Operation Tractable
Operation Tractable | |||||||
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Part of Operation Overlord | |||||||
Canadian forces moving toward Falaise on 14 August 1944 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Canada Poland United Kingdom[1] | Germany | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Harry Crerar Guy Simonds Stanisław Maczek |
Walter Model Kurt Meyer | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
2 infantry divisions 2 armoured divisions 1 armoured brigade 1 tank brigade[1] |
1 SS panzer division 2 infantry divisions | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Canada: 5,500 casualties Poland: 325 killed 1,002 wounded 114 missing |
2,000 killed 5,000 captured 55 tanks destroyed 152 armoured vehicles destroyed 44 guns destroyed |
Operation Tractable was the final attack conducted by
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 on Hill 262 (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-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. 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
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 (
Prelude
Tactics
Operation Tractable incorporated lessons learned from Operation Totalize, notably the effectiveness of mechanized infantry units and tactical bombing raids by heavy bombers.
The main defence of the road to Falaise was the
Battle
Initial drive for Falaise
Operation Tractable began at 12:00 on 14 August, when 800
Although the first day's progress was slower than expected, Operation Tractable resumed on 15 August; both armoured divisions pushed southeast toward Falaise.
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.[6] 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.[17] Stanisław Maczek—the Polish divisional commander—split his forces into three battlegroups each of an armoured regiment and an infantry battalion.[nb 1][18] 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.[19]
As Canadian and Polish forces liberated Trun, Maczek's second armoured battlegroup manoeuvred southeast, capturing
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.[20] Two additional Polish battlegroups would strike eastward, securing Hill 262 to cover the eastern flanks of the assault.[16] 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.[19] 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.[22] 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.[23]
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.[24] 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
On the morning of 20 August, two German formations—the
By mid afternoon, reinforcements from an armoured battlegroup formed from the
Hill 262 (Mont Ormel)
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.[28] 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.[26] 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, Pierre Sévigny.[29] Captain Pierre Sévigny's assistance was crucial in defending Hill 262 and he later received the Virtuti Militari (Poland's highest military decoration) for his exertions during the battle.[30]
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.[26] 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.[31]
The first attack against Polish positions was by the "Der Führer" Regiment of the 2nd SS Panzer Division. Although the Podhale Rifles battalion was able to repel the attack, it expended a substantial amount of its ammunition in doing so.[32] 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 medium tanks within two minutes.[25] 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.[33]
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.
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.
Gentlemen. Everything is lost. I do not believe [the] Canadians 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.[35]
21 August
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.[34] In the morning, German attacks on the position resumed. Although not as coordinated as on the day before,[36] 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.[36]
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,
Aftermath
Analysis
By the evening of 21 August 1944, most of the German forces in the Falaise Pocket had surrendered.[15] 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.[41] 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.[42][39] By 23 August, the remainder of the 7th Army had entrenched itself along the Seine River to defend Paris.[41] Simultaneously, elements of Army Group G including the 15th Army and the 5th Panzer Army 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.[43] On the evening of 23 August, French and American troops entered Paris.[44]
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.[45] 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.[41] In the fighting around Hill 262, the Germans lost 2,000 men killed, 5,000 taken prisoner, 55 tanks, 152 other armoured vehicles and 44 guns.[37] 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.[37][24]
Battle honours
In the British and Commonwealth system of
Notes
Footnotes
Citations
- ^ a b Fortin, p. 68
- ^ a b Van der Vat, p. 163
- ^ D'Este, p. 404
- ^ Zuehlke, p. 168
- ^ a b Bercuson, p. 230
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bercuson, p. 231
- ^ McGilvray, p. 52
- ^ D'Este, p. 429
- ^ Bercuson, p. 229
- ^ D'Este, p. 430
- ^ Wilmot, p. 419
- ^ "Operation Tractable". Memorial Mont-Ormel. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ a b Copp. p. 104
- ^ a b Jarymowycz, p. 188
- ^ a b c Van der Vat, p. 169
- ^ a b c Bercuson, p. 232
- ^ a b c Jarymowycz, p. 192
- ^ Stacey, p. 260
- ^ a b Zuehlke, p. 169
- ^ a b c Jarymowycz, p. 193
- ^ Stacey, p. 261
- ^ "Closing the Falaise Gap". Memorial Mont-Ormel. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ Jarymowycz, p. 195. By the night of August 18, Polish fatalities totaled 263, while Canadian fatalities totaled 284
- ^ a b c Jarymowycz, p. 195
- ^ a b c "2nd SS Panzer Corps counterattack". Memorial Mont-Ormel. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ a b c d Jarymowycz, p. 196
- ^ a b "David Vivian Currie's Victoria Cross". Veteran Affairs Canada. Archived from the original on 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ D'Este, p. 456
- ^ "The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery". Archived from the original on 2010-01-30.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Fey, p. 175
- ^ Jarymowycz, p. 197
- ^ a b c d Van der Vat, p. 168
- ^ a b c D'Este, p. 458
- ^ a b Jarymowycz, p. 201
- ^ a b "The End of the German 7th Army". Memorial Mont-Ormel. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ a b c McGilvray, p. 54
- ^ Reynolds, p. 280
- ^ a b Bercuson, p. 233
- ^ Fey, p. 176
- ^ a b c Keegan, p. 410
- ^ D'Este, p. 455
- ^ Copp, p. 106
- ^ Keegan, p. 414
- ^ Jarymowycz, p. 203
- ^ Rodger, 2003, p. 248
References
- Bercuson, David (1995) Maple leaf Against the Axis. Ottawa: ISBN 0-88995-305-8
- Bercuson, David (2004). M Waffen-SS. Stackpole Books. Mechanicsburg PA.ISBN 978-0-8117-2905-5
- D'Este, Carlo (1983). Decision in Normandy. New York: Konecky & Konecky. ISBN 1-56852-260-6
- Fey, William [1990] (2003). Armor battles of the Waffen-SS, 1943–45. Stackpole Books. Mechanicsburg PA. ISBN 0-81172-905-2.
- Fortin, Ludovic (2004). British Tanks In Normandy. Paris: Histoire & Collections. ISBN 2-915239-33-9.
- ISBN 1-55587-950-0
- ISBN 0-14-3035-73-8.
- McGilvray, Evan (2004). The Black Devils March, a Doomed Odyssey: The 1st Polish Armoured Division 1939–1945. Solihull: Helion. ISBN 978-1-874622-42-0.
- Maczek, Stanisław (2006) [1944]. "The First Polish Armoured Division in Normandy". Canadian Military History. 15 (2). Wilfrid Laurier University Press: 51–70. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- Napier, S. (2015). Armoured Campaign in Normandy June–August 1944. Stroud: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-75096-270-4.
- Reynolds, Michael (2001) [1997]. Steel Inferno: I SS Panzer Corps in Normandy. Da Capo Press. ISBN 1-885119-44-5.
- Rodger, Alexander (2003). Battle Honours of the British Empire and Commonwealth Land Forces. Marlborough: Crowood Press. ISBN 1-86126-637-5.
- Stacey, Colonel C. P.; Bond, Major C. C. J. (1960). The Victory Campaign: The Operations in North-West Europe 1944–1945 (PDF). Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War. Vol. III. Ottawa: The Queen's Printer and Controller of Stationery. OCLC 829337883. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2020-12-21. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
- ISBN 1-55192-586-9.
- Wilmot, C. (1997). The Struggle for Europe. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions. ISBN 1-85326-677-9.
- Zuehlke, M. (2001). The Canadian Military Atlas. London: Stoddart. ISBN 0-7737-3289-6.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Portal:World_War_II
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
- Situation Maps Western Europe Day-by-Day