Footsteps of WWII · Normandy
Montormel Memorial, Falaise Pocket
Memorial · 19–21 Aug 1944
The story
By mid-August 1944 two German armies were almost surrounded in the Falaise Pocket. On the afternoon of 19 August tanks and infantry of the 1st Polish Armoured Division under General Stanisław Maczek took position on Hill 262, which they called 'Maczuga' (the mace), astride the last escape routes in the Dives valley. Cut off and short of supplies, about 2,000 Poles held off German units trying to break out from inside the pocket and break in from outside until Canadian troops reached them on 21 August, when the gap was closed. The memorial, built into the hillside in 1994, overlooks the valley.
What to look for
A Polish monument of 1965 and a Sherman tank stand on the hilltop. The museum, built into the slope, has a large window over the Dives valley, where the guide traces the escape routes; the visit includes an animated map and film.
Plan your visit
May–Sep daily 09:30–18:00; April daily 10:00–17:00; October–March Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 10:00–17:00. Adult from about €6. Check the website before you go.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Memorial of Civilians in Wartime, Falaise · 26 km
- Merville Battery · 54 km
- Pegasus Bridge and Memorial Pegasus · 54 km
- Hill 112, Esquay-Notre-Dame · 54 km
- Caen Memorial (Mémorial de Caen) · 55 km
- Sword Beach and the Grand Bunker, Ouistreham · 58 km
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Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
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