Closing the Falaise Pocket in the Battle of Normandy

[@brutter602]

The rifle embedded in the tree was from a German ammunition truck that took a direct hit and blew up this imbedding the rifle stock first into the tree. Over the decades the tree has grown and taken the rifle upwards with it.

[@WalkingDday]

I didn’t know how it got there.

[@brutter602]

@@WalkingDday I was told this by a friend who lives near there. Also the farmers field across the lane opposite the tree is full of shrapnel from the explosion. Every time the field is ploughed, it turns up some of the smaller debris that was driven into the ground by the explosion.

[@Zederok]

15 years to clear the wrecked vehicles. It is amazing how the details of the war are never mentioned in the history books. Thank you for bringing the total picture to light. Amazing job you do.

[@WalkingDday]

I had a map, many years ago, representing each vehicle recorded as a dot. It was funnel shaped, with the point towards St Lambert, with a fine trail of the few vehicles that got out before being destroyed or breaking down.

[@ToddSauve]

All the the ammunition expended there, and all the blood and rotting bodies of humans and horses and other things left the area unable to be used as farm land until the 1950s!

[@williamlarson3623]

Well done documentary, thank you. While on vacation to Normandy in '85 and touring the Falaise area by car, I had found some papers along a road below Mt. Ormel in a small ravine. These papers were obviously of someone's school lessons, possibly those of a French grade schooler, judging by the ruled foolscap and lead pencil used for practicing their English language translations and penmanship. Just why these papers had been left in an area rife with WW2 history, particularly in a valley known for historical carnage, was beyond comprehension to me. Because my wife was teaching French to middle school-aged students in America, she took great delight in using these papers in class as a teaching aide.

[@WalkingDday]

@@williamlarson3623 Thanks for that feedback.

[@jamesallen8418]

Colin. You are the first to show me that Moissy Ford becomes the Road of Death. I enjoy your work, can't get enough of the battles and history on the Dives River. Let's talk. Jim.

[@tedkrasicki3857]

1st Pol Armd Div became a Div in 2nd Can Corps on 30JUL44. As some officers spoke some French the Canadians gave support with artillery units from the province of Quebec. Those units spoke French (with an old Normandy dialect) and it was workable.

[@pierrealarie2897]

Your statement is mostly correct. Many in those French Canadian units were Acadians and Franco-Ontarians. Dad had a great respect for the Polish units.

[@fumblerooskie]

@@pierrealarie2897 As does everyone else. The Poles made everyone proud.

[@andysparkes8435]

My Grandpa was a Major in the 2nd British Army and fought at the Falasie Gap, he never ever spoke about it.

[@cotepierre68]

Last summer (2022) I brought my son thru Falaise. I showed him Lcol Ménard street. He was the CO of 1bn Fusiliers Mont-Royal, the unit that has liberated Falaise. I was (2 years ago) the RSM of that Regiment.

[@WalkingDday]

Thanks for sharing that.

[@johnstubbe3113]

My dad was in the 359th.Told me how he saw MG42 firing across a field . There was a disabled German tank near him so he climbed onto the turret and tried to open the hatch with hope of using it on the MG42 . He couldn't open the hatch and the machine gunner spotted him and opened up on him . he jumped to relative safety of the ground landing on all fours , running a hidden pitch fork threw the palm of his hand.I think he said he was about 2-300 yards away.I often wonder if he tried again if the gunner would have taken better aim .

[@WalkingDday]

Thanks for that great story on your dad.

[@bikenavbm1229]

have been around the area previously hope to return next year with this excellent added information it will be all the better thank you for your efforts.

[@MURDOCK1500]

We visited this museum and monument not long ago. It was amazing. Great video. Thank you

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

An excellent video that's shown me the area and helped me to understand the relative positions of the allies and the Germans in better detail than anything else I've seen. I have a particular interest in the Falaise Pocket because a school friend's father was actually there and saw first hand the massive destruction and slaughter. As he was a despatch rider and had a motorbike he was sent down into the low ground as a kind of makeshift scout, and arrived so soon after things had quietened down that some of the dead german draft horses (thousands of them) were still steaming from sweat. His quiet and measured recounting of what he saw has always left a great impression on me, the destruction inflicted on the Germans by the allies being so great that it was almost indescribable even to an experienced soldier such as he was.

[@WalkingDday]

Thanks for the feedback. Eisenhower went to death corridor just after wards’ and you couldn’t walk with out walking on flesh. He said it was like Dante’s hell.

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

@@WalkingDday Indeed. I remember my friend's dad saying that he could have walked a long way by stepping from one dead horse to another. I suspect he hardly mentioned the dead Germans to protect our young ears from the worst of the horror. (I'd have been 13 or 14 at the time) Having only seen war represented in films from the 50's and 60's which gave the impression that the German armies were entirely motorised, it came as a shock to learn that their field artillery and much of their supplies were horse drawn even in 1944, hence the number of dead horses. Some of them had not been killed by allied action but had simply been driven until they dropped dead from exhaustion.

[@leehansford5544]

Have worked my way through all of your walking d-day videos Colin. Thoroughly enjoying it, thank you. Keep up the fantastic content bud. 👍

[@moroccanish9904]

we visited moissy ford a couple of years ago, and found it very interesting we even found a small relic in the river, we intended to go there again last week will try again win the summer we ended up at neufchâtel en Bray which I found very nice, a local was telling me 80% German occupation and was heavily bombed

[@billkenbridge]

Very nice job, Colin, as usual. Many thanks.

[@markmccormack1796]

Surprised to see so much still standing after the battle and so many decades.

[@steeltown1001]

Thanks for this good video. I know the area well and visited several times (much to annoying for my daughters who couldn't hear the word Falaise pocket anymore 😁). I appreciate all of your videos, but I have to say I really liked this one. Also because it recalls the family holidays in Normandy.

[@JohnDoe-tw8es]

Very interesting, thanks . Lt. Curry won a Victoria Cross near that area.

[@fumblerooskie]

Pretty sure you mean Major David Vivian Currie. He won his VC on 18th August, 1944. His citation is worth reading. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Vivian_Currie#/media/File:David_Currie_plaque.jpg

[@JohnDoe-tw8es]

@@fumblerooskie Thanks that is correct.

[@John-lu3yq]

Thanmyou great joc now I know what happened in the Falaise Gap outstanding info

[@chriscellier5247]

Keep these videos coming Colin really look forward to them thank you

[@truths86]

Love these videos.. i found you while trying to trace my grandads fight in the 6th airborne. Great information and well delivered.

[@RickJZ1973]

Very interesting video! Well presented and informative. I find the battle of the Falaise Gap quite interesting.

[@maryholder3795]

Excellent video about yhe dreadful for the German's their retreat. The first of many they had. The bravery of the dug in Polish troops who did not give up was just so typical of their fighting spirit. They hung on until reinforcement arrived.

[@kerrydennison7947]

They pulled out the tank crews of company a 501 heavy tiger battalion and sent them out of the Normandy area for training on the new tiger 2. They were the ones that were trying to break into the pocket but due to the maintenance problems and lack of fuel for the brand new tanks they did not succeed at all lost most of the tanks. I believe I saw another KZbinr done an episode about one of these tiger 2's that were buried under a road somewhere there near the Gap that they are trying to get permission to excavate and restore and put in a museum.

[@maciejwodarczyk5208]

good youtube movies are making better job then 12 year's school education. Pity is, youtube didn't start early 80's. Thanx Colin for explanation in the details (possible details) how it was. good job, well done.

[@WalkingDday]

Thanks for the feed back.

[@2serveand2protect]

Excellent! Thank You!

[@XxBloggs]

Very enjoyable. Thanks

[@robertthompson6346]

Thanks for this very informative vid - great intimate detail

[@paulmoore120]

Great video.Thanks.

[@konradadamczyk5755]

One little note. Only those who fled Poland after the 1939 campaign were called by nazis propaganda Sikorski's tourists because they often imitated tourists, but the 1st Armored Division also included Polish emigrants who came to England from all over the world to fight for their "old" homeland.

[@tomwilson8940]

Hi! I am really enjoying your video series. You mentioned a Polish chaplain killed in the Falaise Gap battle. Do you happen to know his name?

[@WalkingDday]

Father Hupa of the 9th Infantry battalion.

[@jamesallen8418]

Hello Colin. No videos in some time, are you well? Perhaps just taking a break. Come back old friend.

[@WalkingDday]

This one a month ago kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKrVkol8i7Cjgtksi=ERkpEHbprBRReWW4 And one 12 days ago.

[@modelltwotree6117]

My dad was wounded on the 19th of August ,i think at Falaise, he was with the 3rd Monmouthshires, but i cannot locate where exactly! Can you help?

[@WalkingDday]

I don’t have any precise details on the regiment on that date. There’s a link here that MAY be useful, but it’s a subscription site. www.wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/allied/regiment.php?pid=5702 Another useful site is WW2Talk ww2talk.com/index.php?search/21548730/&q=Monmouthshire&o=relevance

[@Idahoguy10157]

IIRC the Falaise Pocket was made an official “Unhealthy Zone” by the allies. Because of the thousands of rotting corpses there

[@WalkingDday]

Eisenhower went to visit the « death corridor » just afterwards. He said it was like Dante’s inferno. You couldn’t walk without treading on bodies.

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@WalkingDday ….off limits/restricted for years?

[@WalkingDday]

@@Idahoguy10157 They couldn’t do that. There were people living there St Lambert, Tournai. I don’t know exactly when the bodies were cleared, but they dug big holes and pushed them in. The places are visible todays as copses. It took 15 years to clear all the vehicles abandoned.

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@WalkingDday … between the corpses, the abandoned vehicles, and unexploded ordinance it wasn’t restricted? Imagine the smell!

[@WalkingDday]

@@Idahoguy10157 There was a stench across much of Normandy during the battle of Normandy.

[@johnhorse5551]

Tracing me grandad,were was Coldstream Guards 6th armoured division 21st army group was they here?

[@WalkingDday]

They were involved in Goodwood then Bluecoat. Later in the liberation of Brussels and market garden.

[@tommietyrrell8143]

Hi where is location of the gun barrel sticking out of tree

[@WalkingDday]

By the chateau d’Aubrey. Going over the bridge at St Lambert towards Aubrey, you come to the chateau in the left. There are trees lining the alley. The tree on the right by the road has the barrel in it, pointing to the alley. It’s about 15 ft up. Probably can’t see it when the tree is in leaf.

[@tommietyrrell8143]

@@WalkingDday hi thanks for response Love your videos, last one was very good

[@johnkalbhenn1715]

My Father was wounded here

[@WalkingDday]

@@johnkalbhenn1715 From your name I’m thinking he was in the German army.

[@johnkalbhenn1715]

@@WalkingDday you would be wrong

[@WalkingDday]

@@johnkalbhenn1715 I jumped to the wrong conclusion.

[@Idahoguy10157]

German troops in the pocket had two choices. Try to escape. Go surrender. Surrender being less dangerous. Either way they were being shelled, bomber, and under assault on the ground. While in the Falaise Pocket

[@senseofthecommonman]

Bad enough for the men who understood what was happening, but the terror for all those poor horses and the suffering they experienced. At least we no longer inflict our wars on them.

[@ToddSauve]

I have either read or heard that the Germans trying to funnel through the tiny openings in the gap over the rivers there resorted to battling each other with bayonets for a coveted place in the lineup. It has to be a very frightening thing for men of their own army to be down to fighting each other with bayonets in order to escape. They must have been piling up on each other by the hundreds and thousands, unable to even move forward because of their own numbers. 🤷‍♂️

[@WalkingDday]

I hadn’t heard that. It’s possible. In General the German commanders were quite well disciplined , waiting with their unit in a forest for their turn to run the gauntlet of the crossings.

[@ToddSauve]

@@WalkingDday Yes, but a commander may display discipline while his soldiers break discipline because of the great stress put on them when they feel like certain death will be their lot if they don't take matters into their own hands. Panic sets in and is contagious. I would not have wanted to be in the German army in the Falaise Gap.

[@WalkingDday]

@@ToddSauve Well it certainly was a debacle for the Germans.

[@ToddSauve]

@@WalkingDday I wouldn't make a good soldier. If those leading me aren't smarter than me, I lose interest very quickly because they are just going to get us all killed. Sigh ...

[@kerrydennison7947]

That Sherman tank on display that's supposed to represent a Polish armor Sherman is the wrong model that is a 76 mm Sherman tank and the Polish armor regiment did not have any fireflies they had the normal Sherman's with the 75 mm gun

[@WalkingDday]

I don’t know the story of that particular tank, but the tank at Utah beach and the tank that used to be at Ste Mere eglise, were given by the French army as being surplus. Ste Mere eglise managed to exchange their 76 mm Sherman with a tank from Holland with a 75 mm gun.

[@Idahoguy10157]

IIRC in Normandy the Americans had left their own 76mm armed Shermans in England. A decision had been made to have all American Shermans armed with the 75mm. Later on the better armed Shermans were brought to France. I believe there were 76mm armed Tank Destroyers in Normandy

[@WalkingDday]

@@Idahoguy10157 I believe they didn’t bring the 76 mm in at the beginning ,as the men had trained on the 75mm, and it would require retraining.

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@WalkingDday …. That and change of logistics & ammo

[@kerrydennison7947]

General Bradley should have allowed general Patton to drive on to vale's and close the gap sooner that way we would have faced a lot less German troops later on and destroyed much more German equipment

[@zepter00]

So sad that Canadians came so late.

[@WalkingDday]

The Canadians and the Poles were the most active in closing the pocket.

[@zepter00]

@@WalkingDday you mean Poles and Canadians

[@WalkingDday]

@@zepter00 😀

[@williamhoward9493]

What this video doesn't address it was Britains Gen. Montgomery who had Patton stooped from closing the gap and over 200,00 German soldiers escape to fight another day!

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Incorrect. It was Bradley who gave that order and admitted it in his book, A Soldiers Story: "In halting Patton at Argentan, however, I did not consult Montgomery. The decision was mine alone. I much preferred a solid shoulder at Argentan to the possibility of a broken neck at Falaise". Montgomery never had any direct jurisdiction over Patton's 3rd Army.

[@frankvandergoes298]

Only 40,000 soldiers escaped the pocket. Many without weapons.

[@Idahoguy10157]

⁠@@frankvandergoes298… there’s multiple estimates of both German losses and how many escaped the pocket. That the gap wasn’t closed earlier was contention ever since as to how was more responsible, Monty or Bradley

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

@@Idahoguy10157 According to Historian Martin Blumenson in 'Breakout and Pursuit': "How many Germans escaped? No one knew. At the end of 20 August Army Group B reported that "approximately from 40 to 50 percent of the encircled units succeeded in breaking out and joining hands with the II SS Panzer Corps." This was an optimistic assessment. By the end of the following day, the strength of six of seven armored divisions that had escaped the pocket totaled, as reported at that time, no more than 2,000 men, 62 tanks, and 26 artillery pieces. Later estimates of the total number of Germans escaping varied between 20,000 and 40,000 men, but combat troops formed by far the smaller proportion of these troops. The average combat strength of divisions was no more than a few hundred men, even though the over-all strength of some divisions came close to 3,000. The explanation lay in the fact that a partial exodus had begun at least two or three days before the breakout attack--when shortages of ammunition, gasoline, and other supplies had already become acute."

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

@@frankvandergoes298 Meanwhile over *400,000 Germans* were killed and wounded in the overall Normandy campaign, two battered divisions getting away is not big a deal given the above losses to the German army.

[@GregoryHawkins-k4b]

Stop calling people by their last names. Call them by their first names.

[@tobijug]

Strange speech pattern, whereby his voice rises on the last word of every sentence - as weird as it is irritating

[@senseofthecommonman]

But not as irritating as your comment, and how weird it was that you needed to post it. And at least he has something worthwhile to listen to unlike you.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Not even remotely true. And do your own videos if you don't like these.