombers mistakenly dropped their bombs short of their targets, causing 400 Polish and Canadian casualties.
Covered by a
smoke screen
A smoke screen is smoke released to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft, or ships.
Smoke screens are commonly deployed either by a canister (such as a grenade) or generated by a vehicle (such as ...
laid down by their artillery, two Canadian divisions moved forwards.
Although their line of sight was reduced, German units still managed to inflict severe casualties on the Canadian 4th Armoured Division, which included its Armoured Brigade commander Brigadier
Leslie Booth
Brigadier Eric Leslie Booth, (April 21, 1904 – August 14, 1944) was a Canadian Army officer.
Biography
Born in Lancaster, England, Leslie Booth was the son of John William Booth and Rose Elizabeth Booth. His father was a veteran of the Fir ...
, as the division moved south toward Falaise.
Throughout the day, continual attacks by the Canadian 4th and Polish 1st Armoured Divisions managed to force a crossing of the Laison River. Limited access to the crossing points over the Dives River allowed counterattacks by the German
102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion.
The town of
Potigny fell to Polish forces in the late afternoon.
By the end of the first day, elements of the Canadian 3rd and 4th Divisions had reached Point 159, directly north of Falaise, although they had been unable to break into the town. To bolster his offensive, Simonds ordered the
Canadian 2nd Infantry Division to move toward the front, with the hope that this reinforcement would be sufficient to enable his divisions to capture the town.
[Copp. p. 104]
Although the first day's progress was slower than expected, Operation Tractable resumed on 15 August; both armoured divisions pushed southeast toward Falaise.
[Jarymowycz, p. 188] The Canadian 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions—with the support of the
Canadian 2nd Armoured Brigade—continued their drive south towards the town.
After harsh fighting, the 4th Armoured Division captured Soulangy but the gains made were minimal as strong German resistance prevented a breakthrough to Trun.
[Bercuson, p. 232] On 16 August, the Canadian 2nd Infantry Division broke into Falaise, encountering minor opposition from ''
Waffen-SS
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...
'' units and scattered pockets of German infantry.
Although it would take two more days to clear all resistance in the town, the first major objective of Operation Tractable had been achieved. Simonds began to reorganize the bulk of his armoured forces for a renewed push towards Trun to close the Falaise Pocket.
16–19 August
Drives for Trun and Chambois
The drive for Trun by Polish and Canadian Armoured Divisions began on 16 August, with preliminary attacks in preparation for an assault against Trun and Chambois. On 17 August, both armoured divisions of the Canadian 1st Army advanced.
By early afternoon, the Polish 1st Armoured Division had outflanked the 12th SS Panzer Division, enabling several Polish formations to both reach the 4th Armoured Division's objectives and significantly expand the bridgehead northwest of Trun.
[Jarymowycz, p. 192] Stanisław Maczek
Lieutenant General Stanisław Maczek (; 31 March 1892 – 11 December 1994) was a Polish tank commander of World War II, whose division was instrumental in the Allied liberation of France, closing the Falaise pocket, resulting in the destructio ...
—the Polish divisional commander—split his forces into three battlegroups each of an armoured regiment and an infantry battalion.
[Stacey, p. 260] One of these struck southwest, cutting off Trun and establishing itself on the high ground dominating the town and the Dives river valley, allowing for a powerful assault by the Canadian 4th Armoured Division on Trun. The town was liberated on the morning of 18 August.
[Zuehlke, p. 169]
As Canadian and Polish forces liberated Trun, Maczek's second armoured battlegroup manoeuvred southeast, capturing
Champeaux and anchoring future attacks against Chambois across a front.
At its closest, the front was from forces of the
US V Corps
V Corps (), formerly known as the Fifth Corps, is a regular corps of the United States Army at Fort Knox. It was previously active during World War I, World War II, the Cold War, the Kosovo War, and the War on Terrorism.
Shoulder sleeve insig ...
in the town. By the evening of 18 August, all of Maczek's battlegroups had established themselves directly north of Chambois (one outside of the town, one near Vimoutiers and one at the foot of
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 dur ...
). With reinforcements quickly arriving from the 4th Canadian 4th Armoured Division, Maczek was in an ideal position to close the gap the following day. The presence of the Polish Armoured Division also alerted
''Generalfeldmarshall'' Walther Model of the need to keep the pocket open.
Closing the Gap
Early on 19 August, LGen Simonds met with his divisional commanders to finalize plans for closing the gap. The 4th Armoured Division would attack toward Chambois, on the western flank of two battlegroups of the Polish 1st Armoured Division.
Two additional Polish battlegroups would strike eastward, securing Hill 262 to cover the eastern flanks of the assault.
The 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions would continue their grinding offensives against the northern extremities of the Falaise Pocket, inflicting heavy casualties on the exhausted remains of the 12th SS Panzer Division.
The assault began almost immediately after the meeting, with one battlegroup of the Polish 1st advancing toward Chambois and "Currie Task Force" of the 4th Armoured Division covering their advance. Simultaneously, two Polish battlegroups moved for Hill 262. Despite heavy German resistance, Battlegroup Zgorzelski was able to secure Point 137, directly west of Hill 262. By early afternoon, Battlegroup Stefanowicz had captured the hill, annihilating a German infantry company in the process. As a result of the fighting, Polish casualties accounted for nearly 50% of those sustained by the Canadian 1st Army.
By late afternoon of 19 August, Canadian and Polish forces had linked with the US
80th Division and
90th Division already stationed in the town. The Falaise Gap had been closed, trapping Model's forces. As the linkup occurred, the II SS Panzer Corps had begun its counterattack against Polish forces on Hill 262, to reopen the pocket.
With American and Canadian forces facing German counterattacks in their sectors, the Polish forces would have to defend against two veteran ''Panzer'' divisions to keep the gap closed.
20 August
St. Lambert-sur-Dives and Hill 117
![Hill 262 20 Aug 1944](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Hill_262_20_Aug_1944.svg)
On the morning of 20 August, two German formations—the
2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...
and
9th SS Panzer Divisions, attacked Polish positions on Hill 262.
[Jarymowycz, p. 195] At the same time, the
16th Infantry and 12th SS Panzer Divisions attacked American and Canadian forces from within the pocket, opening small channels through Allied positions. By mid-morning, 2,000 survivors of the German
2nd Parachute Division had managed to breach Canadian positions along the Dives River, as well as at Point 117.
At approximately noon, several units of the
10th SS, 12th SS and 116th Panzer Divisions managed to break through these weakened positions.
[Jarymowycz, p. 196]
By mid afternoon, reinforcements from an armoured battlegroup formed from the
South Alberta Regiment
The South Alberta Regiment (SAR) was a regiment of the Canadian Army that existed from 1924 to 1954. Originally infantry, in February 1942 it became an armoured unit. During World War II the Regiment fought from July 1944 to May 1945 in France, Be ...
and the
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's), or A & SH of C, is a Primary Reserve Scottish regiment, Highland infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces, based at John Weir Foote, John W. Foote VC Armoury in Hamilton, Ontario ...
under Major
David Vivian Currie
David Vivian Currie, (July 8, 1912 – June 20, 1986) was a Canadians, Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth fo ...
managed to reach
St. Lambert-sur-Dives, denying two German armies evacuation of the pocket. Over the next 36 hours, the battlegroup repulsed almost continual attacks by German forces, destroying seven German tanks, twelve anti-tank guns and 40 vehicles. In the brutal fighting around Lambert-sur-Dives, Currie's battlegroup was able to inflict nearly 2,000 casualties on attacking German forces, including 300 killed and 1,100 captured.
By the evening of 20 August, the Germans had exhausted their attack against St. Lambert-sur-Dives; the surviving members of the 84th Corps—commanded by General Elfeld—surrendered to Canadian and American forces near Chambois.
For his actions at St. Lambert-sur-Dives, Currie was awarded the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
, the only Canadian so honoured for service in the Normandy Campaign.
Hill 262 (Mont Ormel)
![Polish hill 262](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Polish_hill_262.jpg)
While Currie's force stalled German forces outside of St. Lambert, two battlegroups of Maczek's Polish 1st Armoured Division were engaged in a protracted battle with two well-trained SS Panzer divisions. Throughout the night of the 19th, Polish forces had entrenched themselves along the south, southwest and northeastern lines of approach to Hill 262.
[D'Este, p. 456] Directly southwest of Mont Ormel, German units moved along what would later become known as "The Corridor of Death", as the Polish inflicted heavy casualties on German forces moving towards Mont Ormel with a well-coordinated artillery barrage.
The Polish infantry and armour were supported by the guns of the 58th Battery, 4th Medium Regiment, 2nd Canadian Army Group Royal Artillery (AGRA) and assisted by the
artillery observer
An artillery observer, artillery spotter or forward observer (FO) is responsible for directing artillery and mortar fire onto a target. It may be a ''forward air controller'' (FAC) for close air support (CAS) and spotter for naval gunfire su ...
,
Pierre Sévigny. Captain Pierre Sévigny's assistance was crucial in defending Hill 262 and he later received the
Virtuti Militari
The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King Stan ...
(Poland's highest military decoration) for his exertions during the battle.
From the northeast, the 2nd SS Panzer Division planned an assault in force against the four infantry battalions and two armoured regiments of the Polish 1st Armoured Division dug in on Hill 262.
The 9th SS Panzer Division would attack from the north, while simultaneously preventing Canadian units from reinforcing the Polish armoured division. Having managed to break out of the Falaise Pocket, the 10th SS, 12th SS and 116th Panzer Divisions would then attack Hill 262 from the southwest. If this major obstacle could be cleared, German units could initiate a full withdrawal from the Falaise Pocket.
The first attack against Polish positions was by the "''Der Führer''" Regiment of the 2nd SS Panzer Division. Although the
Podhale Rifles
Podhale Rifles ( pl, Strzelcy podhalańscy, nicknamed "Podhalańczycy") is the traditional name of the mountain infantry units of the Polish Army. Formed in 1918 out of volunteers of the region of Podhale, in 1919 the smaller detachments of Podh ...
battalion was able to repel the attack, it expended a substantial amount of its ammunition in doing so. The second attack was devastating to the dwindling armoured forces of the Polish battlegroups. A single German tank, positioned on Point 239 (northeast of Mont Ormel), was able to destroy five
Sherman
Sherman most commonly refers to:
*Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name)
** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General
*M4 Sherman, a tank
Sherman may also refer to:
Places United St ...
medium tanks within two minutes.
At this time, the 3rd Parachute Division—along with an armoured regiment of the 1st SS Panzer Division—attacked Mont Ormel from inside the Falaise Pocket. This attack was repulsed by the artillery, which "massacred" German infantry and armour closing in on their positions.
[Van der Vat, p. 168]
As the assault from the southwest ran out of steam, the 2nd SS Panzer Division resumed its attack on the northeast of the ridge. Since Polish units were now concentrated on the southern edges of the position, the 2nd SS was able to force a path through to the 3rd Parachute Division by noon, opening a corridor out of the pocket.
By mid-afternoon, close to 10,000 German troops had escaped through the corridor.
Despite being overwhelmed by strong counterattacks, Polish forces continued to hold the high ground on Mont Ormel, which they referred to as "The Mace" (''Maczuga''), inflicting many casualties on the German forces escaping through the gap by artillery fire.
[D'Este, p. 458] Irritated by the presence of these units, which were exacting a heavy toll on his men, ''Generaloberst''
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 ...
, commander of the 7th Army, ordered the positions to be "eliminated".
Although substantial forces, including the
352nd Infantry Division and several battlegroups from the 2nd SS Panzer Division inflicted heavy casualties on the 8th and 9th Battalions of the 1st Polish Armoured Division, the counterattack was defeated. The battle had cost the Poles almost all of their ammunition, leaving them in a precarious position.
At 19:00 on 20 August, a 20-minute ceasefire was arranged to allow German forces to evacuate a large convoy of medical vehicles. Immediately following the passage of these vehicles, the fighting resumed and intensified. Although the Germans were incapable of dislodging the Polish forces, the defenders had reached the point of exhaustion.
With little ammunition left, the Poles were forced to watch as the remnants of the
XLVII Panzer Corps
XLVII Panzer Corps (also: 47th Panzer Corps or XXXXVII. ''Panzerkorps'' or XXXXVII Panzer Corps) was a panzer corps of the German Army in World War II that was formerly designated as XLVII Corps. Various formations of the corps fought in the Fren ...
escaped from the pocket. Despite this, Polish artillery continued to bombard every German unit that entered the evacuation corridor. Stefanowicz—commander of the Polish battlegroups on Hill 262—was sceptical of his force's chance of survival:
Gentlemen. Everything is lost. I do not believe heCanadians will manage to help us. We have only 110 men left, with 50 rounds per gun and 5 rounds per tank ... Fight to the end! To surrender to the SS is senseless, you know it well. Gentlemen! Good luck—tonight, we will die for Poland and civilization. We will fight to the last platoon, to the last tank, then to the last man.[Jarymowycz, p. 201]
21 August
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/St.-Lambert-surrender.jpg)
Night was welcomed by the German and Polish forces surrounding Mont Ormel. Fighting was sporadic, as both sides avoided contact with one another. Frequent Polish artillery barrages interrupted German attempts to retreat from the sector.
In the morning, German attacks on the position resumed. Although not as coordinated as on the day before,
the attack still managed to reach the last of the Polish defenders on Mont Ormel. As the remaining Polish forces repelled the assault, their tanks were forced to use the last of their ammunition.
At approximately 12:00, the last SS remnants launched a final assault on the positions of the 9th Battalion. Polish forces defeated them at point-blank range. There would be no further attacks; the two battlegroups of the Polish 1st Armoured Division had survived the onslaught, despite being surrounded by German forces for three days. Both Reynolds and McGilvray place the Polish losses on the ''Maczuga'' at 351 killed and wounded and 11 tanks lost,
[Reynolds, p. 280] although Jarymowycz gives higher figures of 325 killed, 1,002 wounded, and 114 missing—approximately 20% of the division's combat strength. Within an hour, The Canadian Grenadier Guards
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
managed to link up with what remained of Stefanowicz's men. By late afternoon, the remainder of the 2nd and 9th SS Panzer Divisions had begun their retreat to the Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
River.[Bercuson, p. 233] The Falaise Gap had been permanently closed, with a large number of German forces still trapped in the pocket.
Aftermath
Analysis
By the evening of 21 August 1944, most of the German forces in the Falaise Pocket had surrendered.[Van der Vat, p. 169] Nearly all of the German formations that had caused significant damage to the Canadians throughout the Normandy campaign had been destroyed. The ''Panzer Lehr'' and 9th SS Panzer divisions existed in name only. The 12th SS Panzer Division had lost 94% of its armour, nearly all of its field-guns and 70% of its vehicles. Several German units, notably the 2nd and the 12th SS Panzer Divisions had managed to escape east toward the Seine River, albeit without most of their motorized equipment. Conservative estimates for the number of German soldiers captured in the Falaise Pocket approach 50,000, although some estimates put total German losses in the pocket as high as 200,000. By 23 August, the remainder of the 7th Army had entrenched itself along the Seine River to defend Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.[Keegan, p. 410] Simultaneously, elements of Army Group G
Army Group G (''Heeresgruppe G'') fought on the Western Front of World War II and was a component of OB West.
History
When the Allied invasion of Southern France took place, Army Group G had eleven divisions with which to hold France south of t ...
including the 15th Army and the 5th 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 ...
moved to engage American forces in the south. In the following week, elements of the 1st Canadian Army attacked the Germans on the Seine to break through to the Channel Ports. On the evening of 23 August, French and American troops entered Paris.
Casualties
Due to the successive offensives of early August, exact Canadian casualties for Operation Tractable are not known. Losses during Totalize and Tractable are put at 5,500 men. German casualties during Operation Tractable are also uncertain; approximate figures can be found for casualties within the Falaise Pocket but not for the Canadian operations during Tractable. After the Falaise Pocket, the German 7th Army was severely depleted, having lost from 50,000 to 200,000 men, over 200 tanks, 1,000 guns and 5,000 other vehicles. In the fighting around the Germans lost 2,000 men killed, 5,000 taken prisoner, 55 tanks, 152 other armoured vehicles and 44 guns.[McGilvray, p. 54] Polish casualties for Operation Tractable (until 22 August) are 1,441 men, of whom 325 were killed (including 21 officers), 1,002 were wounded (35 officers) and 114 missing, which includes 263 men lost before the Chambois and Ormel actions from 14 to 18 August.
Battle honours
In the British and Commonwealth system of battle honours
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible.
In European military t ...
, participation in Operation Tractable (included as part of the honour Falaise for service from 7 to 22 August) was recognized in 1957, 1958, and 1959 by the award of the battle honours Laison (or "The Laison" for Canadian units), for service from 14 to 17 August, Chambois from 18 to 22 August and St Lambert-sur-Dives from 19 to 22 August.[Rodger, 2003, p. 248]
Notes
Footnotes
Citations
References
Books
* Bercuson, David (1995) ''Maple leaf Against the Axis''. Ottawa: Red Deer Press.
* Bercuson, David (2004). ''M Waffen-SS''. Stackpole Books. Mechanicsburg PA.
* D'Este, Carlo (1983). ''Decision in Normandy''. New York: Konecky & Konecky.
* Fey, William 990(2003). ''Armor battles of the Waffen-SS, 1943–45''. Stackpole Books. Mechanicsburg PA. .
*
* Jarymowycz, Roman (2001). ''Tank Tactics; from Normandy to Lorraine''. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner.
* Keegan, John (1989). ''The Second World War''. Penguin Books. .
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Journals
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External links
Analysis of Operation Cobra and the Falaise Gap Manoeuvres in WWII, Granier, T. R. (1985)
AAF Counter-Air Operations April 1943 – June 1944
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tractable
Conflicts in 1944
1944 in France
Operation Overlord
Battles and operations of World War II involving Poland
Military operations of World War II involving Germany
Battles of World War II involving Canada
Military history of Canada during World War II
Tractable
August 1944 events
Tank battles involving Germany
Tank battles involving Poland