How This WW2 Canadian Major Sealed off the Falaise Pocket & Trapped Thousands of German Troops 

Me either!

Yeah there was a little Canadian/Polish friction at Falaise.

Friction??? Meh!, the only friction was worrying wether the canucks and poles artillery was getting to close to one another on either side of the gap ,the battle box was that close?, and they exceptionally pulled it of, brits chomping at the knees and chasing its quarry literally into the canadian and polish hounds jaws of HELL...

All of Normandy was tough

Juno my friend... not the capital of Alaska. You do know that we have the Juno awards , in part a salute to Pierre Juneau who gave Canadian media and entertainment content the very boost it needed .. and also in part a recognition of our D-Day beach.

They are busy teaching drag shows and critical race theory, no time to teach about this guy

That's new to me. I understood that the ground use proximity fuze was first used at the Bulge.

That's the thing, both have similar names. Maybe why lots of commentary have not heard of this brave, competent officer, being overshadowed in name and rank by his senior officer from the previous war.

Patton knew in his heart that the Germans were right about that certain tribe from the Middle East. He also knew in his heart that they were right to attack communism and that he (Patton) was on the wrong side of the war.

@@gh87716 - Patton was wrong and an idiot. Only idiots believe Nazi propaganda.

All the roads leading out of the Falaise Pocket led past Mt.Ormel. The Poles reponded at the command level much better than the Canadians. The father of a friend of mine ( Andrew Malshevski) was a tank commander in that regiment you named, to which your father was attached.

@@steveweatherbe all brave men to the last

@@steveweatherbe Please explain what you mean: "The Poles reponded at the command level much better than the Canadians."

When the Poles got the order to occupy Chamboise and the Mace, they did so with all their force and at top speed. When Kitching got the order to occupy St. Lambert he sent one regiment of tanks and a couple infantry companies. And then he ordered otherbunits to reinforce but didnt supervise closely. So they took their time and didnt reinforce till the chickens had flown the coop. Then Kitching notoriously refused to resupply the Poles who were running out of ammunition.

@@steveweatherbe There is a Canadian historian named David O'Keefe who has done a pretty extensive documentary using the latest secret documents declassified at the British Archives at Kew over the last 25 years or so. He explains in much better detail than I can here about the Battle of the Mace, the Polish triumphs and failures brought about by private vendettas, and how key Ultra intelligence failed to be sent to the Canadian army at the critical moment when they should have been informed that the Germans had completely withdrawn from the road to Falaise and were instead diverted to the American sector because Patton's armoured forces were breaking out and rampaging across the eastern flank of the German armies. It untangles a great deal of what happened in sealing the Falaise gap. David talks about it extensively on Paul Woodage's WW2TV RU-vid channel in at least one episode. It is well worth searching out Steven, and will explain in great detail how things got so screwed up between the Canadians and the Poles, and how the Americans and French also failed in their responsibilities to close the gap and keep it closed. This program deals with part of it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--V4P_N6vBoQ.html and here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Bg-0GSW-_Go.html and here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JsMMBIP35Y0.html This should explain what really happened, with all the evidence again taken from the latest releases of formerly classified material at the British Archives at Kew. Here is another on Falaise that is very interesting: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-w7ZiGo1uvlM.html _Bon Appetite!_

Wow, thanks!

In WW I ... the commonwealth did not exist. We of the Dominions had Imperial foreign policy layered on local national affairs. The concept of a commonwealth ... recognition of the constitutional equality of the Dominions .. happened in the 1930's Statute of Westminster. The lower layer of outright colonies persisted to our lifetimes. The Dominions were Newfoundland Canada Australia New Zealand and South Africa. But yes Generals Currie of Canada .. not this guy, and Monash of Australia were David Lloyd-George's choices to replace the obdurate Haig. The lack of class deference was at the heart of Dominion morale. Too many English lads were still deferential .. like a caste system... hell it was a caste system. Sheep led by asses.

@milt Very underrated, usually we hear more about the ANZACS than the Canadians.

@@Bullet-Tooth-Tony- In WWI the Germans were deadly scared of Canadians they were that much feared. Bad assed to the bone.

ANZACs are more heard of, the Canadians unfortunately.

There was amazing footage shot of the Canadians in St. Lambert by a Canadian film cameraman who was killed in action later.

@@steveweatherbe I did see something like that and it was a major commander that served on the front lines winning battles.. I forgot his name.... Camera men so brave.... Yes some died filming ... Amazing courage!! ♾️🙏♾️🙏♾️

@@teedtad2534 No just an ordinary cameraman doing his job, who drove into St. Lambert in the middle of the battle with his team. Later he bought it.

As a history teacher, I began to feel very early on that this was an earnest research project by a student. He had his thesis statement about Currie.. and then on with the PowerPoint presentation, enhanced with good archival film footage. The script is more than a tad sophomoric. No reflection on his subject or his great service.

At least some of the text is lifted straight from the VC citation. But some is sophomoric, as you say. There is a good regimental history, the South Alberta's. In it his commander Lt. Col. "Wothy" Wotherspoon said Currie had a good tactical sense but lacked the big picture. No jealousy there, I'm sure.

@@steveweatherbe this reminds me of a task I gave a ,, gifted class. There was a revisionist view of Passchendaele as some strategic gain, My students would have produced better indictments of Haig,

I inherited my dad's ww2 photo album, sadly he never told me about his experiences ... There's a picture 6 men laughing, sitting in lawn chairs. My dad with David Currie, Smokey Smith, Jack Churchill, and two other men i've yet to I.D. Another photo of Paul Triquet, (last name) Funkhouse and i believe, Douglous MacArthur. Amazing photos, i am attempting to trace his foot steps, proving to be difficult. Theatres of Service Canada_ _ _United Kingdom/Continental Europe/ No 11 Trg. B.N. No 6 Cdn. Inf. Trg. Reg. Canadian Army Overseas No 2 CITR CAO

Currie survived, was Sgt at Arms of Parliament.

Oopsie.

Byng was an Englishman.

Not Canadian.

Bang was English, but his right hand man was Arthur Currie, who was Canadian

Monty was still the one who helped plan the Falaise gap though.

LMAO no as amatter of fact he told Bradley/Patton to leave it alone as it was in the British operating sector and didn't want to get shown up again after his legendary footdragging in Sicily/Italy

@@bigwoody4704 that was before his forces encountered the most fierce resistance in Sicily since they underestimated the countryside and fighting ability of the defenders. He then realised that Palermo wasn't worth it.

It was nicknamed Ronson after the cigarette lighter which famously advertised it would light up " first time, everytime." Meaning the Sherman would blow up the first time it was hit. The Germans called them Tommy Cookers. In the regimental history of Currie's regiment , " the South Albertas" is a picture of a Sherman with a dozen holes. Why did the Germans keep shooting? Because, the book's author guesses, they thought they had missed it when it disnt explode.

The Sherman "Bomb" was with the Canadian Sherbrooke Fusiliers and is on display in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The Sherbrooke Fusiliers destroyed Michael Wittmann and his Tiger 007 on August 8, 1944 at Gaumesnil in Normandy.

​@@ToddSauvethat weird? Its not what Wikipedia or google says, nor the history books either.... But those typhoons was equivilant to a 5 inch broadside from a destroyer....

@@wor53lg50 What doesn't Wikipedia or the history books say?

@@ToddSauve northants yeomanry done him?...oh sorry that's what it does say?, aswell as the books...

Ottawa

Ottawa.

If you ever get to Normandy , there is an excellent museum at Mt Ormel, which is very close to the events described here.

I've always said, they should have, and should still, use a white Maple Leaf

Now we know why they insisted on having their livery on all vehicles to make the merican public think its them in battle on film for war bonds and so they can take the credit themselves like they did after and do today still, the RAF told them to jog on but in the SE asia campaign they said they couldnt distinguish it from the rising sun, and some RAF planes was shot at wether on purpose for not changing it who knows?, anyhow RAF just omitted the red roundel job done...

The Army base in Calgary was Calgary the Currie Barracks. It is closed nowadays however.

Funny enough curry is not a part of the indian language and never was, it really means gravy as in roast beef and gravy, im not sure if it came about because indians couldn't pronounce gravy and thats how it came out sounding, i know there's a story to it somewhere..

From what I have read the Poles were deeply involved and were in Dire Straits

@Fred P Whoa there Cowboy "Canadian first army only fighting force left in Britain after Dunkirk " You do know that ALL British Units did NOT go to Dunkirk .

@Fred P Stampede??? of what ?

@Fred P I doubt that

​@@jacktattisThe 1st Polish Division was hit hard holding Hill 262.

But it wasn't.

I guess you should have been there and showed them how it was done.

@@normanwells2755 Obviously someone should have.

Generalship usually requires an advanced University Degree. You also make no allowance that perhaps the quiet guy from Saskatchewan perhaps didn't want to be in the peace time army.

I think he was one guy at least not promoted above his level of competency. He did make lieutenant colonel at the end to get him a bigger pension.

I assume you're American? You know the Germans perceived US soldiers for the most part as unable to do anything without the overwhelming firepower of artillery/aerial support. The Brits like the US had good and bad moments. They fought well at Arnhem for example, and in Normandy they fought all the German armour, whilst the US divisions had a comparatively easy time of it once they got inland. No I'm not British.

@@PolakInHolland Being between Gold and Sword beach, the Canadians on Juno fought just as much German armour as anyone else. In fact, Montgomery and the Allied high command realized that the brunt of German panzer attacks would come in the Juno beach area on and following D Day because that was the only suitable terrain for it. So they landed twice as much artillery on Juno as on any other other beach, American included, because it was basically the only place the Germans could make an armoured counter attack. There were some fearsome armoured battles everywhere in Normandy, but none so fierce as those around Caen, with eight German panzer divisions there at the height of the fighting. There was more armour duking it out per square mile there than at Kursk!

Skippyous Ya sure remind us when were the GIs driven from the continent and into the sea. Did your country mount the two largest amphibious landings in the Atlantic/Pacific.Provide 6 of the 7 billion barrels of oil used in the War *The Guns at Last Light,by Rick Atkinson,633* What Churchill called the American "prodigy of organization" had shipped 18 million tons of war supplies to Europe,equivalent to the cargo in 3,600 Liberty Ships or 181,000 rail cars from 800,000 military vehicles to footwear.U.S munitions plants had turned out 40 Billion small arms ammunition,56 million grenades,500 million machine gun bullets & 23 million artillary rounds By 1945 the USA had built 2/3 rds of all ships afloat and was making half of all manufactured goods in the world including half of all armaments.The enemy was crushed by logistical brilliance,yet the War absorbed barely 1/3rd of American gross domestic product

@@PolakInHolland if not for AMERICA and RUSSIA the englishmen would be speaking German in parliament today.

@@altair458 Stop the jingoistic BOLLOCS! Sandhurst Military Academy ran an Operation Sea Lion wargame to see how the German invasion of Britain would have panned out. The umpires (both German and British) were unanimous that it would have been a bloodbath. *"Of the 90,000 German troops who landed, only 15,400 returned to France. 33,000 were taken prisoner, 26,000 were killed in the fighting and 15,000 drowned in the English Channel."* I understand the German high command were incredibly relieved when Operation Sea Lion was cancelled.

This is about Canada and her brave people who fought long and hard in WW2. As per usual many americans always have to be the best, of course in their minds only, they have to take credit for solely winning the war. The only reason the yanks captured Paris is because Eisenhower ordered Canadian troops the halt their advance so the u.s. could take all the credit for liberating Paris. You think americans were the only country who had brave hard fighting people, Why does it always have to be about you.

​@@MichaelBelsey-zh2qi poles and brits in this aswell my canuck bretheren, not trying to take anything away from the canadians either they performed exceptional... A perfect coordinated rowt from all involved...

Heavy lifting, blah, blah, blah??? wash and repeat same old same old, copy and paste from the band wagon intelegencia??, get off that bloody computer and get to bed you've got school in the morning and i wont be telling you again?? Knob cheese..

Not quite, not taking anything away from the Canadians and they certainly did punch above their weight however the 3rd Canadian army also comprised of British army units ,Canadian army was all volunteer army as they couldn't draft Canadian citizens into its armed forces, they did however supply excellent junior officers and leaders to the British armed forces CANLOAN Also how did the British bypass 7 panzer divisions, 4 of them ss 5 if you include 12 ss Hitler jugend that the Canadians faced,

@Michael McKenne It was no where near 500,000....less than 20,000 German troops got away, most of which left *95% of their heavy armour and weapons behind.*

Way to high for the number of escapers.

@william romine It was as much Bradley's fault as anyone else. He and his Chief of Staff ordered Patton to halt and pull back XVth Corps in several phone calls on Aug 13. He did not contact Montgomery to ask that the Army Group boundary be shifted, and discouraged Eisenhower's offer to do so. Patton was so upset he ordered a stenographic record of the conversation with Bradley's Chief of Staff be included in the 3rd Army History.

there are < of course, numerous officers that disagree and I have spoken with some that felt that Patton would have had a lot of trouble in such an effort . Fortunately we do not have to interpret that circumstance . Many opinions but that's all they are

Are you on glue ?

​@@jimmycrosby cope, seethe, and dilate

@@Desperately-Coping-Incel-Sperg Sip, sniff and urinate.

Apart from that business with the Jews, and, oh, trying conquer Europe, yeah sure.

Takes a real hero to throw children and women into gas chambers. You krauts should have been sterilized as a nation after WWII

Thank you for the enquiry. The contact email has been updated in the about channel section.

@@FactBytes Amazing! Valentina will contact you shortly :)!

@MEHT43 - GRMP EU - Bring it Badger! It didn't work? Between 135,000-200,000 Germans killed, 50,000 captured a long with 1,300 tanks, 20,000 vehicles and 2,000 guns. 25 German divisions were totally destroyed.