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Operation Totalize edit
Phase 1 edit
Britain Canada
Bomber Squads missed some of their targets including both May-sur-Ome and Fontenay-la-Marmion, and the British and Canadian tanks faced faced trouble with anti-tank mines and craters. It turns out that many of the Divisions faced heavy casualties in trying to attack through German defenses, and some of the objectives were not completed on time. Only the Royal Regiment of Canada reached their objectives on schedule, and Phase 1 wasn't actually completed until the morning of the 8th ^ab Wilmot, p.412.
Phase 2 edit
2nd Phase
The purpose of Phase 2 of the operation was for the 4th Canadian Division and the 1st Polish Division to continue southward along the Caen-Falaise road, overcoming German defenses. The 195, the major hill before the city of Falaise; the Polish were to clear out the Quesnay wood area ^ab Wilmot, p.412. Phase 2 commenced with the bombing of the United States Eighth Air Force on German targets, while the allied infantry divisions marched on. Unfortunately the American bombers had failed to hit a number of targets, and members of the 1st Polish and 3rd Canadian Divisions were caught by the attack [^abRoy, p. 166]. Another failure included how the Grenadier Guards, also known as the "Halpenny Force", and the Lake Superior Regiment, an anti-tank battery, were unable to capture Bretteville-le-Rabet, due to Germany counterattacks ^Roy, p. 167. This led to a disturbance in the higher commanding officers, and the spearhead role was reassigned to the British Columbia Regiment and the Algonquin force (part of the 28th Canadian Division; the Worthington force), who were to capture Point 195. Unfortunately, due to fog and lack of visibility, the "Worthington force" continued east instead of the south and ended up at Point 140, near the 1st Polish Division ^Wilmot, p. 413. The "Worthington force" was destroyed by German counterattacks, with the use of Panther and Tiger tanks. Its was calculated that forty-seven tanks and 240 men were lost during the encounter ^D'Este, p.424. Eventually the Argyll's, a battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland were able to capture point 195, facing counterattacks by the Germans, but they suffered zero casualties. The Polish also faced heavy German counterattacks y Quesnay Woods, but were able to hold their positions.
German Counter-moves edit
Allied forces were able to launch a surprise attack on German defensive lines,which forced Kurt Meyer a 12th Division SS General, to form an offensive plan. With limited forces, his plan was to block route 158, which was the main highway to Bretteville-Rabet, and on to Falaise, as well as heading south-west through Quesna, then south to Campagne ^D'Este, p. 422. Some historians consider Operation Totalize to be an Allied failure, but others such as Terry Copp believed Operation Totalize to be "one of the most innovative breakthrough operations of the war" Simonds was correct in arming the Allied forces with mechanized weapons, which proved to be a difficult task for the Germans to overcome. Despite Simonds success, Brian A. Reid believes that Simonds plan was not a "realistic operation of war", because he left no room for error ^Bercuson, p. 232. The lessons learned from operation included the improvement of communication between the air force and the ground. Brian A. Reid believes that the air attack should have happened well before the Canadian and Polish Divisions advanced during Phase 2 of the Operation, this way there would have been no room for delay, which led the Germans to reassemble their defenses [INSERT REFERENCE]. Copp mentions in his guidebook that "Totalize" revealed how vulnerable Allied tanks were on the open ground, which would be improved for the future offensive attacks such as Operation Tractable.
Sources edit
- Bechthold, Terry Copp & Mike. The Canadian Battlefields in Normandy A Visitor's Guide. 3rd. Kitchener, Ontario: Canadian Battlefield Foundation, 2008.
- Copp, Terry. A Canadians's Guide to Battlefields of Normandy. Waterloo: Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies, 1994.
- Copp, Terry. "Reassessing Operation Totalize: Army, Part 27" Legion Magazine 1991. Accessed September 27, 2011, for http://www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/1999/02/107
- English, John A. The Canadian Army and the Normand Campaign, New York: Praeger Publishers, 1991.
- Operation Totalize. 2011, http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Totalize (accessed September 27, 2011).
- Rid, Brain A. NoHolding Back Operation Totalize, Normandy, August1944. Robin Brass Studio Inc, 2005
- Roy, Reginald H. 1944 The Canadians in Normandy. Canada: Macmillian of Canada, 1984.