Hill 262

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Hill 262
partof=Operation Tractable, Battle of Normandy


caption=
date=August 19—August 21 1944
place=Mont Ormel, northeast of Chambois
result=Tactical Stalemate
Decisive Strategic allied victory
combatant1=flag|Poland
combatant2=flagicon|Germany|Nazi Germany
commander1=flagicon|Poland Stanisław Maczek
commander2=generalmajor Friedrich Stadenheimer
strength1=2 Armoured Battlegroups
strength2= 8,000 men, 50 tank
casualties1=350 dead, 1,160 wounded, 79 captured and 13 tank
casualties2=900 dead, 1,500 wounded, 400 captured, 17 tank

Hill 262 in Normandy (elevation 262 m), also known as The Mace (in Polish "Maczuga" - because the ridge on this hill resembled a caveman's mace with two bulbous heads) and Mount Ormel, was a vital command post during World War II. It has an excellent view on the area around Chambois and Vimoutiers.

It was held by the Germans throughout the war until it was captured by the Polish 1st Armoured Division. The battle for Hill 262 is an action normally ignored in the West, but vital to the Allied breakout.

The Mace is a level on the popular video game Call of Duty 3.

Battle

When the Canadian-Polish Operation Tractable began on August 141944, Hill 262 became a crucial position for closing the Falaise Pocket, as it prevented German forces from relieving the German Seventh Army trapped in the pocket. [Bercuson, p. 230] On August 17, the Polish 1st Armoured Division split into four battlegroups, allowing for the rapid clearing of objectives and defenses north of Chambois. On August 19, two of these battlegroups moved against Hill 262, while the other two moved to link up with American forces in Chambois. [Jarymowycz, p. 195] Annihilating a German infantry company in the process, Polish forces had taken Hill 262 by the afternoon. [ [http://montormel.evl.pl/?id=69 Closing the Falaise Gap] ]

Throughout three days of fighting, two Polish battlegroups managed to hold off seven German divisions (including three SS Panzer Divisions), taking extremely high casualties throughout. Through coordinated use of artillery fire and skilled infantry tactics, Polish forces were able to ensure that Hill 262 remained in Allied possession. However, upwards of 20% of the Polish 1st Armoured Division's fighting strength was killed or wounded in the defense of Hill 262. "The Poles had closed the Falaise Pocket. The Poles had opened the gate to Paris." [ cite book | author = Dallas, Gregor | title = 1945: The War That Never Ended | publisher = Yale University Press | year = 2005 | id = ISBN 0-30010-980-6 | pages = 160 | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=LXdVF6LmTa8C&pg=PA160&lpg=PA160&dq=The+War+That+Never+Ended+Poles+had+opened+the+gate+to+Paris&source=web&ots=Y6lebp1Tpy&sig=K-m8Ox5UrLZtBmXMZTRVNliOSGk&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result . Retrieved on 2008-06-17.]

Aftermath

The battle for Hill 262 according to one report had cost the Polish 1st Armored Division severely: 325 killed, 1,002 wounded, and 114 missing, approximately 20% of the division's remaining fighting strength. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/46/a2450846.shtml A Polish Battle, Normandy 1944 (Translated from the French) by Jim Dillon, BBC] , retrieved on 2008-06-18.] However, another report counts that the battle had cost the Polish 1st Armored Division 1,290 troops killed, 3,820 wounded and 22 missing in action. [http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-closing-the-falaise-pocket.htm/8 Guttman, Jon. "World War II: Closing the Falaise Pocket" (originally in the September 2001 issue of World War II magazine)] , retrieved on 2008-06-18.] It is estimated that from 20,000 to 40,000 Germans managed to escape across the only remaining crossing at Saint-Lambert before the Falaise pocket closed completely on August 21. However, 10,000 had been killed and 50,000 taken prisoner, and nearly all the German tanks and artillery pieces had been left behind or destroyed.

Approximately 650 Polish fighters are buried at the nearby Polish Military Cemetery in Grainville-Langannerie.

On the 20th anniversary of Falaise, former President Dwight D. Eisenhower commented, "No other battlefield presented such a horrible sight of death, hell, and total destruction."

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.historynet.com/magazines/world_war_2/3024756.html?page=1&c=y Guttman, Jon. "World War II: Closing the Falaise Pocket" (originally in the September 2001 issue of World War II magazine] , retrieved on 2008-06-18.

* [http://montormel.evl.pl/?id=69 "August 19th, 1944: the closing of the pocket" Memorial of Coudehard - Montormel] , retrieved on 2008-06-18.

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/46/a2450846.shtml A Polish Battle, Normandy 1944 (Translated from the French) by Jim Dillon, BBC] , retrieved on 2008-06-18.

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* Pages 157 - 160.