#Battle of Chambois

[carbone14]

Soldats américains exhibant un drapeau nazi devant un char Panther – Bataille de Chambois – Poche de Falaise – Bataille de Normandie – Chambois – Orne – France – 20 août 1944

©National Archives and Records Administration - 112-SGA-44(12123)

[historydailyfrancischappellblack]

Photographs from the Battle of the Falaise Pocket - August 1944

Subscriber Content Add content here that will only be visible to your subscribers. Payment Image: American forces in Chambois, France, during the Battle of the Falaise Pocket. August 1944. Photographs from the Battle of the Falaise Pocket – August 1944 The Falaise Pocket or Battle of the Falaise Pocket occurred from August 12-21, 1944. It was the decisive engagement during the Battle of…

[greatworldwar2]

• Polish 1st Armoured Division

The Polish 1st Armoured Division was an armoured division formed as part of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II.

After the fall of Poland and then France in 1940, the remaining Poles that had fought in both campaigns retreated with the British Army to the United Kingdom. Stationed in Scotland the Polish 1st Armoured Division was formed as part of the Polish I Corps under Wladyslaw Sikorski, which guarded approximately 200 kilometres of British coast in 1940-1941. The commander of the Division, General Stanislaw Maczek, was Poland’s premier mechanized commander, and many of his subordinate officers from the unit he commanded in 1939, the 10th Mechanized Brigade, had made their way to Britain with him. They were organized on the British Armoured Division model, equipped with British uniforms, weapons and tanks. They were initially equipped and trained on Crusader tanks but in late 1943 and early 1944 these were replaced with Sherman tanks and Cromwell tanks.

By the end of July 1944, the 1st Armoured had been transferred to Normandy, its final elements arriving on August 1st. The unit was attached to the First Canadian Army as part of the 21st Army Group. This may have been done to help in communication, as the vast majority of Poles did not speak English when they arrived in United Kingdom from 1940 onwards. The Division joined combat on August 8th, during Operation Totalize. It suffered serious casualties as a result of "friendly fire" from Allied aircraft, but achieved a victory against the Wehrmacht in the battles for Mont Ormel, and the town of Chambois. This series of offensive and defensive operations came to be known as the Battle of Falaise, in which a large number of German Army and SS divisions were trapped in the Falaise Pocket and subsequently destroyed. Maczek's division had the crucial role of closing the pocket at the escape route of the trapped German divisions, hence the fighting was desperate and the 2nd Polish Armoured Regiment, 24th Polish Lancers and 10th Dragoons, supported by the 8th and 9th Infantry Battalions, took the brunt of German attacks by units attempting to break free from the pocket. Surrounded and running out of ammunition, they withstood incessant attacks from multiple fleeing panzer divisions for 48 hours until they were relieved. The total losses of the division from August 7th when it entered combat until the end of the battle of Falaise on August 22nd were 446 killed, 1501 wounded, and 150 missing, or 2097 soldiers in total during about two weeks of fighting.

After the Allied armies broke out from Normandy, the Polish 1st Armoured Division pursued the Germans along the coast of the English Channel. It liberated, among others, the towns of Saint-Omer, Ypres, Oostnieuwkerke, Roeselare, Tielt, Ruislede, and Ghent. During Operation Pheasant a successful outflanking manoeuvre planned and performed by General Maczek allowed the liberation of the city of Breda without any civilian casualties. The Division spent the winter of 1944-1945 on the south bank of the river Rhine, guarding a sector around Moerdijk, Netherlands. In early 1945, it was transferred to the province of Overijssel and started to push with the Allies along the Dutch-German border, liberating the eastern parts of the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen including the towns of Emmen, Coevorden and Stadskanaal.

In April 1945, the 1st Armoured entered Germany in the area of Emsland. On May 6th, the Division seized the Kriegsmarine naval base in Wilhelmshaven, where General Maczek accepted the capitulation of the fortress, naval base, East Frisian Fleet and more than 10 infantry divisions. There the Division ended the war and, joined by the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, undertook occupation duties until it was disbanded in 1947; it, together with the many Polish displaced persons in the Western occupied territories, formed a Polish enclave at Haren in Germany, which was for a while known as "Maczków". The majority of its soldiers opted not to return to Poland, which fell under Soviet occupation, preferring instead to remain in exile. Many artefacts and memorabilia belonging to Maczek and the 1st Polish Armoured Division are on display in the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London.

[world-war-2-archives]

A group of 83rd Infantry Division soldiers who just came off the line near Argentan, France (around the time of the closing of the Falaise Gap) in August 1944. * 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 borderfor the Allied armies on the Western Front. * Field Marshal Günther von Kluge, the commander of Army Group B, was not permitted by Hitler to withdraw but was ordered to conduct a counter-offensive at Mortain against the US breakthrough. Four depleted panzer divisions were not enough to defeat the First US Army. The disastrous Operation Lüttich drove the Germans deeper into the Allied envelopment. * On 8 August, the Allied ground forces commander, General Bernard Montgomery, ordered the Allied armies to converge on the Falaise–Chambois area to envelop Army Group B, with the First US Army forming the southern arm, the British the base, and the Canadians the northern arm of the encirclement. The Germans began to withdraw on 17 August, and on 19 August the Allies linked up in Chambois. Gaps were forced in the Allied lines by German counter-attacks, the biggest being a corridor forced past the 1st Polish Armoured Division on Hill 262, a commanding position at the mouth of the pocket. * By the evening of 21 August, the pocket had been sealed, with an estimated 50,000 Germans trapped inside. Many Germans escaped, but losses in men and equipment were huge. A few days later, the Allied Liberation of Paris was completed, and on 30 August the remnants of Army Group B retreated across the Seine, which ended Operation Overlord. https://www.instagram.com/p/BpegBscCUPx/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ep7hiyipxasb

[normandyamericanheroes]

21 August 1944 - US and Polish troops make the junction at Chambois. Normandy battle ends. Germany: 250000 casualties, 200000 prisoners, 1500 tanks, 3500 canons, 40 of 50 divisions surrender. 22 commanding officers KIA, wounded or POW. Allies: 208892 casualties (83045 British-Canadians, 125847 Americans) (at 75th Anniversary of Dday) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1cRN_qCY-1/?igshid=1hoiaggfyqxa8

[esprit-de-corps-magazine]

Poland and Canada – Freedom and Security: A Century Of Experience

By H.E. Ambassador Andrzej Kurnicki, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Canada

World War I and Camp Kościuszko at Niagara-on-the-Lake 

On November 11th our Canadian friends honour their wartime compatriots who served and payed the ultimate price for freedom in the world. For Poles this date has significance as well. More than commemorating Armistice Day and the end of World War I, it also marks Poland’s regaining of independence after 123 years of statelessness. On that day in 1918 the dream of generations of Poles was fulfilled: Poland was reborn on the map of Europe. The heroism and dedication of its soldiers, combined with a joint effort of the entire nation, made this moment possible. Yet it would not have occurred without the aid and support of our allies. Canada was among them.

In 1917 at Niagara-on-the-Lake Canadian authorities established a military facility called Camp Kościuszko, designed to train a Polish army-in-exile consisting of volunteers keen to fight for a free Poland during World War I. Over 22,000 Polish recruits, including 700 from Canada, trained at this site. They subsequently joined General Haller’s Blue Army alongside their Polish expatriates in France. This military contingent played an important role in securing Polish independence and in shaping the borders of a newborn state. The contribution of our Canadian friends is much appreciated and shall remain so in the collective memory of Poles and Polish diaspora.

The 100th anniversary of Poland’s victory in the Battle of Warsaw. Opposing the Red Tyranny

Marshall Józef Piłsudski succeeded in forming an alliance with Symon Petliura (1879-1926), President of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. Petliura sought to preserve an independent Ukrainian state and thus formed a political and military alliance with Poland in order to defend Ukraine against its eastern aggressor. Polish and Ukrainian forces launched an attack on Kyiv, which was finally freed from Bolshevik control in early May 1920 and subsequently returned to the legitimate Ukrainian government.

During those dramatic days of mid-August 1920, the Poles succeeded not only in stopping the Red Army’s advance on Warsaw, but also in regrouping their forces in preparation for a massive counter-offensive.

The Bolshevik Army in some crucial instances outnumbered the Poles four-to-one. On 15 August 1920, the feast day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Poles attacked on the left flank; a day later they began an attack on the right wing from the Wieprz line. The enemy was completely surprised and failed to mount any significant resistance. Referred to by later historians as ‘The Miracle on the Vistula’, the ‘Manoeuvre from Wieprz’ was an operational masterpiece prepared by Marshal Piłsudski and his Chief of Staff, General Tadeusz Jordan Rozwadowski.

The elite cavalry forces of the Red Army (Budyonny’s 1st Cavalry Army) were intercepted and defeated by their Polish counterparts at the Battle of Komarów near Zamość, one of the largest cavalry battles since the Battle of Leipzig (1813), and one of the last cavalry battles in history. Though Budyonny’s army managed to avoid encirclement, it suffered heavy losses and its morale plummeted.

Distinguished historian Norman Davies gives full credit to the Polish soldiers and military leaders of the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920. In August of that year, the Red Army—sure of victory and pledged to carry the Revolution across Europe —was crushed by a devastating Polish counter-attack on the Red Army position just 15 km east of Warsaw.  

Several British and American military historians have argued that the failure of the Red Army to destroy the Polish forces in 1920 decisively put an end to Bolshevik ambitions for an international revolution in Europe. The Miracle on the Vistula remains one of the most crucial conflicts of Western civilisation against Red tyranny.

The Battle of Britain, 303 Squadron and John Kent  

In World War II the Polish-Canadian brotherhood in arms was further strengthened on several battlefields. 

As the Battle of Britain wore on, the shortage of trained pilots became critical. To meet this need, Poles in exile were accepted into R.A.F. squadrons, and two Polish fighter units, nos. 302 and 303, were formed. Once committed to action, the Poles flew and fought superbly, shooting down 203 enemy aircraft with a loss of only 29 pilots. Czech Sergeant Josef Frantisek, also of Squadron 303, was the top-scoring pilot with 17 confirmed victories. No. 303 Squadron became the most successful Fighter Command unit in the battle, shooting down 126 German planes in only 42 days. Commanding the Polish R.A.F. Squadron 303 was Canadian Group Captain John Kent of Winnipeg, whom Poles affectionately called ‘Johnny Kentowski’. 

ORP [Polish Naval Ship] Ślązak [Silesian] and the Dieppe Raid

On 19 August 1942, the Allies launched a major raid on the French coastal port of Dieppe. ‘Operation Jubilee’ was the first major engagement of the Canadian forces in the European theatre of the war, and was designed to test the Allies’ ability to launch amphibious assaults against Nazi forces in continental Europe. 

There is important aspect of the Dieppe Raid that serves to illustrate the brotherhood in arms that existed between Canadian soldiers and Polish seamen. On 19 August 1942 the Polish Destroyer ORP Ślązak provided important support for Allied forces during the raid on the coastal city. It proved to be one of the most spectacular actions of Polish warships in the entire history of the war.  

The commander of the ship, Captain Romuald Nałęcz-Tymiński, despite the fact that he lost four of his crew members and his ship was heavily damaged by German artillery, decided to disobey Royal Navy orders to stay back from shore, and in the process saved 85 Canadian soldiers by evacuating them from the roiling waters off Dieppe, many of them were members of the Royal Regiment of Canada. For his heroic behavior Captain Nałęcz-Tymiński was awarded Britain’s Distinguished Service Cross. He was hailed as a hero both in Canada and in his homeland of Poland.

The Battle of the Falaise Gap – General Stanisław Maczek and The 1st Canadian Army

Through the combined efforts of General Stanisław Maczek and the Commander- in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces General Władysław Sikorski, who was also the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile, the 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade (originally formed in 1937) was reborn on 25 February 1942, this time as the 1st Polish Armoured Division under Maczek’s command. The division landed in Normandy on 1 August 1944, with 16,000 men and some 400 tanks.

On 5 August, Maczek’s troops were placed under the command of Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds of The II Canadian Corps with clear military objectives: to crush German resistance and reach Falaise. General Maczek and his men were now well prepared to take on the German foe. Following the Polish defeat in the  September campaign of 1939, payback time had finally arrived for the anxious Poles.

The division was a component of Lieutenant-General Guy G. Simonds’ II Canadian Army Corps of the Canadian 1st Army, under Lieutenant-General Henry D.G. Crerar. On 14 August, Simonds’ II Corps began ‘Operation Tractable’, a renewed effort to take Falaise. The Polish 1st and the Canadian 4th Armoured Divisions were given the task of breaking through German lines in order to cut off enemy supply lines and road junctions.

Poles and the Canadians were fighting together on ‘Operation Totalize’ (7-10 August) and Tractable (14-16 August). On 17 August, the British Commander-in-Chief, General Bernard Law Montgomery, ordered the Canadian 4th and Polish 1st Armoured Divisions to advance through Trun and take Chambois.

On 18 August, elements of the Polish 1st Division linked up with Americans of the 90th Infantry Division (a unit of the Third U.S. Army under the command of General George S. Patton) and were able to capture the high ground on the path of the main German SS Panzer escape route.  On 19 August 1944, the First Polish Armoured Division found itself ahead of the 1st Canadian Army as it was about to attempt its great thrust forward in order to close the Falaise Gap. By the end of the battle for Falaise, the German army in France had been decimated. Some of the German units that the Poles confronted were the same ones they had faced in 1939.

The German army in France never fully recovered from the losses it suffered at Falaise. And now, too, the road to Paris lay open to the Allies. For General Maczek and the men of his 1st Polish Armoured Division, the battles of Chambois and Hill 262 represented their greatest victory in the West and a long-overdue revenge against the Germans.

The battle had cost the Polish 1st Armoured Division 1,300 troops killed and almost 4,000 wounded. Although 30,000 to 40,000 Germans had managed to make their escape across their remaining crossing at St. Lambert before the Falaise salient had closed completely on 21 August, more than 10,000 Nazi soldiers had been killed and 50,000 were taken prisoner.

After the battle, Lieutenant-General Crerar, Commander-in-Chief of the 1st Canadian Army, sent the following telegram to General Maczek:

‘First Canadian Army is very proud because of the fact that Polish Armoured Division is a part of us. If in the future we all continue to fight as at the present time, the mutual celebration of final victory should not be much delayed.’ 

Soldiers of both countries collectively helped liberate the Netherlands and Belgium. Our troops shed their blood at the Battle of Monte Cassino. And Poles fondly remember the 26 pilots of the RCAF who perished over Poland while flying support missions, inter alia during the Warsaw Uprising.

Poland, Canada and NATO  

Polish-Canadian partnership was not only forged on battlefields, but through political channels and important diplomatic initiatives. Canada’s support for Poland’s accession to NATO is a prime example. Poles and Polish diaspora do not forget that Canada was the first country to accept Poland as a full member of the Alliance. 

This year, as we celebrate the 71st anniversary of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty, we also recall 21 years of Poland’s membership in NATO. International security remains the cornerstone of our bilateral and diplomatic relations.

We value Canada’s active political and military engagement in support of European security: Through both NATO’s current Enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia (which is comprised of military personnel from Albania, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain), and earlier, through deployment of Canadian troops in Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, as part of NATO’s Operation Reassurance initiative. In Latvia current cooperation between our units, aimed at strengthening NATO’s eastern flank, is also exemplary and has yielded significant results in terms of the collective implementation of our forces. Moreover, Polish and Canadian soldiers work to strengthen NATO’s southern flank in Romania while simultaneously conducting joint NATO training and advisory missions in Iraq and Ukraine. Cooperation between the Polish and Canadian Armed Forces is remarkable and continues to develop through joint training activities involving our respective land forces.

Ceremonies to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II were hosted by Poland on 1 September 2019. Polish President Andrzej Duda, accompanied by the Governor General of Canada Julie Payette and 40 other heads of state and governments, paid tribute to the victims and heroes of this terrible conflict. The number of such prominent leaders in attendance was particularly significant given recent attempts to obscure and manipulate the reasons for the outbreak of war. 

Conclusion

The stability of Polish democracy – one of the oldest in the world – derives to a large extent from Polish democratic, libertarian and parliamentary traditions that date back to the fifteenth century and the Jagiellonian dynasty. 

Modern Poland, then, has only really enjoyed independence for just  31 years. Even so, since 1989 Poland  has  undergone serious structural changes which have given us free, democratic parliamentary and presidential elections, a new constitution, economic prosperity, memberships of NATO and the EU. 

Poland and Canada have always stood – and shall remain standing – shoulder to shoulder with our allies and friends in defense of our borders, security, universal values, the rule of law, and human rights. W

[bharatiyamedia-blog]

Donald Trump, Queen Elizabeth II, world leaders, World Warfare II veterans collect to mark D-Day anniversary in England’s Portsmouth

http://tinyurl.com/y4wbnqho Portsmouth: US President Donald Trump, Queen Elizabeth II and 300 veterans are to assemble on the south coast of England on Wednesday for a poignant ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day. President Donald Trump and first girl Melania Trump attend an occasion to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth, England. AP Different world leaders will be part of them in Portsmouth for Britain’s nationwide occasion to commemorate the Allied invasion of the Normandy seashores – one of many turning factors of World Warfare II. Trump, Queen Elizabeth and British Prime Minister Theresa Could might be joined by Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel for an occasion with the veterans, the youngest of whom are actually of their 90s, marking the boats’ departure on the eve of the battle. It is going to be the final act of Trump’s three-day state go to to Britain. Portsmouth was the principle departure level for the most important amphibious assault in historical past, when some 156,000 US, British, Canadian and different Allied troops sailed for the seashores of northern France. The Battle of Normandy on 6 June, 1944 led to the liberation of Europe and helped convey concerning the finish of World Warfare II. Proclamation In a joint D-Day proclamation marking the anniversary, the 16 nations attending Wednesday’s ceremony affirmed their shared duty to make sure that the horrors of World Warfare II are by no means repeated. “During the last 75 years, our nations have stood up for peace in Europe and globally, for democracy, tolerance and the rule of regulation,” it mentioned. Spectators watch parachutists leaping simply as troopers did 75 years in the past on D-Day. C-47 transport planes in World Warfare II colours dropped sticks of jumpers with spherical canopies harking back to these utilized by airborne forces in 1944. AP “We re-commit in the present day to these shared values as a result of they help the steadiness and prosperity of our nations and our individuals. We are going to work collectively as allies and mates to defend these freedoms every time they’re threatened.” The assertion dedicated to resolving worldwide tensions peacefully. “On this method, we salute the surviving veterans of D-Day and we honour the recollections of those that got here earlier than us.” The ceremony is the primary time that so many world leaders have gathered in Britain because the London 2012 Olympics. The prime ministers of Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the president of Greece, New Zealand’s governor-general, Slovakia’s deputy PM and the Danish ambassador are as a consequence of attend. Tragic letter The occasion on Southsea Frequent contains an hour-long manufacturing recounting the story of the invasion with testimony from veterans, theatrical performances and reside music, in addition to a flypast. Some 4,000 navy personnel, 26 British navy plane and 11 British naval vessels will take part. British D-Day veteran Jim Sales space speaks to cops as he arrives for an occasion to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth. AP Within the occasion’s official programme, Queen Elizabeth, 93, mentioned, “I’m certain that these commemorations will present a possibility to honour those that made extraordinary sacrifices to safe freedom in Europe. They have to by no means be forgotten.” Could will learn a letter written by Captain Norman Skinner to his spouse Gladys on three June, 1944. The letter was within the British soldier’s pocket when he landed on Sword Seaside in Normandy on 6 June. He was killed the following day. Could will attend a reception with veterans and a lunch with world leaders. She’s going to name for continued Western unity in tackling the world’s safety threats. “Their solidarity and dedication within the defence of our freedom stays a lesson to us all,” she was to say. Trump wraps up go to The D-Day commemorations are amongst Could’s final official duties earlier than she steps down as chief of the governing Conservative Get together on Friday. That may set off a management contest. The winner, chosen from 11 candidates, will change into the following prime minister by the tip of July. On this Aug. 30, 1944 file picture, American troopers journey horses captured from the retreating Germans are met by city residents as they enter the French city of Chambois, Normandy, France. D-Day marked solely the start of the Allied wrestle to wrest Europe from the Nazis. AP Trump mentioned Tuesday that the D-Day troops stormed the seashores to make sure that their individuals would perpetually stay sovereign and free. “Allow us to renew our pledge… that the trigger for which they died shall reside,” he mentioned. The state go to noticed Trump be part of the royal household for a lavish state banquet, whereas the president promised Britain a “phenomenal” post-Brexit commerce deal. After Queen Elizabeth formally bids him farewell, Trump is off to his golf resort in Eire earlier than heading to additional D-Day commemorations in Normandy on Thursday. The village of Doonbeg on Eire’s west coast has been decked out in US flags to welcome Trump. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function() {n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)} ; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '259288058299626'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.9&appId=1117108234997285"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); window.fbAsyncInit = function () { FB.init({appId: '1117108234997285', version: 2.4, xfbml: true}); // *** here is my code *** if (typeof facebookInit == 'function') { facebookInit(); } }; (function () { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; e.async = true; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }()); function facebookInit() { console.log('Found FB: Loading comments.'); FB.XFBML.parse(); } Source link

[rjbailey]

Wikipedia article of the day for August 12, 2017 -- Falaise Pocket

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 12, 2017 is Falaise Pocket. In the Battle of the Falaise Pocket (12–21 August 1944) in the Second World War, Allied forces encircled and destroyed most of the German Army Group B west of the Seine river in a pocket at Falaise in northwestern France. It was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy. The Americans had broken out from the Normandy beachhead, the Third U.S. Army under General George Patton was rapidly advancing, and British and Canadian forces were launching offensives south of Caumont and Caen. Adolf Hitler ordered Field Marshal Günther von Kluge, the commander of Army Group B, to conduct a counter-offensive at Mortain instead of withdrawing. Four depleted panzer divisions were not enough to stop the First U.S. Army, which converged with the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army on the Falaise–Chambois area, directed by the Allied ground forces commander, General Bernard Montgomery. German counter-attacks forced some gaps in the Allied lines, but by the evening of 21 August the pocket had been sealed, with around 50,000 Germans trapped inside. Many escaped, but losses in men and equipment were huge. A few days later, the Allies liberated Paris.

[carbone14]

Restes d'une colonne allemande détruite dans le 'couloir de la mort' près de Chambois pendant la retraite allemande – Bataille de la poche de Falaise – Bataille de Normandie – Août 1944

[esprit-de-corps-magazine]

Closing the Gap

By Vincent J. Curtis

Operation Tractable kinda-sorta ended on Aug 16th, 1944, with the capture of Falaise by 2nd Div. But the gap wasn’t closed.

On the 16th, the 4th Div and the 1st Polish Armoured Division were ordered to take Trun and link up with the American 3rd Army at Chambois. The 1st Polish outflanked the German defenses and, dividing itself into three battle groups, sent one to Chambois, one to Hill 262 (Mont Ormel), and another to the south of Trun, easing the its capture on the 18th by 4th Div.

The gap, about four miles wide and through which the German 7th Army had to pass, was spanned by the Dives River. The Dives formed an impassable barrier to vehicular traffic except at two points, Moissy and St. Lambert-sur-Dives. The hamlet of Moissy had a ford, led to by a single lane dirt track; next to it was a narrow foot bridge.

St. Lambert, a village of 150 souls, had a two-lane bridge that was strong enough to support a Panther tank. The gap area was flat, wide-open, and easily observed from the heights around Trun, ideal killing ground for artillery and Typhoons.

Capturing Trun, the 4th Div was nearly spent, but did send a battle group forward to seize St. Lambert. The battle group comprised B and C Coys of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, about fifty men each, and C Squadron of the South Alberta Regiment, the armoured recce unit of 4th Div. In overall command was Major David Currie of the SAR. The task of Currie Force was to stop the passage of 100,000 Germans.

Backstopping the Dives position, three miles to the east were two Polish battlegroups on Hill 262. They had with them Capt Pierre Sevigny an artillery FOO for the 58th Bty, 4th Medium Regiment. After crossing the Dives, escaping Germans had to pass around Hill 262, and the Poles scourged them with tank and small arms fire as well as Sevigny’s artillery fire. Over the 36 hours from the 20th to 21st August, Capt Sevigny was to win Poland’s highest military decoration, the Virtuti Militari. His work inflicted thousands of casualties on the Germans and enabled the Poles to hold out against German attacks trying to re-open the gap. Four depleted SS Panzer divisions east of the Dives repeatedly attacked the Poles, who fought them until they ran out of ammunition – and then fought them hand-to-hand. 

Currie Force approached St. Lambert at dusk on the 19th - and was repulsed with the loss of two of its fifteen Shermans. Pulling back 1,000 yards, Currie used the night to personally recce the defenses. Attacking again at dawn, Currie Force gained half the village by noon, forming another gauntlet escaping Germans had to pass. Currie Force repulsed repeated counterattacks, and near dusk surged ahead to capture the rest of the village.

As the battle progressed, columns of death began to sprout from the choke points. The corpses of men, horses (Wehrmacht transport was still largely horse-drawn) wrecked vehicles, artillery pieces, trucks and tanks were piling up along the roads, choking passage even more.

Discipline in the Wehrmacht began to crack. Prisoners were being taken first by the dozen, then fifty and then a hundred at a time. Pte E.H. McAllister of the Argylls was credited with capturing 160 men. The famous picture of David Currie winning his VC shows a German officer surrendering to Argyll George Mitchell, CSM of C Coy, with Pte John Evans off to the right. (A moment after the picture was taken, Mitchell buttstroked the Officer for looking arrogant.)

Before noon on the 21st, 4th Div pushed ahead from Trun, with the Canadian Grenadier Guards relieving the Poles. Over 50,000 were trapped, and the German 7th Army surrendered, Paris was liberated three days later.

For several feats of personal military prowess, his skillful and determined attacks and defense, and for demonstrating an epic coolness under fire for 36 hours, Major David Vivian Currie was awarded the Victoria Cross.

[esprit-de-corps-magazine]

ST LAMBERT-SUR-DIVES: Major David Currie Puts The Plug In The Jug Of The Falaise Gap

(Volume 24-08)

By Bob Gordon

Most Canadians can recall the shooting rampage in and around Parliament Hill on October 22, 2014: Michael Zehaf-Bibeau fatally shot Corporal Nathan Cirillo as he stood as the ceremonial guard at the National War Memorial, then, still armed, entered the Centre Block of the Canadian Parliament where he was eventually killed.

Far fewer Canadians recall that this was not the first instance of violence within the precincts of Parliament Hill. Almost 50 years earlier, on the afternoon of May 18, 1966, 45-year-old Paul Joseph Chartier died when a bomb he was arming in a second floor washroom exploded prematurely. Parliament’s Sergeant-at-Arms, LCol (ret’d) David Vivian Currie, was one of the first men on the scene. He later told his son simply, “The poor bugger was all over the walls.”

The CBC hastily produced a 30-minute news special that aired that evening, only hours after the shooting. The program concluded with an interview with the Sergeant-at-Arms. With otherworldly calm, Currie dismissed the day’s events as small potatoes, concerning, of course, but no need for panic. “Apart from stopping everybody and searching everybody, and asking for an ID card, the sort of thing you might expect from a police state, I don’t know what more we can do really.”

Unexpected though his calm might seem, it was hardly out of character for Currie. Twenty-two years earlier that attitude had carried him through one of the fiercest and most important small-unit actions the Canadian Army fought in Normandy. Then a 32-year-old Major commanding “C” Squadron, 29th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment), in August 1944, troops under his command were assigned the task of putting the plug in the jug that was the Falaise Pocket. They closed the Falaise Gap. Currie’s “coolness, inspired leadership and skilful use of the limited weapons at his disposal,” as the citation reads, earned him the only Canadian Victoria Cross of the Normandy campaign and the only one awarded to a member of the Canadian Armoured Corps in the Second World War.

David Vivian Currie was born on July 8, 1912 in Sutherland, Saskatchewan, a few kilometres north of Saskatoon, where he attended King George Public School. He travelled south to Moose Jaw to attend Central Collegiate and then Technical School to learn his trade as an automobile mechanic and welder. In 1939 he joined the militia and in January 1940 he enlisted in the regular army with the rank of lieutenant. He was promoted to captain in 1941 and to major in 1944.

The South Alberta Regiment (SAR) did not arrive in Normandy until seven weeks after the invasion. On July 29, passing through Caen, the unit war diary innocently reported, “The destruction and stench of the city finally brought home to all ranks that they were nearing a battlefield.” Currie’s first experience under fire was Friday, August 4. The SAR War Diary notes, “Major CURRIE found it necessary to dismount and lead his tanks into position while mortar bombs were landing all round the area.” A mere two weeks later, the SAR were leading the 4th Armoured Division as it attempted to close the Falaise Gap and “C” Squadron found itself at the sharp end.

The day the SAR arrived in Normandy was also the day the German front cracked. Since D-Day the Germans had held a line across the base of the Cotentin Peninsula running west 90 kilometres from Caen at the mouth of the Orne to Coustance. Operation COBRA, launched west of St Lo on July 23, was designed to press the German defences back out of the bocage and their anchor on the western coast of the Cotentin Peninsula. The objective was the capture of Avranches, at the southern end of the peninsula, on high ground overlooking the bay forming the corner between the peninsulas of the Cotentin and Brittany, and its bridge over the See River. It fell on July 31 and the next day Patton’s Third Army exploded west into Brittany, east towards Le Mans then Paris beyond and north turning the German flank. This last pincer created the Falaise Pocket.

When their left flank collapsed and armoured forces raced north behind their defences while the Canadians and British drove east from Caen, the Germans were threatened with the loss of the Seventh Army and the Fifth Panzer Army. Hitler, demanding a counterattack on Avranches, exacerbated the threat by pushing forces, particularly armour, deeper into the pocket, rather than preparing for an orderly withdrawal. When the Canadian Army captured Falaise and the Americans pushed north from Argentan, the only German escape route was the Falaise Gap, a seven-kilometre stretch running along the Dives River from Trun south to Chambois.

The only bridge that could support armoured vehicles over the Dives between Trun and Chambois was at St Lambert. On the afternoon of August 18, General Guy Simonds ordered the 4th Canadian Armoured Division to push on from Trun through St Lambert-sur-Dives one kilometre to Moissy. At 1500 hours Currie was summoned to regimental headquarters and given his task. In what can only be described as a backhanded compliment, his regimental CO, LCol Gordon “Swatty” Wotherspoon, later noted that Currie “wasn’t a brilliant tactician, but he was very stubborn, and if you gave him an order to do something within his capabilities, he would do it — period.” Three months later Currie told the CBC, “I remember thinking at the time that it was the toughest job the regiment had ever been given.”

Currie had only very limited forces at his disposal. “B” Company of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Major Ivan Martin) was placed under Currie’s command and accompanied his “C” Squadron of the South Alberta Regiment. His “C” Squadron was down to 15 tanks and the accompanying Highlanders mustered only 55 effectives. It has been erroneously reported that a troop of M10 tank destroyers accompanied Currie’s force. In fact, they remained laagered with the HQ Company, actively participating in its defence when it risked being overrun. In total Currie’s small force numbered approximately 130. Additionally, as supporting artillery had not kept up with the advance and flying conditions were temporarily abysmal with rain and cloud blanketing the area, the small force had to attack ‘naked’ without supporting arms.

They set out at 1800 hours on Friday, August 18. Having covered four kilometres with neither casualties nor contact as they were approaching the north edge of St Lambert, flares lit up the Norman night, an 88mm antitank gun barked, and Currie’s small force was down to 13 tanks. Both crews survived, but half a dozen were wounded. Currie proposed deploying his tank crews as combat infantry and to immediately start fighting into the village. However, his regimental CO, “Swatty” Wotherspoon ordered Currie to retreat 1,000 metres to Pt 117 and renew the attack in the morning. Demonstrating the courage that would carry him through the next two days, Currie, alone and on foot, reconnoitred the German positions locating armour, antitank guns and weapons pits.

At first light on August 19, Currie’s small band attacked St Lambert again. Almost immediately a Sherman was hit and brewed up. According to the Highlanders War Diary, “C.S.M. Mitchell, together with Pte. M. R. Holmes ran forward out of cover, and under the direct fire of the enemy, climbed upon the tank. After a full five minutes, during which they ran the added and imminent risk of death or injury from exploding ammunition, they managed to pull the driver out alive.”

Subsequently, Captain John Redden located a Panzerkampfwagen (PzKpfw) IV and rushed to Currie’s tank and pointed it out. Currie’s gunner destroyed the Panzer, earning the SAR’s first confirmed kill (and a bottle of rum from “Swatty”). The advance slowed and a PIAT team from the Highlanders 10 Platoon set off to stalk a second German tank, a Panther. Team leader, Lt Gil Armour, was able to disable it. The War Diary reports: “Lt. Armour climbed on top of the tank with a 36” grenade in his hand. Just as he was about to drop the grenade in the turret, a Jerry officer looked out. Lt. Armour was the first to recover from their common shock. He forced the Jerry to come out. But the Jerry was armed with an automatic pistol and closed with him.” The officer was quickly shot by another Highlander. A second crewman was Sten gunned when he opened his hatch and finally the patrol was able to get a grenade in an open hatch. Individual battles like this typified the day’s combat. After six hours of fierce fighting they were only halfway through the village.

Early that evening Currie was reinforced by “C” Company of the Argyll’s and “C” Company of The Lincoln and Welland Regiment (with a platoon of “D” Company under command) at 1800 hours. But in the face of the bitterest opposition from superior numbers, his force could make no further progress. Currie’s force now amounted to only a dozen tanks and 60 infantrymen. It dug itself in and was soon battling furiously against one counterattack after another, refusing to give ground and accounting for hundreds of the enemy. The Argyle’s commanding officer, Major Ivan Martin, was fatally wounded that day; while conferring with a German medical officer about handling wounded German prisoners, an artillery shell struck nearby killing both.

The close combat and absolute confusion was captured by Highlander Arthur Bridge in a post-war memoir: “Our section moved into a house and took positions in the ground floor windows covering the main street. During the night one of our boys went upstairs and found five fully armed but very weary Germans having a sleep.” Throughout the night German infiltration efforts persisted.

August 20th was the fiercest day of the Falaise Gap battle. From the other side of the hill a German daily SitRep [Situation Report] stated, “At St. Lambert-sur-Dives the battle for a breach lasted for five hours.” An order issued that day by Montgomery made clear that the key to the battle was the Canadian blocking force at St. Lambert-sur-Dives. Headed, “General Instructions for completing the destruction of the enemy in the Normandy ‘bottle’ Point Seven” stated, “The bottleneck is the area Trun―Chambois. Canadian Army will be responsible for keeping this tightly corked; the cork will not be withdrawn without authority from me.”

At one point a Canadian tank, overrun by German infantry, was compelled to swivel its turret to wipe them off the hull. Currie himself used a rifle from the tank turret to fire at snipers while the main gun engaged German armour at a greater distance. The SAR’s War Diary reported the confused situation: “At about 0800 hrs waves of German Infantry began moving against the positions. It could hardly be called an attack as there was no covering fire plan, simply a mass movement of infantry.” It went on to note, “From a PW it was ascertained that the idea behind the attack was a mass recce to find any holes in our lines to enable the large forces trapped in the pocket to find a way through.”

Interestingly, the War Diary also notes a dozen reinforcements arrived from an unusual source: “C Sqn freed 12 American PW from the Jerries and put them to work with ground weapons.” Bridge reports that at one point his platoon encountered a Universal Carrier whose driver was being held hostage by two Germans and who were forcing him to drive them through the Canadian lines to their own lines. As night approached on the 20th the disorganized but desperate German assaults began to taper off.

Calmly the Argyll’s War Diary for August 21 notes simply, “The heavy fighting in St. Lambert ended today.” In total Currie’s troops destroyed seven tanks and 40 vehicles. A total of 300 Germans were killed, another 500 were wounded and 2,100 others were taken prisoner. Currie’s force of less than 150 personnel had caused almost 3,000 German casualties. By plugging the last escape route from the pocket, they played a key role in the capture of thousands of other troops and prevented the withdrawal of innumerable more tanks and vehicles.

Three months after the battle, upon the announcement of his Victoria Cross, Currie was interviewed by the CBC where he revealed his preternatural calm and understatement. Asked by the interviewer about his immediate reaction, Currie said simply, “Well, I was staggered. I sat down and had a cigarette and thought it over.”