Falaise pocket
The success of Operation Cobra provided the Allies with an opportunity to cut off and destroy most German forces west of the River Seine. American, British and Canadian armies converged on the area around Falaise, trapping the German 7th Army and elements of the 5th Panzer Army in what became known as the Falaise pocket. On 20 August "Generalfeldmarschall" Walter Model ordered a withdrawal but by this time the Allies were already blocking his path. During the night of 19 August, two battle groups of the Polish 1st Armoured Division (Major-General Stanisław Maczek) had established themselves in the mouth of the Falaise pocket on and around the northernmost of the two peaks of Mont Ormel ridge.