D-Day Landings: The Falaise Pocket Defeating the German Army in Normandy

by Latawski, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780752476636
• ISBN10: 0752476637
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-09-01
• Publisher: Spellmount

Summary

With color photos and maps detailing the events of the German defeat in Normandy, this is a must-have guide for any armchair historian or battlefield tourist Following the German counterattack at Mortain on August 7, 1944, Generals Omar Bradley and Bernard Montgomery decided to engage in a wide encircling movement, to trap the enemy divisions that were trying to advance westwards. XV US Corps entered Le Mans on August 8 and then advanced rapidly northwards. Meanwhile, Montgomery had broken the German front south of Caen despite stiff resistance. The Canadians of II Corps bore down on Falaise, eventually capturing the town on August 16. Together with the 1st Polish Armored Division, they then accelerated their advance, seeking to meet American forces moving northwards. With well over 100,000 Germans in danger of encirclement, Hitler gave permission for a general withdrawal. Under the combined pressure of the Americans and French to the south, the Americans and British to the west and the Canadians and Poles to the north, the net tightened inexorably. By August 21 the Falaise Pocket was all but shut, confirming the defeat of the German Army in Normandy.

Author Biography

Paul Latawski is a senior lecturer in the Department of Defense and International Affairs at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He specializes in Central and East European security issues. He is the author of Battle Zone Normandy.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 7
Battle Zone Normandy	p. 8
Foreword	p. 11
Acknowledgements	p. 13
History	p. 15
Background	p. 16
Creating the Pocket: The American Attack	p. 37
Narrowing the Gap: Canadians and Poles	p. 62
Closing the Pocket, 19-21 August	p. 78
Victory in Normandy	p. 90
Battlefield Tours	p. 99
General Touring Information	p. 100
The Canadians at St-Lambert-sur-Dive	p. 115
The Poles on the Mace	p. 139
The Americans at le Bourg-St-Leonard	p. 161
The Link at Chambois	p. 175
On Your Return	p. 186
Further Research	p. 187
Index	p. 190
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