Hill 262

Battle of Hill 262
Part of Operation Tractable
Polish infantry moving towards cover on Mount Ormel, 20 August 1944.
Date 19–21 August 1944 Location Mont Ormel, northeast of Chambois Result Polish victory
Belligerents
Poland	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Stanisław Maczek	Walter Model
Strength
1,500 infantry ~80 tanks	remnants of around 20 infantry and Panzer divisions
Casualties and losses
351 casualties 11 tanks	~1,500 casualties

Hill 262, or the Mont Ormel ridge (elevation 262 metres (860 ft)), is an area of high ground above the village of Coudehard in Normandy that was the location of a bloody engagement in the final stages of the Normandy Campaign during the Second World War. By late summer 1944, the bulk of two German armies had become surrounded by the Allies near the town of Falaise. The Mont Ormel ridge, with its commanding view of the area, sat astride the Germans' only escape route. Polish forces seized the ridge's northern height on 19 August and, despite being isolated and coming under sustained attack, held it until noon on 21 August, contributing greatly to the decisive Allied victory that followed.

The American success of Operation Cobra provided the Allies with an opportunity to cut off and destroy most German forces west of the River Seine. American, British and Canadian armies converged on the area around Falaise, trapping the German Seventh Army and elements of the Fifth Panzer Army in what became known as the "Falaise pocket". On 20 August Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model ordered a withdrawal, but by this time the Allies were already blocking his path. During the night of 19 August, two battlegroups of Stanisław Maczek's Polish 1st Armoured Division had established themselves in the mouth of the Falaise pocket on and around the northernmost of the Mont Ormel ridge's two peaks.

On 20 August, with his forces encircled, Model organised attacks on the Polish position from both within and outside the pocket. The Germans managed to isolate the ridge and force open a narrow escape corridor. Lacking the fighting power to close the corridor, the Poles nevertheless directed constant and accurate artillery fire on German units retreating from the pocket, causing heavy casualties. Exasperated, the Germans launched fierce attacks throughout 20 August which inflicted losses on Hill 262's entrenched defenders. Exhausted and dangerously low on ammunition, the Poles managed to retain their foothold on the ridge. The following day, less intense attacks continued until midday, when the last German effort to overrun the position was defeated at close quarters. The Poles were relieved by the Canadian Grenadier Guards shortly after noon; their dogged stand had ensured the closure of the Falaise pocket and the collapse of the German position in Normandy.

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Wikipedia