America in WWII - (Page 35) TRAPwith a GAPby Brian John Murphy general in the European theater. Haislip could sidestep the Germans in the city of Argentan and quickly close off the roads leading out of the Falaise pocket—the trap in which German Army Group B was quickly finding itself enclosed. The roads were already filling with German staff and support troops, the first to escape through the Falaise gap—the space between Haislip and the Canadians. Without consulting Montgomery (who was still the ground commander of all Allied forces in northern France), Bradley determined that meeting the Canadians at an unplanned location could lead to friendly fire incidents. He also worried about running into time-delay aerial bombs dropped on the gap by the British. Finally, he did not want to violate the boundary between the 12th and 21st Army groups. This decision would haunt Bradley for the rest of his life. He would always wonder if he had done the right thing by ordering the XV Corps to stop at Argentan. movement was necessarily made by night. But as the days passed and the encirclement got tighter, the Germans collectively realized they would have to move night and day to escape. The roads filled with foot and vehicle traffic, and the Jabos pounced, claiming a savage toll of men and materiel. Kluge became a personal eyewitness to the ferocity of the Allied Jabos on August 15. He was en route from Dietrich’s 5th Panzer Army headquarters to inspect elements of the Seventh Army and Panzer Group Eberbach when the road was attacked by flights of Allied Jabos. Kluge was obliged to spend most of the day in a ditch while the Allied fighter-bombers worked over his men and equipment on the road. It seemed that Kluge had disappeared off the face of the earth, and for most of the day, confusion reigned in the upper ranks of Army Group B. Word of Kluge’s disappearance reached Hitler, About this time, Bradley received a decrypted German message stating that the Germans planned to attack the elongated and exposed left flank of Haislip’s XV Corps. Bradley ordered the US First Army’s VII Corps to link up with Haislip’s left flank, protecting it from the anticipated attack. All around the pocket the British and Canadian armies and the US First Army put pressure on the Germans. This may not have been a good idea. The Allies were squeezing the pocket like a toothpaste tube with the Germans being pushed out of the opening at the Falaise gap. With Patton’s forces halted at Argentan, it was up to the Canadians to break through the German line and close the gap. Until that happened the Germans would continue to leak out of the pocket. By August 14, the traffic eastward out of the pocket was heavy. With Allied Jabos—US Thunderbolts and British Typhoons— making daytime movement extremely hazardous, much of the who came to the immediate conclusion that the field marshal was going out on his own to negotiate the surrender of his army group to the Allies. General Günther Blumentritt, Kluge’s chief of staff at western front headquarters, took this opportunity to underline for Hitler the severity of Army Group B’s predicament in Normandy. Safe from Hitler’s basilisk stare, for this was a phone conference, Blumentritt told his leader that the only offensive action Army Group B could undertake was an attack to break out of the developing Allied encirclement. The German armored units were depleted, and all the forces in Normandy were running low on basic supplies, especially food and ammunition. Escape to the east was the only option. Hitler gave permission for the withdrawal. Later that night, at 10 P.M., Kluge finally turned up back at Dietrich’s headquarters. The overall situation had already deteriorated rapidly. The Falaise pocket was 40 miles from west to east and 10 to 15 miles in width. Some 100,000 German soldiers were Opposite: A Polish tank rumbles south toward Chambois to help seal the Falaise pocket. Once the Germans were in the pocket, a gap remained at the east, between Trun and Chambois. Patton wanted to advance into British-held territory to close the gap, but Bradley overruled him. In less than a week, some 50,000 Germans escaped. Above left: Thousands of Germans, like this soldier killed by machine gun fire, died trying to get away. Above right: By August 19, Allied forces, like this US tank-destroyer crew, began reinforcing the Falaise gap. OCTOBER 2007 AMERICA IN WWII 35
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