This is absolutely my favorite tour to conduct. It is a busy day and involves a bit more driving than a regular tour as it heads inland south of Caen to the rolling hills of the Orne department, but it is a great 9 hours of touring.
After the initial success of DDay on June 6th 1944, the rest of that month and July was a period of "two steps forward - one step back" for the Allies in Normandy. The push for Saint Lo took longer than expected as did the taking of Caen. But by early August the situation was changing. The II Canadian Corps had now arrived to strengthen Monty's forces south of Caen and Patton's breakout - Operation Cobra was underway. At this point a series of events followed one another and the Falaise Gap began to appear - surprising everyone - Germans, Allies and Civilians alike.
After the initial success of DDay on June 6th 1944, the rest of that month and July was a period of "two steps forward - one step back" for the Allies in Normandy. The push for Saint Lo took longer than expected as did the taking of Caen. But by early August the situation was changing. The II Canadian Corps had now arrived to strengthen Monty's forces south of Caen and Patton's breakout - Operation Cobra was underway. At this point a series of events followed one another and the Falaise Gap began to appear - surprising everyone - Germans, Allies and Civilians alike.
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"The battlefield at Falaise was unquestionably one of the greatest "killing fields" of any of the war areas. Forty-eight hours after the closing of the gap I was conducted through it on foot, to encounter scenes that could be described only by Dante. It was literally possible to walk for hundreds of yards at a time, stepping on nothing but dead and decaying flesh." |
What is the Falaise Gap? Well it is actually something of a misnomer, in that the gap really appeared between the small towns of Saint Lambert sur Dives and Chambois. In early August the Germans had mounted an offensive for Avranches to cut through Patton's Third Army as it headed for Brittany. This was called Operation Luttich (another tour I can offer you.) This advance ultimately failed and caused two things: 1) The Germans had pulled out several of their Armoured Divisions from south of Caen, thus enabling the II Canadian Corps to push south against a weakened enemy....and 2) The Germans who had pushed far west to Avranches and been halted, now had to retreat east and get back to form a new defensive line somewhere.
So what does the tour cover? Firstly we look at the Canadian and British advances south including seeing where tank ace Michael Wittann was killed. Then we head south through Falaise to the Saint Lambert sur Dives area where we spend a couple of hours at various points in the village - a key point because it was only here that the German troops could cross the steep-sided Dives river. A small Canadian reconnaissance force of a few tanks and less than 100 infantrymen had arrived there and tentatively held the town and crossing points on August 19th. To their west were something like 100,000 German troops trying to retreat. The situation was that Americans of the 90th Division were holding Chambois and Canadians of the 2nd Division were in Trun to the north, together with the already mentioned small force in Saint Lambert sur Dives. Finally the Polish Armoured Division was on Hill 262 a couple of miles beyond these units to the east. The "gap" the 100,000 Germans were now trying to get through was less than 2 miles north to south and the brave Poles stood beyond the gap as a cork in the bottle. What ensued was a battle involving British, Polish, Canadian, American and of course German units. It proved to be the final and concluding battle in Normandy.
So what does the tour cover? Firstly we look at the Canadian and British advances south including seeing where tank ace Michael Wittann was killed. Then we head south through Falaise to the Saint Lambert sur Dives area where we spend a couple of hours at various points in the village - a key point because it was only here that the German troops could cross the steep-sided Dives river. A small Canadian reconnaissance force of a few tanks and less than 100 infantrymen had arrived there and tentatively held the town and crossing points on August 19th. To their west were something like 100,000 German troops trying to retreat. The situation was that Americans of the 90th Division were holding Chambois and Canadians of the 2nd Division were in Trun to the north, together with the already mentioned small force in Saint Lambert sur Dives. Finally the Polish Armoured Division was on Hill 262 a couple of miles beyond these units to the east. The "gap" the 100,000 Germans were now trying to get through was less than 2 miles north to south and the brave Poles stood beyond the gap as a cork in the bottle. What ensued was a battle involving British, Polish, Canadian, American and of course German units. It proved to be the final and concluding battle in Normandy.
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So, this tour encompasses everything that makes for a great day out - the small stories of individual platoon sized Canadian and Polish units fighting in close-quarter actions, together with the sweep of seeing the ground where whole Armies are jostling for position. The contrast between the busy and touristy DDay beaches and the sleepy fields and hills of the Falaise Gap is dramatic, and standing where an entire German army was trying to escape via a couple of narrow roads makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. For visitors who have already seen the landing beaches or have an extra day to explore Normandy this tour is a brilliant choice.
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So, this tour encompasses everything that makes for a great day out - the small stories of individual platoon sized Canadian and Polish units fighting in close-quarter actions, together with the sweep of seeing the ground where whole Armies are jostling for position. The contrast between the busy and touristy DDay beaches and the sleepy fields and hills of the Falaise Gap is dramatic, and standing where an entire German army was trying to escape via a couple of narrow roads makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. For visitors who have already seen the landing beaches or have an extra day to explore Normandy this tour is a brilliant choice.
Among the highlights we see:
Among the highlights we see:
The small bridge where Major David Currie's force held - an action for which he received the Victoria Cross.
The ford where thousands of Germans made their escape.
The Corridor of Death - hundreds of Germans were killed and their vehicles destroyed on these roads
The fields were Polish Shermans and German Panthers circled each other in an all-guns-blazing engagement
The brilliant Montormel memorial with its panoramic views across the Gap and its informative film and diorama.
The preserved German Tiger Tank in Vimoutiers.
The place where Rommel's staff car got strafed and he was wounded in July 1944.
The stark and very distinctive Polish Cemetery in Urville.
The ford where thousands of Germans made their escape.
The Corridor of Death - hundreds of Germans were killed and their vehicles destroyed on these roads
The fields were Polish Shermans and German Panthers circled each other in an all-guns-blazing engagement
The brilliant Montormel memorial with its panoramic views across the Gap and its informative film and diorama.
The preserved German Tiger Tank in Vimoutiers.
The place where Rommel's staff car got strafed and he was wounded in July 1944.
The stark and very distinctive Polish Cemetery in Urville.
Please contact me if you have any questions about this tour and itinerary but I promise you it is an amazing area to explore.
Paul Woodadge
Paul Woodadge