Key Facts
- Date of pocket closure
- 21 August 1944
- Germans trapped
- ~150,000 soldiers
- Key hill contested
- Hill 262 (Mont Ormel)
- German divisions repulsed at Hill 262
- Parts of 7 divisions
- Gap width at narrowest
- Several hundred metres
Strategic Narrative Overview
The First Canadian Army, the 1st Polish Armoured Division under General Maczek, and a British armoured brigade drove south against Army Group B. Progress north of Falaise was initially slow, but novel Polish tactics accelerated the advance toward Chambois. At Hill 262 (Mont Ormel), Polish forces endured nearly two days of continuous close-quarters combat against counter-attacks by parts of seven German divisions, including the II SS Panzer Corps, partially closing the Falaise Gap by 19 August.
01 / The Origins
By August 1944, Allied forces had broken out of the Normandy beachhead and sought to encircle German Army Group B. Operation Tractable was launched as the final phase of this effort, tasked with seizing the town of Falaise and then pressing on to Trun and Chambois to close the escape route for the German 7th Army, which risked complete destruction if the pocket could be sealed.
03 / The Outcome
On 21 August 1944, elements of the First Canadian Army relieved the battered Polish survivors on Hill 262 and linked up with the Third US Army, fully sealing the Falaise Pocket. The remaining units of the German 7th Army surrendered or were captured. Thousands of German troops had escaped on foot before the gap closed, but the encirclement effectively destroyed Army Group B as a coherent fighting force in Normandy.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Stanisław Maczek.
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.