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FALAISE
Calvados
The young SS die in the ruins of the city
After the Operation Cobra the German frontline is break through
in Avranches at the end of July, the Allied forces emerge finally
from the Norman hedgerow, and fan out in Brittany and in Anjou. A
German counter-attack fails in Mortain on 7 August. On 12 August,
two armoured divisions reach Argentan, the 5th American Armoured Division
under General Oliver, and the 2nd French Armoured Division commanded
by General Leclerc. In the north, the Canadians are only ten kilometers
from Falaise. Between Argentan and Falaise stands a 23 kilometers
wide gap, a pocket takes shape clearly. On 16 August, the 2nd Canadian
Infantry Division is in the vicinity of Falaise, the 6th Brigade assaults
the city, where a SS Kampfgruppe is entrenched. The Canadians progression
is slow, the Germans defend to ground with machine-guns and anti-tanks.
In the evening, the young soldiers of the SS Hitlerjugend are still
holding the Saint-Jean school building, they are beleaguered by the
Fusiliers Mont-Royal. On 17 August at dawn, the Germans die in the
ruins, when the Canadians launch the last attack.
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August 1944 Museum
Liberation monument
