Falaise Pocket 1944 Then & Now
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- The Falaise Pocket in 1944 was the end of the German Army in Normandy.
After the failed counter attack toward Mortain earlier in the month, the Allies surrounded the retreating German Army and crushed them in what would become known as the Falasie Pocket.
In this episode of WW2 Wayfinder, I take you on a journey through the Falaise Pocket (Falaise Gap as it was also known) and discover a wide range of Then and Now photos from August 1944.
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As a Canadian, I really enjoyed the video. The Canadian contribution is often understated. The coverage of Major Currie was excellent.
Thank you! I’ll be covering more of the Canadian actions in Normandy next year as their story is an incredible one!
Thank you for taking the time to watch!
In fairness all contributions besides the American are usually understated
As a Kiwi, I agree with your comments about the Canadian contribution. Canada was a huge part of the Allied effort in WW2, they have my utmost respect.
Czemu gen. Maczek zamknięty w kotłach na drodze ucieczki Niemców tak długo czekał na przybycie dywizji kanadyjskich?
@@wodasodka9031 I'm guessing that you are commenting on the polish contribution but without translate it's hard to know
My father’s cousin Charles Kelsey was wounded at the Falaise Gap. Thank you for showing us the area.
The Normandy countryside is very attractive, and the locals have done a lot to preserve their history and mark key events. I've also found them very friendly too. It's a great place to explore and experience the history of WWII.
It’s a wonderful place to be and hard to envisage the devastation that took place there now in 2023. And as you say it’s great to see how the locals still to this day care about what happened and remember those momentous events!
I wonder how they feel about the WW2 tourism. Grateful for the continuing acknowledgement of the collective experience?
Ditto, love not seeing McDonalds, 7-11's and strip malls everywhere.
My grandfather served with the Polish Armoured Division and was wounded at Falaise. He remembered German tanks hit by rockets and 'flying in the air like toys'. Incredible the land has changed so little. Great vid!
Oh wow! I’m grateful for your Grandfathers service and my next episode is all about the Polish Paratroopers during Operation Market Garden which I hope you’ll have time to watch. Those men will never be forgotten but the people of the Netherlands!
@@WW2Wayfinder I definitely will!
Thanks for the input quite a few armchair warriors trying to say airborne rockets hit very few tanks. If they read the book the Day of the Typhoon and answered honestly they would eat their words. Typhoons on their own stopped a massive armoured column of over 400 vehicles and wiped it out over a few days. Read the book by a Typhoon Pilot who flew D Day to the breakthrough into Germany includes the Falaise gap from the Air.
The discharge of the eight 60lb rockets on a Typhoon was equivalent to a broadside from all the 6 inch guns on a naval cruiser of the time.
It is brilliant that small roadside memorials and information boards can be found throughout the area. It makes an ordinary scene which one would pass by without a thought come alive with significance of what happened there. Thanks for seeking out these places for us.
It’s great isn’t it. It really brings the history into sharp contrast with the peace that is there today!
Comme disait le chanson.
This is an excellent video on the closing of the Falaise Gap. I have visited the battlefield and until you see terrain around the Dives River and Mount Ormel, you cannot truly understand the situation. Please keep in mind that the Canadians and Poles were very thinly spread and at the very end of their supply lines and the Germans were fighting fiercely to escape capture. As a Canadian, I am so very proud of our country's efforts in this battle. As a sidebar, my father was a Spitfire pilot with RCAF 411 squadron. He had been shot down July 2nd and was working with the French resistance around Livarot, not far from St. Lambert. He was liberated August 21st.
Multi-thumbs up from this Californian.
Oh wow! I am a huge fan of the RCAF and incredible to think your Father flew Spitfires over Normandy and ended up working with the resistance in that very area!
Thanks for watching and I plan to cover much more of the Canadian involvement in Normandy next year.
@@WW2Wayfinder You can catch my dad's story and the stories of 8 other RCAF pilots in a book called ''Spitfire Elizabeth and the Roaring Boys'' by Nick Oram. It recalls the flying careers of the 9 Pilots that flew Spitfire NH-341 in July of 1944. My dad's first day of operational flying with Sqn 411was June 7th/1944. Can you imagine flying over the invasion beaches on D-day plus one?
What an absolute legend 👏
I bet you are very proud of your old man's service.
From a Brit to a Canadian I can say that I and many I know will never forget 👍
@@lawrencejeffrey9245 I'm definitely looking for that book 👍
Thank you very much for your video. I'm really moved watching it. I am French and I will not forget the sacrifice of the allies.
You're very welcome
Dear Frenchman, thank your sentiments,it means very much
Us Brits will not forget the sacrifice of the French
The French people and your resistance never get enough credit in my book. They did so much vital stuff to make the combined efforts of the allies work and sacrificed do much.
Yes thank goodness for the French resistance.
My former Canadian reserve regiment, successor to the 27th Armoured (Sherbrooke Fusiliers), fought into the village of Falaise and was pulled back. From reading the war diary, the battle was three weeks of chaotic, continuous battles.
From all the accounts I’ve read it was a real inferno of a battle and hell on earth for the retreating German forces. Hard to envisage in this day and age but some the photos from August 1944 are harrowing!
Thanks for your excellent video, and for highlighting the Canadian Army who also fought heroically throughout the hard fought Sicilian and Italian campaign. What a contrast between the serene setting of now and the hell-on-earth that was back then; and Praise God for all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice during WWII, to prevent the world we now live freely in from being dominated by despotic madmen from either the heart of Europe or from the Far East. --Mike Pereira, Toronto, ON, Canada
Thank you for watching and it your right it’s quite incredible to see the place now vs. 79 years ago. You’d never know anything happened there now it’s so quiet and peaceful!
My father served at Falaise with a US armored cavalry unit, crewing an M8 armored car. He wasn’t one to tell war stories, but he did talk a bit about the hedgerow fighting.
Oh wow, I hope the video gave you an idea of what some of the terrain was like that your Father fought in.
Thank you for watching.
These videos are pure gold. Thank you so much for keeping these memories alive and all that has been done in the past for our freedom today .
Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed it!
Merci et nous savons que vous avez énormément souffert.
Enjoyed this video very much. Thank you for posting. My late uncle was in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada and was serving under Major Currie at the St Lambert-sur-Dives action. He had a copy of that famous photo framed along with his medals on his wall. Amazing how the village and its landmarks are so easily recognizable today.
Oh fantastic! I’m constantly impressed by what the Canadian Army achieved in Europe and will be devoting more time to their stories in future episodes. I’m thankful for your Uncles service and that of his mates.
Thank you for watching!
Another excellent video on an area mainly overlooked by other vloggers. I really enjoy the then and now pictures and locations. Keep up the great work.
Thank you! It’s an area that I’m fascinated with as there’s just so much to see there. I hope to cover more of it in specific detail at a later date but was a great day touring the area and document the now locations.
It's wonderful the way you walk through and show the area! It breaks my heart seeing how beautiful Normandy really is. Because in old photos everything is gray, destroyed, but the reality is much different!
Thank you for watching and yea it’s incredible to see the difference from 79 years ago to today!
Interesting.
As an elder student of WW 2 your efforts are much appreciated as an homage to the allied "Greatest Generation"
Thank you! It’s my passion to try and do my bit to keep their memory alive. Thank you for watching!
All this stuff, partic the b&w pics are lifted straight out of After The Battle book... 'Panzers in Normandy', THEN AND NOW, Eric Lefevre.
My father was a Sergeant in the Glasgow Highlanders. He landed in Normandy on his birthday, 17th June 1944, and fought through Bayeux, Caan and towards Falaise near to where he was wounded at the end of battle of Estrey on the 10th August. The Glasgow Highlanders, having fiercely fought to this point, pushing the Germans back towards Falaise, were withdrawn together with other units of the 15th Scottish Highland Division. He still had some shrapnel in one of his legs when he died in 1994.
Thank you for sharing that about your Father. It’s hard to imagine now what his generation had to endure in the fight for that part of France.
Thank you for watching.
From Canada: Up the Scots!
@@billfarley9167 And he had some Canadian Officers who were part of the British Army under the "Canloan" scheme.
Merci beaucoup pour votre gros travail de recherche, pour vos explications et pour les comparaisons entre les photos et le paysage d'aujourd'hui 👍
You’re most welcome sir! Thank you for taking the time watch, I really appreciate it!
What a sterling job you've done. It's more than appreciated as my uncle was killed at Verrieres Ridge when fighting in the Black Watch (RHC). His sacrifice and that of Canadians in WW1 and WW2 inspired my taking up the pipes.
Thank you! Sorry to hear your Uncle was lost at Verrieres Ridge.
As a big WWII person I have to say that you have done a great job showing us the history of WWII, I'm very lucky to have been in the area your are in the video and the in the locations of the Battle of Bulge and a lot of other locations. Great job once again from the USA. Best Rob
Thank you Rob for taking the time to watch, I really appreciate it! Visit those locations is always a great experience isn’t it. I’m glad you’ve been able to see them for yourself!
It can be very very cruel in the middle of autumn/winter or when an army who where hiding in well hidden areas in hedge rows. It was meant to be a hard fought battle with huge losses on both sides. ✌️👍✌️
So well done! Love the "Then and Now" approach. Walking the ground today where these battles took place and showing the photographs taken at that spot is fabulous. I envy you getting to do this and then am grateful for you creating these programs to share with us. The use of the drone footage against the photo of the field showing the wreckage and the building was a nice touch!. Looked like great weather to be out on the ground touring. I've participated in similar battlefield visits while in the U.S. Army walking the ground with an seasoned facilitator at Civil War battlefields of Gettysburg, Harper's Ferry, and Chickamauga in what they called the "Staff Ride" program. Keep up your excellent work!
Thank you!
Ironically with the drone, it was attacked numerous times by a crow while I was trying to get that shot!!!!
It really is something though to be able to walk the ground on any battlefield as the understanding of the events becomes so much clearer I think. I would love to see some of the Amerian Civila War sites one day too although my knowldge on that subject is extremely limited!
Thankyou sir, for being able to visit and achieve this -> The more up to date drone and roadside comparisons are indeed valuable additions to the previous battlefield research and guide After The Battle 'Panzers In Normandy' THEN AND NOW - Eric Lefevre /Jean Paul Pullard, care of Mr Winston. Brilliant to see how these sites are and look now.
Wow! A great film 👍🏻
You'll not remember my previous comment from a few weeks back, but I mentioned a photo which has been 'blown up' and adornes a wall of the Canadian Staff College at Fort Frontenac in Kingston, Ontario, which has a German officer surrendering to Canadians - but who never survived the war... Well, that's the photo you have just explained, of Hauptman Rauch surrendering to Maj Currie (and was subsequently shot for spitting at a Canadian Argyll)!
The Canadians I was with were extremely proud of their WW2 hostory, and intimate with the detail of the events you have just discussed.
Your video has made my day.
Please keep this up 👍🏻
Thank you for watching! I’ve wanted to cover the Falaise Pocket for a while now and the action by the Canadians and Major Currie VC at Saint Lambert is an incredible one!
It’s great that you were able to work alongside the Canadian Forces and see how they hold their history in high regard!
@@WW2Wayfinder A great bunch. Their 'Scots' out-Jock our own! 🤣
My father flew spitfires for the RCAF, so WW2 is especially close to me. Can't say enough to all those that fought regardless of their country. Those boys/men were a generation that won't likely be repeated. Incredible footage. thanks
Oh wow! Do you know what Squadron he flew with?
Thank you for watching!
Whilst recovering from prostate cancer,I spent hours following this on Google maps. A Truly excellent video. Hard to believe such destruction happened in such a beautiful place.
Thank you Christopher, the Falasie area remains one of my favourite spots to visit in Normandy as it's largely unspoilt by time. Glad you enjoyed it and I hope your recvoery is going well!
@@WW2Wayfinder Thank you
I appreciate your kind thoughts. I am now clear of prostrate cancer. Received my results,only 24 hours ago!!!. I hope to visit there,la Gleize and the eagles nest with my American lady next year ( health permitting). We did the southern state American civil war battlefields in 2022.Love your videos. I also send them to America. .
In your photo of Major Currie talking with another guy with a white shirt on just happened to be a commander from a tank from the Calgary Tank Regiment. I talked to his son just 4 months ago and Bruce told me that his father's tank was hit by an armor piercing shell and his upper uniform jacket and his shirt was caught on fire. Nearby was a tailor shop so he "borrowed" or took a white shirt out of the shop and put it on. Very good picture of the German surrender.
Oh wonderful thank you for that as it confirms my suspicions based upon his holster that he was a crewman from an armoured vehicle of some sorts.
There is a Sherman pictured in the same image toward the bottom right so I wonder if that was his tank?
Thanks for watching and that great piece of information!!!
Always loved and read "After The Battle" magazine when my late father brought a copy back after visiting Arnhem.
This is even better.
He also travelled to France and remarked how the French people in the rural areas like Normandy have never forgotten the sacrifices made by their Liberators...
Thank you. Those books are incredible and I grew up reading them cover to cover!
And you’re absolutely correct. Memorials and flags are still present far from the beaches and the ‘popular’ Normandy areas which is always wonderful to see!
Well said. More exactly 'After The Battle, "Panzers In Normandy - THEN AND NOW"' Eric Lefevre. Excellently researched battlefield guides And from where many of these b&w pics seem to have come from.
I love the use of your drones. It really shows the overhead situation in your videos thank you.
I’m a huge fan of using my drone to better understand the land and what changes have taken place since the war.
Very well made and interesting video... I would just like to add something that I am sure you will find interesting. I live in Normandy and once I was showing my French neighbour some photos of St Lambert . He told me he was a kid living in Argentan with his family at this time, as things were starting to hot up his Mother decided to go and live with her Sister in St Lambert . He showed me the house where they stayed and turns out that it is the large house in your video with the 2 wrecked Panthers in front of it. He said they stayed for a few days in the basement of that house and when they came out he said it was incredible the sight of the wrecked vehicles everywhere.
Thank you! I hope I did your fantastic region the justice it deserves!
I can’t imagine what it was like for the locals sadly caught up in the chaos of June-August 1944 and all the uncertainty it brought with it.
Thank you for sharing that story of your neighbour!
I am thankful for the work you put in to show us the then and now photos. It truely is a great way to inform and educate. You , Sir, have a lot of subject matter to go and we are ALL looking forward to that.
I really appreciate that and thank you for taking the time to watch!
Excellent! Thank you so much! I also particularly like your shorts of Then/Now photos! Your coverage on the 82nd was just great too. I am so glad they got covered!
Thank you!
I’m a big fan of the 82nd Airborne and have been lucky enough to meet some of the veterans over the years, and I still have my full episode on the battle of La Fiere to edit so that’ll be one not to miss!
Been down there many times.
Found out that the Panther that I had been restoring, was knocked out on the outskirts of Chambois.
Have the pictures of it.
I was told by the Curator of the museum at Mont Ormel that it took nearly twenty years to clear all the scrap vehicles/munitions and debris including the dead from the Falaise pocket.
It’s an incredible place isn’t it! Sounds like a great project to be part of restoring a Panther! Even more so when it’s history is known!
Many of not most of the vehicles ended up on 3 field spread scrapyards. Trun being the most notable, I think.
I found a single link of Panther track not far from here. Excellent condition with absolutely no wear on it at all. Also three tracks from Sherman still with stencil numbers on rubbers. Fascinating area.
What amazing videos !!! My father in law, brother in law and myself all made the trip over to France and spent a week visiting all major areas, beaches and cemeteries a few years ago and had quite simply the most humbling yet amazing time. Your videos are bringing back some fantastic memories. Keep up the fantastic work please. My son is obsessed with WW2 and his knowledge is outstanding, these videos really hit home not only to me but my 11year old boy. Forever grateful.
Thank you for taking the time to watch and I’m glad I can share these places and it’s bringing back great memories! I love still a few more videos to come from Normandy which will be out over the next few weeks so I hope you and your son are able to watch them! Thanks again.
This May I spent a week touring Overlord sites of interest on my motorbike. I missed enough to fill another week next year.
My mother was a private in the ATS and was one of the secretaries to the Commmander 21st Army Group. As such, she was one of the first women over to France after D Day. I remember her telling me that, following the surrender of the German army at Falaise, she and her colleagues were kept away from the area during the subsequent advance, as it was deemed too horrific for them to see the aftermath of the battle. Dad, who was in the Royal Engineers and who had been posted to work on PLUTO before the invasion, was always a little bit miffed at her getting to Normandy before him. They married in Brussels on the way to Germany in 1944, having obtained permission from their commanding officers. I took them on a visit to Normandy in the 80s and it was gratifying for them to be recognised and welcomed by the locals we met during our time there. A very interesting video. Thank you.
Oh that’s a wonderful story, thank you for sharing that, and quite something for your mother to make it to Normandy before your father! Thanks again for sharing that.
Great video! As a Canadian I really appreciate this recognition of David Currie, a typically modest Canadian hero, and his small band of warriors who stemmed the tide of Germans trying to escape the encirclement. For all the negative, revisionist coverage of the Battle of Normandy today, let's remember that this one action took an entire German army group off the table, and resulted in the eventual deaths of two of Hitler's best generals, Model and Rommel. Lets also not forget the heroic efforts of the Poles at Trun, which was essential to closing the gap, at great cost.
Absolutely! When I have the opportunity I’ll be focusing a lot more on the Canadians and Poles in Normandy as their fight is so often overlooked.
Thank you for watching!
@@WW2Wayfinder keep it up, you're doing a great job!
Outstanding work! Seeing this helped me imagine scenes I have read about, and you were respectful and even elowuent describing the men who fought there. Thank you.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. I’m hoping to revisit that area later this year and film on other parts of the Falaise area.
Thanks again for taking the time to watch.
You are lucky to be able to go to these sites. Maybe one day I'll get there. It is nice to have your videos showing the then & now photos & the beautiful countryside. Thank You!
I hope you’re able to visit the region as it’s such a nice place to be and hard to picture the devastation there 79 years ago!
Thanks for watching!
The After The Battle volume 'Panzers In Normandy - THEN AND NOW', Eric Lefevre will guide one round and through the Falaise Gap/Pocket,.
Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower recalled, “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 only be described by Dante. It was literally possible to walk for hundreds of yards at a time stepping on nothing but dead and decaying flesh.”
There’s a set of photos for Life or Time Magazine (I think) that showed him touring the battlefields there if you’ve not seen them they’re great.
I am a recent subscriber and I’m a keen history lover, and your videos are absolutely brilliant, your knowledgeable and clear description, mixed with how you film, is truly brilliant, keep it up 👍
Welcome to the channel! Thank you for taking the time to watch and hopefully I’ve managed to capture some areas of the war that are looked at less often!
Thanks again for subscribing, I really appreciate it!
@@WW2Wayfinder oh you really have, your doing their memory alive and there actions justice,
I have recommended your channel to freinds aswell
Thanks for all your efforts to reconnect us to the sites of these battles, to see the actual landscapes, and more fully understand what happened during those historic days of August, 1944, on the Western front.
You’re most welcome. It’s an incredible place to visit knowing what took place there all those years ago.
Absolutely wonderful presentation.
As a Canadian, I’m delighted to see mention made of our army’s contribution and specifically the story of how, when and why Maj. Currie was awarded the Victoria Cross.
I’ve read much about this event, some of which came from Canadian Maj. General Richard Rohmer’s book Patton’s Gap.
During these days, Rohmer was flying a photo reconnaissance Spitfire over this specific area. And perhaps some of the aerial photos used may be from his camera.
Of note, the RAF photo interpreter assigned to Rohmer’s aircraft camera was a youthful Dirk Bogart.
In later years, Major Currie served as sergeant-at-arms in Canada’s parliament.
Interesting about Dirk Bogart! Didn’t realise he was in photographic Interpretation!
I’ll be doing a lot more on the Canadian forces at some point next year!
There is the possibility that we will be able to follow in your steps, but if not, I can't thank you enough for doing the work to present this area of Normandy.
I hope you're able to! Normandy, and the Falaise area esepcially is a wonderful place to spend a few hours or days touring around.
These are great videos. The annihilation of the German Army in this area was beyond description. Watching this I was reminded of the horrific photos of the destruction of the Iraqi forces fleeing Kuwait during Desert Storm.
There’s some big parallels to GW1 and the Falaise Pocket!
@@WW2Wayfinder GW1? A video game? There’s a comparison between thousands of burned and mutilated corpses and a video game?
Gulf War 1 aka Desert Storm
@@WW2Wayfinder I googled GW1 and found it was a video game. I have never heard of Desert Storm referred to as Gulf War 1. This falls into the “What I learned today” category. My apologies.
@@WW2Wayfinder😂
Great video. As a student of WW2, I really appreciate you bringing us down memory lane with the before-and-now imagery.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it and I hope to return to the Falaise Pocket area later this year to film more there as it’s fascinating.
@@WW2Wayfinder btw, I agree with you on the scenery there. It does look beautiful. Amazing the violence that took place there.
Thank you for taking the time to remember thoes whom lived and died for all of us
Thank you for watching!
I get chills when I see your then and now pics. To see where something happened is mind boggling. Thanks for your efforts. It's amazing.
First time seeing one of your videos. Very well done - thank you!
Thank you for watching and glad you enjoyed it!
Many thanks for all your work in making this video.
You’re most welcome. Thank you for watching!
Thank you so much for your excellent work. I am Canadian and so proud of our efforts in the Normandy campaign. Also my wife is Canadian and her parents Polish. Her Polish uncle fought in Italy. It was nice of you to recognize the role the Poles played along side the Canadians. They were incredibly tough and determined soldiers. Their role in Normandy is often overlooked.
Thank you for watching and I have plans to cover a lot more Canadian and Polish aspects of the Normandy battle in future videos as both Nations receive so little press despite their huge contributions to the battle there.
Thanks again. My dad was in the RCAF and his brother in the RCN. My mom served in the Women's Air Corp. Like I said, my wife's uncle served in the Polish army in the Italian campaign. His sister was an ambulance driver in Italy as well. From what I understand she suffered a form of PTSD from her war time experience. They have all passed away. Bless them all and bless you for keeping their stories and their sacrifice alive.
So true, the Poles were incredibly tough soldiers with a lot to avenge!
My grandfather fought alongside Polish troops in Italy and at one point his life was saved by one of them. In later years when my grandfather was landlord of a pub on the English south coast, any Pole who came in got their food and drink free of charge.
@@Crusty_Camper From Canada: After many tries by various Allied armies, it was the Poles who finally won the Battle of Cassino in Italy.
I spent 3 weeks in St.lambert and Chambois area in a friend's recording studio in the late 80s. Such a peaceful place to be. I was there in mid August. Wish I could've lived there. Thank you for your segment.you did an awesome job❤
Oh nice! Must have been incredible to spend that long in that area. I would happily move there too if I could!
Hi mate thanks for sharing another fantastic video presentation.
It is really fascinating especially when you have read so much about the Normandy campaign and only actually seen WW2 photos.
It is incredible that after all the carnage inflicted in the area that the houses are still intact and it is such a beautiful piece of rural tranquility. ❤😊
Thank you! It’s an incredible area to visit and not really bothered with by most as they stop at the beaches. But there’s so much to see there and I’ve only just scratched the surface! Thanks for watching!
Finr work bud. No fancy music... just before and after pictures and you let the information speak for itself. commendable. :)
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent work. Really looking forward to visit the gap someday.
Thanks JD! If you ever need a tour guide and Paul isn’t available give me a shout as I’d love to show you around there. It’s quite incredible and very different from the beaches/peninsula area.
Superb filming. Bringing history back to life. My Grandad was in the first landings on Sword beach. Remember his war stories when I was a little boy, even amongst the horrors,. he remarked how lovely Normandy was/is. Thanks.
May I ask what unit he landed with on Sword Beach? I’ve had the pleasure of walking that beach many times in the past (before I started the channel) and always feel very humbled being there
@@WW2Wayfinder He was a sergeant in the pioneer corps, but attached to the commandos. Fought in North Africa in the early years and on his return sent up to Scotland for commando training. I am lucky to own his original maps from D-day. Thank you for your interest.
These then and now videos are so interesting. The Tiger tank at the end was a bonus!
Thank you! The tiger is really impressive and I always try and see it whenever I'm in that area as it' just too rare to pass up!
The Vitmoutiers Tiger had been tipped off the road by advancing yanks, for full story of its relication/recovery see After The Battle volume - 'Panzers In Normandy' THEN AND NOW, Eric Lefevre. ( From, it seems, where most of this chaps b&w pics seem to have come from).
Great review love to see the then & nows from the war.
Thank you!
@@WW2Wayfinder No Probs I've been to many WWII sites in Germany but mostly the Allies, My namesake Uncle is named in the books at Arnehm, not sure why as he was killed serving with the K.O.S.Bs the day after the war was declared over at Magdeburg. There is a Loooooong story about that.
Well done! this was the decisive end game battle for Normandy. Bless you for remembering those who fought this colossal battle. Brits, Canadian, Poles, Americans and the whole of the German Armies. May all ther souls rest in peace
Thank you! Falsies is such an interesting part of the war and really did encapsulate the Allied effort!
Thank you for taking the time to watch!
Good Post Martin
I don't want any NAZI to rest in peace
@@larryzigler6812 they werent all nazis. Thats a classic ignorant comment. With attitude like that, your as bad as they were......
Excellent. I love walking historic battlefields, especially with photos in hand to compare then and now. That really brings it home. Respect!
Cheers, mate
- From California
Glad you enjoyed it! The area around Falasie is my favourite spot in Normandy as its largely untouched by time so it's great for filming Then and Now stuff and just soaking up the atmosphere and the history knowing what took place there!
I love watching these WW2 Then and Now videos. It's just amazing seeing the places where WW2 took place then and how the same areas look now. This is an awesome video, great job! Hope to see more. Thank You.
Thank you for watching! I’ve got a few more Then and Now videos on my channel if you have time to take a look!
Soyons fières de nos soldats, de nos alliés. Les temps présents le demandent.
Brilliant video have studied the history of and visited the Falaise Gap and really really enjoyed your video, brought the story very much to life, better than any printed reference book I have read on the subject. Well done. Found an old horseshoe buried at the side of the road near St Lambarde. An obvious relic of the German retreat.
Thank you! It's a wonderful area to explore and I can't wait to go back there again later this year to film another episode. Great that you've been able to explore the area for yourself as well!
❤My father's cousin from the 4th Battalion the Welsh Regiment lost his life in this engagement . RIP Leonard ❤
My father was a sergeant and English officers called him dirty Welsh men i asked why he did not tell them he was Irish he said it would have made it worse they hated Irish even more
Excellent work - loved the drone template matchup and the truck in the ditch photo location too. Thank you for keeping these memories alive
Thank you!
For the drone shot the bit you didn’t see was the angry crow that attacked it a couple of times while trying to take the shot!!!! Fortunately that doesn’t happen often but I did think I was going to be picking up a crashed drone at one point!
That was fantastic. I can't tell you how much I appreciate these videos and your efforts. Keep up the great work.
You’re most welcome! Glad you enjoyed it. There’s plenty more Then and Now episodes on my channel along with a wide range of other wartime content if you have time to take a look 😃
Nice job. I've been to Normandy once, but didn't know really what I was looking at. Thanks I can't wait to get back there again with this new knowledge.
Thank you for watching and I hope it helped increase your knowledge of the wider Normandy battlefield! Thanks again for watching 😃
Such a great work, man I thank you for the video and the effort
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent, thank you! And you speak well - so easy to listen to. Fellow WW2 historian here so the Currie history was particularly appreciated.
Glad you enjoyed it! I love the Falaise area and it’s one of my favourite aspects of the Normandy fight so plan to go back and do it in more detail when I can. Major Currie VC is an inspiration and a very humble man by all’s accounts. Someone who I need to spend more time reading up on!
My uncle was killed at the Falaise Gap he was in the lake superior regiment that was almost completely wiped out part of the Canadian army that took Falaise
I’m sorry to hear that. The fight for that region was so brutal.
Thanks for what you do, from someone who will never be able to visit theses special places, means a lot 👏
You’re most welcome and thank you for watching!
Great stuff, I've spent many an hour around the Polish memorial and Falaise area, hard to imagine the death and destruction.
It’s an incredible place to visit isn’t it. Hard to picture what took place 79 years ago now it’s so peaceful and lush farmland!
Thank you for watching!
Brilliant work, Jon. The film footage of the Firefly and the infantry is incredible. Thank you.
Great presentation. Really enjoyed it. Very well done! Excellent that you covered Moissy Ford.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it and ironically now I find Moissy so peaceful. But the thought of what took place there is always at the forefront of my mind.
That and a crow attacked my drone there!
Thank you for the excellent presentation,ive been to Normandy a few times motorcycling,there's soo much to see and time was always limited,so your videos will be a great reference when i can visit again.thanks from Ireland,.
You’re most welcome! Falasie is a great area and the Tiger 1 at Vimoutiers is a must if you can get to it given how rare they are! Hope you have a great trip the next time you’re over there!
I suggest you investigate the skirmis at Airel bridge where a team of American scouts were sent ahead to confirm where access over the bridge but there encountered the retreating German Army that had pulled back and was staging for a counter attack. The American soldiers radioed in their position for artillery to fire upon. Several shells were reported back to have landed short, but the decision was made to not waste time to recalculate and allow the Germans to cross the bride and the American Army sent off another round of artillery. Unfortunately several of the men including my fathers best friend were killed by the friendly fire, but the German Army was stopped there, only to regroup at Falsise. Its my hope to go to that bridge someday, in the meantime maybe you can do a segmt about it. Thx for your wonderful RUclips channel.
Thank you for the suggestion! I wasn’t aware of that action so I’ll add it to my list and start to read up on it!
The next time I’m there I’ll look to cover it.
Thanks again for the suggestion and bringing it to my attention, I really appreciate it!
From Canada: During WWll, the American airforce and the American artillery had a reputation for "friendly fire."
I Believe it is referred to as Hill 91
Windy Hill Fraucas (Hauts -Vents)
One shellburst killed Sergeant Elwood Potts of Bordentown, New Jersey, along with Harold S. Becklund and James G. Chelemengos, while Captain James L. Keoun of Mt. Vernon, Illinois, was stunned.
Potts' name is not listed among casualties and killed in action on the placard displayed at association meetings, but his death is attested to by Frank A. Kouki of Bloomington, Illinois, master sergeant in the G-2 Section; Charles W. Jacobs, retired Exxon engineer, then an M.P. and Earl W. Stamm of Ephreta, Pennsylvania, of headquarters company.
I'm a first-time viewer. The depth of information is fascinating and rewarding. I will, in time, start at episode 1 as I am now subscribed
Thank you and welcome to the channel! I hope you enjoy the rest of my content (and notice the improvement from my first videos!)
Thanks again as I really do appreciate it!
My father was part of the 1st Polish Armoured Division, 24th Uhlans. He did not speak a lot about the battle but stated it was brutal.
I am grateful for your Father’s service and that of his friends. I can’t imagine what he witnessed fighting for the liberation of Europe. Thank you for watching!
@@WW2Wayfinder Thanks so much. Dad passed away at the age of 98 in 2012. I found out after his passing that he had 4 gallantry medals which he never spoke of. What a dad!
@@tadeusz1fatalnie, że wspomnienia z tak kluczowego miejsca zabrał do grobu. Ale chwała jego waleczności.
@@wodasodka9031 Serdeczne pozdrowienia. T.
@@wodasodka9031 Translation - It's unfortunate that he took the memories from such a key place to his grave. But kudos to his bravery.
Remarkable how many buildings are still there and rebuilt in original style.
Excellent! It’s so interesting to see the exact spots. Really enjoy them. Thanks
Thank you for watching! Travelling through that area is always a great experience and always seems to reveal something new! Thanks again!
Very good comparison overlays!..those are my favorite. Keep up the good work!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Very nice job. good narration not always easy to do on the spot. I’ m French, was 15 at that time, made a short video also on Normandie beaches 66 yrs later !
Sir you do an amazing job in your videos. It is so obvious that you have a passion for drilling as deep as possible to ensure your content is always “accurate”. It is a pleasure and so educational learning about our military history of WW2 through your efforts.
Thank you! It’s my passion to try and tell these stories to the best of my ability and I think they were such momentous times, that as we move further away from them we need to keep their memory alive and I just hope my work does that to some extent! Thank you for watching!
A group of guys called the Research Squad were able to even identify the Commander of the Panther as well. From the wartime pictures, the turret had an emblem of an ink pot with quill in it. This was painted by the crew , as he would always be writing regular letters home to his wife whenever he could.
The tank was identified as it was an early A model manufactured by Demag (they only made 50 gun tanks and then went over to Bergpanther production) and also the wartime pictures of its battle damage compared to the damage it had when restoration started some years ago.
Oh wow! That’s amazing they were able to narrow it down and identify the Commander!
Beautiful work, Sir. Much appreciated!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it
My uncle was kill at Falaise after taking out two machine-gun positions. He and his long time schoolmate lost their lives. They were with the British army. Both aged 19.
I’m sorry to hear that. Thank you for sharing that. May I ask what unit he was with?
Best WW2 'Now & Then' channel on RUclips!!...by far!. Awesome work as always, Thank you sir. :)
Thank you!!!
Yes I love your videos buddy you do an excellent job explaining an getting in the field showing us an excellent way to describe something you do a magnificent job mate.. thanks for not letting history be lost
Thank you so much for those kind words. I’m just grateful I can share my passion for this period in history with so many people that appreciate it!
Falaise and the surrounding area is incredible to visit.
Great job !!! Thanks for your hard work !!!! I love your "then and now" !!!!
You’re most welcome! I’ll have a few more from my up coming trip to the Ardennes next week so keep an eye out for those!
@@WW2Wayfinder I also just watched your video abaut polish paratroopers during "Market Garden". GREAT JOB too !!! Thanks and take care !!!!
Thank you!
excellent channel just found it last week
Welcome aboard! And thank you for watching as I really do appreciate it!
Thank you for posting your excellent videos!!
You’re most welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!
I knew about Falaise. Another excellent video, then and now.Fascinating.👏😊
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it! I really need to document the battle that took place there as I find it fascinating how the Allies were able to turn around the German counter attack so effectively.
@@WW2Wayfinder Look forward to it!😊
Excellent review of Major Currie and closing the Malaise Gap at St. Lambert.
As a Canadian, I am very appreciative of the then and now recollection of events.
Note in the black and while photo of the Sherman Firefly sticking out between two buildings, that there is the barrel of a Panzer Mk IV sticking out that the Firefly had just destroyed. You will have to check other videos on closing the Falaise Gap, but in one, they recounted the end of two Panzer Mark IVs that tried to desparately breach the Canadian lines in St. Lambert.
Thank you! I hope to cover more Canadian actions when I return to Normandy in June as the men of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and their stroeis from D-Day onwards are incredible!
Brilliant work!🍻
Thank you!
Great video, thanks for taking us along.
You’re most welcome and thank you for watching!
From Canada. Thank you
You’re most welcome! It was my privilege to be able to document their fight there
Fantastic video and commentary , thank you so much for the work you put into this and for sharing. Love the "Then and Now" aspect and the educational value. Great work, Thank You!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Put simplictically, the Americans got the harder landing beaches, but the British, Canadians and Poles got more of the German armour. Swings and roundabouts as they say. An uncle was at Falaise, he recalled the smell of death, human and animal.
Utah was actually the beach with the lowest causalities on D-Day with 197 men killed and wounded. But you’re right that the British, Canadians and Polish held off the vast majority of Army Group B’s armour for several weeks!
The massive aeriel bombardment and NAVAL guns had as much to say. That is why it took 43 days,Montgomery at that time should have just circled and out camped them. Would have been a lot less life lost for the allies. As the Wehrmacht wouldn't have had the forces to relieve them with comlplete allied air supremecy
@@bigwoody4704 Hindsight is a marvellous thing. I remember a British general saying that a battle plan always unravels. It must have been difficult knowing exactly where the Germans were and what their intentions were. Apparently Allied artillery did more damage to the Germans in the Falaise Gap than did the USAF and the RAF, though that's not to minimise what they did. But it is true to say that large numbers of SS and other German infantry did manage to escape on foot and continue fighting. Mark Felton has covered an episode when the Allies guessed that a château further north-east in Normandy was being used by a group of high-ranking German tank commanders who were planning a massive counter-attack. Luckily for the Allied side, the RAF were able to fly over it and eliminate them. But at the time it was only an informed guess. Another example is that the Germans still had a communications centre in operation inside a strongly fortified blockhouse near the Normandy coast, right in the middle of Allied territory that wasn't attacked and taken until quite a long time after D Day.
@@franc9111 Artillary was helpful but the aeriel bombardment was devastating .Many GIs found dead Landsers they thought were asleep or resting - theshock waves alone killed them not fragments or direct hits
I've read that 1 in 19 on Omaha Beach lost their lives, while 1 in 18 Canadians died on Juno Beach. Juno was also the most heavily defended. All the beach landings were tough, and no doubt Omaha was a nightmare for US forces but to say Omaha and Utah were the tougher landing beaches of them all can be debated and proven to not necessarily have been the case.
Awesome man thank you. My perception of what the Falais pocket and what it looks like now and then wasn’t quite right. Fantastic and all the best !
You’re most welcome! Glad you enjoyed it. The area now is stunning and it’s hard to believe it saw such devastation all those years ago!
A school friend's dad was one of the very first allied soldiers to go into the Falaise pocket after the shooting stopped. As a despatch rider with the Coldstream Guards he had a motorbike so was sent to take a look and report back.
What he saw and the scenes which he described to my friend and I were apocalyptic, and dispelled my previous notions that war was like it is in the movies. He told us of the hundreds and hundreds of wrecked and burned out vehicles, and the innumerable dead horses that the German army had used as draught animals due to their fuel shortage. Some had been driven until they dropped dead from exhaustion and were still steaming with sweat when he arrived. Others had been hit by 20mm cannon shells from strafing aircraft and were not a pretty sight.
It's worth mentioning that the allied camera units couldn't get their vehicles and equipment to the scenes of the worst destruction because the roads were utterly impassable due to the wreckage.
That whole area was a cauldron in August 1944 and I cannot imagine the detestation wrought upon the villages and towns. The death of so many horses is a hard one to deal with given they were innocent animals.
@@WW2Wayfinder Indeed, one doesn't really think about animals becoming casualties of war. I would have been about 14 when my friend's dad described what he'd seen and found it quite sickening to think of so many horses being killed.
One vivid memory is that of him telling us how he had watched the allied aircraft on their strafing, bombing, & rocketing runs from the high ground to the north of the pocket, and how he saw horses being blown high in the air by the explosions. It brought home to me how incredibly violent war is.
@@WW2Wayfinder The Russians or Germans use dogs strapped with explosives and trained to run under tanks.
I hate to say it but that is a fact or life at war, all we can do is REMEMBER THEM, that they put there lives on the line for us, R'I'P
@@WW2Wayfinder My grandmother lived in the area at the time.
All she told about that is that she hated the smell of dead horses.
In the following weeks and months, the locals had a hard time with those because they were bloated and if you tried to move the carcasses they would rip open, so many of these just stayed in place until they desiccated and were easier to move...
Thank you so much for posting this and doing all this work. I just added some of these locations to my upcoming trip.
You’re most welcome! Hope you have a great trip to Normandy!
Now this narrorater is very good, I could listen to him all day
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed my coverage of the Falsise Pockwt and hopefully showed a different side to the Normandy battle!
With this one, I'm subscribing. Was watching some of your content yesterday regarding the inaccuracies of Band of Brothers (one of my favorite series ever). This is all very informative and a good watch.
Thank you! Welcome to the channel! Glad you enjoyed the Falaise epsidoe and Foy - quite controversial for some though to the learn the truth of what took place there!
Awesome video. Thank you. It helps very much when you see the perspective. Thank you for Honoring All The Fallen. They all had people that loved them.
Thank you for watching and it’s always very humbling to visit these places knowing what happened there. Hopefully it helps to keep the memory of those men alive for another generation.
Well presented, easy to listen to, and informative. Thoroughly enjoyed this description 🙂
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.