Encirclement of the German Seventh Army in Falaise Pocket

[@WabeWalker100]

My Uncle, flying a Typhoon for the RAF, was shot down in this battle. He parachuted to the ground, but landed right in the midst of a German retreat. He feared the retreating unit was an SS division - but it wasn't (if it had been, he would've been shot on sight). Instead he was taken POW. The commanding officer strode up to my Uncle and furiously asked him why the British Typhoons were shooting at German ambulances (which was against the Geneva code). My Uncle said they were told to shoot at ambulances coming forward because they were transporting munitions to the front and then transporting wounded soldiers back. The German officer said he was going to stop the next ambulance coming forward, and if it wasn't carrying munitions he was going to shoot my Uncle in the head. They waited ten minutes. The next ambulance that came forward was stopped by the German officer, who ordered the driver to open the rear doors - which he did. My Uncle said he looked inside and saw that the ambulance was stacked to the roof with ammunition (the happiest sight he'd ever seen!). He was then force-marched to Poland, where he spent the remainder of the war in captivity.

[@alexcheremisin3596]

Amazing story, thank you for sharing it!

[@steveweatherbe]

Great story!

[@steveweatherbe]

@John Borzecki He may well have ended up in the 1 Polish Armoured. Many Poles simply changed un iforms: there weren't many replacements back in Scotland.

[@steveweatherbe]

@John Borzecki Maybe so but not related to my own comment, which was about what happened to the Pole.

[@steveweatherbe]

@John Borzecki Aha, now I read it carefully. I get your point.

[@zepter00]

As usual zero info about Polish contribution. Polish first armored division was the only one unit what directly blocked retreat of german units. Only Polush tanks shoot directly into rtreating german soldiers, tanks and other vehicles. The mess wrecks, dead bodies on the road you saw on so many people wes made by Poles, Polish artilery, allied artilery and allied air power. Canadians arrived to late. Their low advance was main reason why som many germans escaped. Later Canadian general was removed from commanding.

[@derekbaker3279]

You are absolutely right Zepter00! 🖒🖒 This video makes it look like U.S. forces were the only ones advancing to close the pocket, when the British were pushing the German lines back, narrowing the Falaise Pocket, and continuously blasting the Germans with artillery, Lancaster bombers, and Typhoon fighter-bombers. Meanwhile, the Canadians with the Polish 1st Armoured Division in the lead were advancing towards Falaise, with the goal of meeting up with the Americans to close the pocket. All was going reasonably well until the Canadians were accidently bombed by a U.S. squadron on heavy bombers, destroying a lot of the Canadians' equipment & causing many casualties. It would take the Canadians at least a day to receive replacements & new equipment, before continuing towards Falaise. Meanwhile, the 1st Polish Armoured Division had to fight their way towards Falaise on their own. They arrived at their destination & set up on a hill by the exit from the Falaise Pocket. Over the next two days they were repeatedly attacked from inside the pocket & from outside the pocket by German tanks & infantry. The ferocious engagements resulted in heavy losses for the Germans, but they continued to desperately & fanatically attack the Poles. While a few units of Germans managed to escape the pocket, by & large the Poles heroically plugged the Falaise Gap. Just as the Poles were beginning to run short of supplies & tanks, the Canadians arrived, relieved the Poles, then took their turn fighting hard to keep the Falaise Gap closed. All the while, the Brits, Americans, and French attacked the Germans with arrtilllery & air power, turning the Falaise Pocket into a slaughter, with only masses of burning tanks & vehicles, German corpses, and dead horses & cattle remaining after the battle. The result was a huge number of dead & captured Germans, loss of nearly all of an army's worth of equipment, a massive strategic loss for the Germans, a huge amount of territory with few divisions to defend it & ultimately, victory for the Allies in the Battle of Normandy. The war in the west entered a new phase after that. FWIW, I have always thought that the story of the 1st Poliish Armoured Division (and a bit about the Canadians, Americans, and French) plugging the Falaise Gap would have made a great WWII movie! p.s. BTW, I am not Polish. I'm just a Canadian interested in WWII history who believes that credit should go where credit is deserved. I also recognize that one country did not defeat Nazi Germany on its own. It took a major effort of dozens of nations around the world to force the Germans to accept an unconditional surrender.

[@derekbaker3279]

@Brian First, mobility was not a huge issue for the Soviets in 1941, as evidenced by their speedy retreat when they hadn't been encircled. Instead, the crushing defeats suffered by the Red Army had more to do with the profound lack of well-trained & experienced officers, having generals who did not understand the nature of modern warfare, having an air force & an army that were mainly equipped with tanks, aircraft, etc that were in poor repair and usually quite obsolete, the inefficient beauracacy & pitiful communication between units & between entire divisions, the generals' fear of upsetting Stalin, and orher organizational, tactical & technological shortcomings. Also, the Soviets had been making trucks of their own long before WWII began, and their production of trucks increased substantially once the factories had been relocated to beyond the Volga & near the Urals. Consequently, the overwhelming majority of trucks used by the Soviets were manufactured in the Soviet Union. Did the trucks manufactured in Allied countries help the Soviet Red Army & Air Force? Yes,, they did, however -as was the case with Lend Lease aircraft & tanks - the contributions from the Allies did not save the Soviets, nor did they turn the tide of war on the Eastern Front.

[@pomaranczowoczarny]

@@derekbaker3279 Przepraszam, że odpowiem ci po polsku ale nie do końca masz rację. Rosjanie mieli dużo sprzętu w chwili ataku Niemiec, bo sami szykowali się do podboju Europy, to że nie mieli dobrych oficerów to sobie Stalin sam załatwił mordując potencjalnych przeciwników. Faktem jest że bez USA ta wojna trwała by bardzo długo i nie wiadomo jakby się skończyła, to USA wyposażyło w dużym stopniu ZSRR we wszystko co było im potrzebne do kontynuowania wojny łącznie z wyposażeniem fabryk.

[@jenniferlarson6426]

@@derekbaker3279 This video does NOT make it look like the U.S. forces were the only ones. There are dozens of videos on this subject with plenty of information of the forces involved. You should read the video information so you know which videos to click on. Don't get angry because Americans are putting WWII videos on youtube. Perhaps, some other countries could do the same instead of expecting people to do it for them. Go find video of other countries contributing to this fight, create a channel an upload it, then stop your complaining.

[@steveweatherbe]

All true. 4 Cdn Armoured commander Kitching got sacked and deserved it.

[@patrickvarley9512]

Those are not British soldiers at St Lambert Sur Dives they are Canadians, the South Alberta tank regiment and infantry from The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Major David Currie of the South Alberta Regiment won the Victoria Cross for his actions in this town on the 19 & 20th of August 1944.

[@steveweatherbe]

And one company of Linky Winks.

[@karlmuller3690]

@@steveweatherbe - ???

[@karlmuller3690]

@@steveweatherbe - Unit Nickname, maybe??

[@steveweatherbe]

@@karlmuller3690 Sorry, Lincoln and Welland Regiment.Thanks for asking.

[@karlmuller3690]

@@steveweatherbe - And thank you, good Sir, for answering!!

[@steveweatherbe]

At 5:16 at St.Lambert sur Dives those are Canadian troops, the Argyll and Sutherland Regiment and some Lincoln and Welland Rgt and the Southern Alberta Rgt ( armoured).

[@AS-zk6hz]

They put polish army troops in there serving in the British army. The poles fought as separate units under the British that scared the Germans good they did not want to surrender to the poles who were excellent at killing Germans. Now that had good weapons The 12 th polish lancers also took monte casino. Raising their flag over it after killing off many Germans. Polish 303 squadron flying spitfires were the top scoring squadron in the Battle of Britain. Those poles were tough indeed

[@noahsagutch8314]

Did they get hanged with piano wire haha

[@jakekordyl747]

lame soldat Under your tank track? You’re a little Nazi bitch. The Poles slaughtered you Nazis while you went running back home.

[@steveweatherbe]

These ones , the 1 Polish Armoured, were attached to the First Canadian Army.

[@1thomson]

My father was a fire control officer with one of the 90th Infantry Division artillery units at the Falaise Gap fight. He said that they had targets being called in faster than they could fire at them and that the barrels of their artillery pieces had to be allowed to cool off for fear that the barrels themselves would melt. When they finally passed through the former battlefield, he said that the bodies of men and horses were piled so high that you could have walked across the valley on them and never have touched the ground. The smell of rotting flesh was overwhelming. It sickened everyone who passed that way. In spite of what the Allied planners hoped, it was unlikely that their divisions could have done any better than they did. Still, an entire German army was effectively destroyed. That changed the entire course of battle in western Europe and led directly to the liberation of Paris just a month or so later, something no one could have dreamed of on D Day. My father was proud of how his men performed in the war, but he never voluntarily talked about it. He had to be prodded to talk about it. He became a professional soldier and served 28 years on active duty, retiring as Lt. Colonel. Later, he became a professor of agricultural economics at a state university. In retrospect, I think he would have enjoyed that more than the Army career.

[@enthalpiaentropia7804]

Allied success merely by the amount of divisions and airforces ... US soldier was a boy scout and waffen SS a tough warrior..everybody knows,that why you, fortunately lost in VietNam..!

[@1thomson]

Marir, you don't know wtf you're talking about. First, what's wrong with having overwhelming superiority in numbers? Every military leader in history dreams of such a thing. No one is fool enough to want to have a "fair fight". That's just romantic idiocy. Second, our soldiers were as good as anyones. The Germans themselves commented on this. German intelligence actually assigned a special unit just to track the 90th Division because they knew that wherever that division went, the sh*t was about to hit the fan. They called it the "Mountain and Forest Division" because they believed it could fight anywhere ... and win. Third, we won in Vietnam ... militarily. As long as the American military was in Vietnam, the North had no hold there. We wiped out the Viet Cong, almost completely, and we drove the NVA out entirely. It wasn't until we left that the NVA regained its nerve and decided to attack a corrupt and incompetent South Vietnamese government one more time. By then, we Americans had just gotten sick of the whole thing and said, in effect, "The Hell with it". In retrospect, we never should have gone there at all. The Communists have become fascists, and their government is as corrupt as the old South Vietnamese feudal lords used to be. The only thing that really changed was the rider on the horse. The horse is still the same.

[@enthalpiaentropia7804]

Why did they use the napalm in Nam...?

[@1thomson]

Matou, read a book or two. We used napalm to get rid of forest cover and burn out troops who were dug in, sometimes underground. But napalm is sloppy. It splashes all the f*ck over the place. Innocent people can get hit, too. Again, war is hell. Get rid of any romantic notions of nobility and courage and so on. It's just about two sides killing as many of the other side as they can until one of them gives up or dies out completely. And the men who have to do the killing become something they weren't before. It changes them forever. Doesn't matter which side then. But, that doesn't mean that both sides are morally equivalent. There really are bad guys out there. And we weren't them.

[@USERNAMEfieldempty]

'The Silent Generation' never liked to talk about their emotional scars, did they? I never got much out of my Dad about his WW2 experiences. When I was little, we had an old neighbour who got the Victoria Cross in the 1st world war for an act of utterly suicidal bravery during a bloodbath. (Sir Arnold Waters, he's on wiki) One day, I innocently asked him how he earned his medal and, despite my young age, I knew that I'd crossed a deeply forbidden border and that that subject had been banished as far from his consciousness as possible.

[@phil36310]

When the 'heat' is gone the 'big men' & politics step in. Nicely dressed, without a single spot of mud and shoes shinning like the sun. Decorated with all the medals of 'honor'. You'll never find 'these' in a common grave nor the soldiers graveyards. If 'they' wouldn't exist the world would be a better place.

[@davisworth5114]

Sure, and you would be speaking German, dopey.

[@phil36310]

@@davisworth5114 😀

[@johnrogan9420]

55 miles in 36 hours...those WW2 troops were tough!

[@kawythowy867]

America’s greatest generation. If it was the kids from today it would take them twice as long and they would be complaining that the whites person is suppressing them. Or hurting there feelings by the things they say. Or saying this isn’t part of there job. Today’s people BLOW compared to this great generation.

[@jenniferlarson6426]

They were tougher than anything today. I'm so glad my life is soon coming to an end because the thought of today's generation running the world makes me glad that my life is almost over.

[@tinknal6449]

They were tough but this was also a story of logistics. Trucks and armor constantly moving troops forward, units often leapfrogging each other.

[@nickdanger3802]

"Five crucial days passed before Montgomery allowed the Americans to cross the boundary. By then it was too late to close the gap. The Falaise Pocket would be sealed between Trun and Chambois, but only after large numbers of German troops had escaped." Canada Legion on line magazine The Havoc Continues: Closing In On Falaise

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

The majority of them didn't get away, and those that did had to abandon any heavy weapons they had. Between 135,000 to 200,000 Germans were killed and 50,000 Germans were captured including 1,300 tanks, 20,000 vehicles, 2,000 guns. 40 German divisions were destroyed in France.

[@bigwoody4704]

no where around 100,000 were killed no doubt alot though and at least 40,000 got across the seinne

[@bigwoody4704]

from War History on Line closing the Falaise Gap Great Achievement or Missed Opportunity? *The Germans lost an estimated 60,000 men in the Falaise pocket - 10,000 dead and 50,000 captured.* Hundreds of tanks and assault guns were taken. It was a huge victory for the Allies. *On the other hand, 20-50,000 Germans had escaped from the pocket while the Allies struggled to close the gap.* Many historians have criticized the generals for not completing the encirclement sooner. If Montgomery had thrown more British forces behind the faltering Canadians or Bradley had risked American troops in a push north, could they have achieved even more?

[@lrich1694]

The Allied should have been more aggressive in closing the gap and the could have ended earlier. Patten want to close the gap soon as possible, but was held back.

[@shyguy9102]

Jerry's boxed in pretty good!

[@APFS-DS]

@@ohio so... a *hamburger* Bad um tss

[@lucas82]

At 5:21 you see a Tommy going for the officer's sidearm. A P-38 or a Luger would be a nice souvenir I bet.

[@West_Coast_Mainline]

He’s nabbing a souvenir

[@jimbuford4147]

Showing the big wigs meeting in a tent. None of them ever spent a night in a tent. Such an attempt to make the folks at home think they were sharing the hard times with their men.

[@jenniferlarson6426]

The top brass always take credit for everything. It's the same in the private sector as well. You get to work your butt off all day as a Cashier at Publix, asking customers for donations for their various charities, and it's the top executives at the home office who get the credit for it all. Nothing will ever change when it comes to the pee-ons of the world. We will always be the trash of society that will never get any credit for anything.

[@billbright1755]

If you can contain them in a zone artillery the perimeter and alternate heavy bomber aircraft with medium in timed staggered attacks. On time cue send in fighter bomber aircraft to strafe with machine guns and unguided rockets. Continue artillery after air attacks then progress to further inroads into enemy positions.

[@johnburns4017]

*Falaise Gap with Patton running away:* _"This advance duly began at 0630hrs on August 18 which, as the Canadian Official History remarks, ‘was a day and a half after Montgomery had issued the order for the Canadians to close the gap at Trun, and four and a half days after Patton had been stopped at the Third Army boundary’. During that time, says the Canadian History, the Canadians had been ‘fighting down from the north with painful slowness’ and the Germans had been making their way east through the Falaise gap. They were not, however, unimpeded; the tactical air forces and Allied artillery were already taking a fearful toll of the German columns on the roads heading east past Falaise._ _Patton’s corps duly surged away to the east, heading for Dreux, Chartres and Orléans respectively. None of these places lay in the path of the German retreat from Normandy: only Dreux is close to the Seine, Chartres is on the Beauce plain, south-east of Paris, and Orléans is on the river Loire. It appears that_ *_Patton had given up any attempt to head off the German retreat to the Seine and gone off across territory empty of enemy, gaining ground rapidly and capturing a quantity of newspaper headlines._* _This would be another whirlwind Patton advance - against negligible opposition - but while Patton disappeared towards the east the Canadians were still heavily engaged in the new battle for Falaise - Operation Tractable - which had begun on August 14 and was making good progress."_ - Neillands, Robin. The Battle of Normandy 1944 *Instead of moving east to cut off retreating Germans at the Seine, Patton ran off to Paris, leaving everyone else to fight at the Falaise Gap.* John Ellis in _Brute Force_ described Patton's dash across northern France as well as his earlier _“much overrated”_ pursuit through Sicily as more of _“a triumphal procession than an actual military offensive.”_

[@bigwoody4704]

*Eisenhower & Montgomery at the Falaise Gap,by William Weidner,page 301* *Dr Forrest C.Pogue,interviews,US Army Military Institute,1947* On the evening of August 12 Gen.Bradley called Gen. Montgomery's HQ requesting to send Gen Haislips XV Corps north to the boundary at Argentan toward Falaise.Bradley's request was denied'Montgomery's staff officer Brigadier E.T.Williams said he was in Freddie DeGuingand's truck near Bayreaux when Bradley's call went through;"Monty said tell Bradley they ought to get back.Bradley was indignant.We were indignant on Bradley's behalf...Monty missed closing the sack.Bradley,Deguingand and Williams argued in favor of the Americans moving north to Argentan to close the gap,but Monty would not change his mind *Eisenhower & Montgomery at the Falaise Gap,by William Weidner,page 302* Bradley later wrote "Falaise was a long sought British objective and for them a matter of immense prestige" Montgomery could not allow the Americans especially George Patton to embarrass the British Army by driving through Argentan to take Falaise *Eisenhower & Montgomery at the Falaise Gap,by William Weidner,page 307* Bradley later wrote about their August 13 meeting "with our forces poised to close the trap at Falaise-Argentan and Monty's forces falling down on the job,Monty couldn't have chosen a more inappropriate time to unveil his plan" *Eisenhower & Montgomery at the Falaise Gap,by William Weidner,page 315* Montgomery's failure to close the trap on the Germans between Falaise and Argentan left nearly 200,000 Germans fleeing .Montgomery's confusion and tactical mishandling of Allied Forces during the battle of the Falaise Gap were clear indications that it was an error for Eisenhower to have left Monty in charge after August 1st.Russell Weigley wrote the fumbled closing of the Falaise Gap indicated the urgency of Eisenhower's taking over as ground commander'Martin Blumenson wrote "in August Montgomery changed his instructions on who was to take it no less than 5 times" *Eisenhower & Montgomery at the Falaise Gap,by William Weidner,page 316* After the American break out at St Lo the battle became mobile.Monty seemed to be overwhelmed by events.He seemed paralyzed by the Americans speed

[@michaelmcneil4168]

@@bigwoody4704 MacArthur descibed his aide de camp as a good clerk. I think that encapsulates his ideas about the destruction of the Northern France army. He complained about the amount of ammunition used, which was not costing hiem anything, instead of being glad to use it as quickly as possible whilst his betters took the lead in applying future pressure ahead of any hope the Germans might have had of a regrouping.

[@gregkouame3654]

Nothing about "La poche de Falaise", any long doc. "The little Stalingrad", german forces "les forces allemande encerclees?").

[@donaldmichaellumsden2714]

When the commentor says Allied troops helped encircle the nazi , what he really means is Canadian troops helped encircle the nazi .but they wont admit it . The american army took 10,000 prisoners according to the commentator in this vid . The Canadians took 40,000 prisoners. !

[@LMFNinja]

Donald: If you listen to what the Americans say you would think they won WW2 all by themselves.

[@donaldmichaellumsden2714]

@@LMFNinja The yanks say they liberated Rome also . But actually it was Canada . Canada did all the fighting because when u.s. troops tried they were masacured , so they sent in the Canadians , hopeing the nazi would masecure the Canadians 1st. and opening the door for u.S . It didnt workout that way . The Canadians took every town and village surrounding Rome in brutal battles .The Canadians were about to enter Rome , so the nazi fled to the north . The yanks were so embarressed they wanted the glory for themselves . Roosevolt told the Canadians to step down so they cold take the city . It was that way all thtough the war . Do the dirty work , so we can take the glory . Anzio , Ortona , Normandy Shetlands , the Rinne and so on. Did You know 9000 Canadians died breaking the Rinne belt . We were sent over the mountain tops in Sherman tanks and through the pass against tirger tanks .the nazi caught us in a crossfire going through pass . So we went over the top . Again the nazi caught us in a crossfire . Third time we went over the top . The yanks snuck in the backdoor and surprised them . But no one ever heard what the Canadians did .Just that the yanks crossed the Rinne . It took 9000 Canadian lives to perpetrate that lie . Also the yanks wanted us to assault Utau beach , so they could take the weaker Juno beach . We told them NO . They said You will do what You are told . We TOLD THEM , We take the right flank or we dont go We took the right flank .

[@tobermory8341]

There is some debate about what happened to the German officer who appears at 05:18. Though captured at St Lambert Sur Dives he was killed in circumstances that are still unclear shortly afterward.

[@michaelmcneil4168]

No great loss, I suspect.

[@Michael-kg8ef]

@@michaelmcneil4168 bellend

[@michaelmcneil4168]

@@Michael-kg8ef > Though captured at St Lambert Sur Dives he was killed in circumstances that are still unclear shortly afterward. People die in all sorts of circumstances in war, very few people have to time to waste on a commander that rose to prominence in a totalitarian regime that butchered all sorts of people. What practical use are you going to make of an enquiry now? I don't really care to hear your reply. Pretend you are correct and ignore me.

[@teatime6597]

Just shows both sides were bad.

[@jenniferlarson6426]

What was his name? I'll do some research and try to find out what happened to him. Killed due to circumstances of war could mean lots of things. Let me know his name.

[@jdsol1938]

not to bad other then random file footage and some unit errors, these old propaganda films are fun to watch

[@angrydoge1466]

My right ear enjoyed this

[@Red72618]

The allies didnt close the gap they just halted

[@adipocere1066]

Is the narrator the late David Brinkley?

[@84tonikk]

Is there any U.S footage of Germans surrendering after battle of Berlin?

[@toytoy1091]

Battle of Berlin was EXCLUSIVELY a German/ Russian battle. No US/ British involvement whatsover. They were all fifty miles away.

[@SerBallister]

Yup, completely surrounded by the Red army on all sides. Despite their best efforts very few German units escaped it.

[@sonnyburnett8725]

Stalin wanted Berlin badly and the Supreme Allied Commander decided why lose our men when the Russians will give us our section after it falls.

[@enthalpiaentropia7804]

Toy Toy Right,they were not involved...

[@zepter00]

Toy Toy in Berlin were Soviet and Polish units.

[@billbright1755]

In reality Germany was let off the hook very lightly considering the fact had they been the cause of our boys having to go there in the first place. Japan was getting a taste of atomic weapons while German cities were only bombed with conventional incendiary and high explosives.

[@utkarshtrivedi8870]

Out of 120,000 German soldiers 60,000 managed to escape and rest 60,000 were captured/killed/wounded.

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

20,000 escaped not 60,000.

[@kurtjammer9568]

No one really knows for sure how many escaped..10000 killed..I think most got out.though to refit and defeat the Americans in hurtgen forest

[@SOffenbach]

That's just 1 1/2 mph.

[@mozhhosseini982]

Who came her after call of duty 3?

[@martinjeffery3590]

Why the hollywood sound affects ,it takes away from the true nature of this operation

[@AussieLiam93]

Propaganda. This was most likely orginally shown at cinemas - Millitary college's during WW2.

[@davidgoldin5759]

Mongol prisoners?

[@DMTZA]

German Prisoners of War from the Eastern Front (Soviet Citizens), that were use for forced labour in France.

[@zepter00]

DirkT1709 bullshit... these were former soviet soldiers - POWs which started to serve in german army.

[@chrisgibson5267]

@@DMTZA The German Ost-Battaliones contained troops from Asia who'd originally served in the Soviet army.

[@davidgoldin5759]

Why didn't we copy the 88 mm?

[@andrewuy1294]

David Goldin simply put, it was just difficult to make.

[@powerprojection360]

It's an air defense weapon that the Germans leveled out and used as screens to defend against tank attacks on their flanks. Did the Allies have a real need for that type of weapon later in the war?

[@JohnSmith-zv8km]

We had effective guns for each role such as the 17 pounder of the British which were simpler and cheaper to make.

[@Dive-Bar-Casanova]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M114_155_mm_howitzer

[@AussieLiam93]

The Gun on the Sherman Firefly was the closest the allies got to the 88mm . Firefly was designed to go toe to toe with the Tiger II .

[@daveroberts936]

The video is still loading, I'm waiting for the commentator to tell me how the US won the war all by themselves!

[@jonaskuiper5859]

The WW2 creator is invaded and back to the place were Roosevelt created WW2 by provoking war between Poland and germany.

[@kurtarnold4050]

Your tin foil vagina hat fell off

[@veganforlife4660]

@kurt arnold lol

[@wingtip76]

Allied propaganda rubbish

[@APFS-DS]

Cope