Hill 262 Hill 262 , or the Mont Ormel ridge ( elevation ) , is an area of high ground above the village of Coudehard in Normandy that was the location of a bloody engagement in the final stages of the Normandy Campaign during the Second World War . By late summer 1944 , the bulk of two German armies had become surrounded by the Allies near the town of Falaise . The Mont Ormel ridge , with its commanding view of the area , sat astride the Germans ' only escape route . Polish forces seized the ridge ' s northern height on 19 August and , despite being isolated and coming under sustained attack , held it until noon on 21 August , contributing greatly to the decisive Allied victory that followed . The American 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 Seventh Army and elements of the Fifth 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 battlegroups of Stanisław Maczek ' s Polish 1st Armoured Division had established themselves in the mouth of the Falaise pocket on and around the northernmost of the Mont Ormel ridge ' s two peaks . On 20 August , with his forces encircled , Model organised attacks on the Polish position from both within and outside the pocket . The Germans managed to isolate the ridge and force open a narrow escape corridor . Lacking the fighting power to close the corridor , the Poles nevertheless directed constant and accurate artillery fire on German units retreating from the pocket , causing heavy casualties . Exasperated , the Germans launched fierce attacks throughout 20 August which inflicted losses on Hill 262 ' s entrenched defenders . Exhausted and dangerously low on ammunition , the Poles managed to retain their foothold on the ridge . The following day , less intense attacks continued until midday , when the last German effort to overrun the position was defeated at close quarters . The Poles were relieved by the Canadian Grenadier Guards shortly after noon ; their dogged stand had ensured the closure of the Falaise pocket and the collapse of the German position in Normandy . Background . On 25 July 1944 , Lieutenant General Omar Bradley launched Operation Cobra against the German defences penning his First United States Army into its Normandy beachhead . Although intended only to cut a corridor through to Brittany thereby freeing his forces of the constraints of operating in the bocage , the offensive precipitated a general collapse of the German position opposite the American sector when " Generalfeldmarschall " Günther von Kluge ' s Army Group B was slow to withdraw and expended many of its remaining combat - effective formations in futile counterattacks . With the German left flank in ruins the Americans began a headlong advance into Brittany , but a large concentration of German forces — including most of their armoured strength — remained opposite the British and Canadian sector . Sensing the opportunity to encircle these forces and inflict a decisive defeat and with Bradley ' s urging , the Allied ground forces commander General Bernard Montgomery sanctioned General George Patton ' s United States Third Army to swing north towards the town of Falaise . Its capture would cut off virtually all the remaining German forces in Normandy . While the Americans pressed in from the south and the British Second Army from the west , the task of completing the encirclement fell to the newly inaugurated First Canadian Army under General Harry Crerar . To accomplish this , Crerar and Lieutenant - General Guy Simonds , of II Canadian Corps , planned an Anglo - Canadian offensive code - named Operation Totalize . Intended to seize an area of high ground north of Falaise , by 9 August the offensive was in trouble despite initial gains on Verrières Ridge and near Cintheaux . Strong German defences and indecision and hesitation in the Canadian chain of command hampered Allied efforts , and the 4th Canadian and 1st Polish Armoured Divisions suffered heavy casualties . Anglo - Canadian forces reached Hill 195 north of Falaise on 10 August but were unable to make further progress , so Totalize was called off . The Canadians reorganised and on 14 August they launched Operation Tractable ; three days later Falaise fell . The Allied noose was relentlessly closing around von Kluge ' s force , and it fell to the 1st Polish Armoured Division to draw it tight . In a meeting with his divisional commanders on 19 August , Simonds emphasised the importance of quickly closing the Falaise Pocket to General Stanisław Maczek . Assigned responsibility for the Moissy – Chambois – Coudehard area , Maczek ' s 1st Polish Armoured Division had split into three battlegroup s — each of an armoured regiment and an infantry battalion — and were sweeping the countryside north of Chambois . However , facing stiff German resistance and with Koszutski ' s battlegroup having " gone astray " and needing to be rescued , the division had not yet taken Chambois , Coudehard , or the Mont Ormel ridge . Galvanised by Simonds , Maczek was determined to get his men onto their objectives as soon as possible . The 10th Dragoons ( 10th Polish Motorised infantry Battalion ) and 10th Polish Mounted Rifle Regiment ( the division ' s armoured reconnaissance regiment ) drove hard on Chambois , the capture of which would effect a link - up with the United States 90th Infantry Division who were simultaneously attacking the town from the south . Having taken Trun and Champeaux the 4th Canadian Armoured Division was able to assist , and by the evening of 19 August the town was in Allied hands . Although the arms of the encirclement had now made contact , the Allies were not yet astride Seventh Army ' s escape route in any great strength and their positions came under frenzied assault . During the day an armoured column from the 2nd Panzer Division broke through the Canadians in St . Lambert , capturing half the village and maintaining an open road for six hours until being forced out . Many Germans escaped along this route and numerous small parties infiltrated on foot through to the River Dives during the night . Mont Ormel ridge . Northeast of Chambois and overlooking the Dives River valley , an elongated , wooded ridge runs roughly north – south above the village of Coudehard . The ridge ' s two highest peaks — Points 262 North ( 262N ) and 262 South ( 262S ) — lie either side of a pass within which the hamlet of Mont Ormel , from which the ridge takes its name , is situated . One of the few westbound roads in the area runs from Chambois through the pass , heading towards Vimoutiers and the River Seine . Historian Michael Reynolds describes Point 262N as offering " spectacular views over much of the Falaise Pocket " . Viewing the feature on an Allied map , Maczek commented that it resembled a caveman ' s club with two bulbous heads ; the Poles nicknamed it the " Maczuga " , Polish for " mace " . The ridge , known to the Allies as Hill 262 , formed a crucial blocking position for sealing the Falaise Pocket and preventing any outside attempts to relieve the German Seventh Army . 19 August . Shortly after noon on 19 August , Lieutenant - Colonel Zgorzelski ' s battlegroup ( the 1st Armoured Regiment , 9th Infantry Battalion , and a company of anti - tank guns ) made a thrust towards Coudehard and the Mont Ormel ridge . While part of the battlegroup remained in Coudehard , two companies of the Polish Highland ( Podhalian ) Battalion led the assault up the north peak , followed by the squadrons of Lieutenant - Colonel Aleksander Stefanowicz ' s 1st Armoured Regiment who picked their way up the ridge ' s only vehicular access — a narrow , winding track . The Poles reached the summit at approximately 12 : 40 and took captive a number of demoralised Germans before proceeding to shell a 2 - - mile long column of PzKpfw V Panther tanks , armored cars , 88 mm and 105 mm artillery pieces , nebelwerfer s , trucks and many horse - drawn carts . Three companies of the Polish 1 . Armored Regiment opened fire from every heavy machine gun and cannon . The lead vehicles were quickly destroyed and the Panthers because of bad position could not hit the Shermans at the top of the hill ( the shells were passing just above the turrets of the Shermans ) [ 17 ] . Because of the total destruction of the equipment and the few POWs taken , the Poles called the remnants of the column that approached them through the pass along the Chambois – Vimoutiers road : " Psie Pole . " The victory was hard won over a period of a few hours : the Germans , despite being " shocked " to discover that Point 262N was now in Polish hands , quickly responded with a bombardment from rocket - launchers and anti - tank guns . The Poles counterattacked and more Germans , including wounded , were taken prisoner . These were moved to a hunting lodge ( the " Zameczek " ) on the ridge ' s northern slope . Point 137 , near Coudehard , fell just after 15 : 30 , yielding further captives . At around 17 : 00 Lieutenant - Colonel Koszutski ' s battlegroup , consisting of the 2nd Armoured Regiment and the 8th Infantry Battalion , arrived at the ridge , followed by the rest of the Polish Highland Battalion and elements of the 9th Infantry Battalion at 19 : 30 . The remainder of the 9th Infantry Battalion and the anti - tank company had remained around Boisjos north of Coudehard , but the bulk of two battlegroups — some 80 tanks , 20 anti - tank guns , and around 1 , 500 infantrymen — was now concentrated on and around Point 262N . The Poles did not , however , occupy Point 262S . Although Lieutenant - Colonel Zdzisław Szydłowski , commanding the 9th Infantry Battalion , was given orders to take the southern peak , with darkness falling and thick smoke from the burning German column in the pass obscuring the battlefield this was deemed too hazardous to attempt before next light . The Poles spent the night fortifying Point 262N and entrenching the southern , southwestern , and northeastern approaches to their positions . 20 August . Of the approximately 20 German infantry and armoured divisions trapped in the Falaise pocket around 12 were still operating with a degree of combat - effectiveness . As these formations retreated eastwards they fought desperately to keep the jaws of the encirclement — formed by the Canadians in Trun and St . Lambert , and the Poles and Americans in Chambois — from closing . German movement out of the pocket throughout the night of 19 August cut off the Polish battlegroups on the Mont Ormel ridge . On discovering this Stefanowicz conferred with Koszutski . Lacking sufficient means to either seal the pocket or fight their way clear , the two decided that the only chance of survival for their force was to hold fast until relieved . Although the Polish soldiers on Point 262N could hear movement from the valley below , other than some mortar rounds that landed among the positions of the 8th Infantry Battalion the night passed uneventfully . Without possession of Point 262S the Poles were unable to interfere with the large numbers of German troops slipping past the southern slopes of the ridge . The uneven , wooded terrain , interspersed with thick hedgerows , made control of the ground to the west and southwest difficult by day and impossible by night . As it grew light on 20 August Szydłowski prepared to fulfil his orders of the previous day and organised two companies of his 9th Infantry Battalion , supported by the 1st Armoured Regiment , for an attack across the road towards Point 262S . However , hampered by the wreckage littering the pass the attack soon bogged down in the face of fierce German resistance . The Poles ' possession of around of commanding terrain overlooking the Seventh Army ' s only route out of Normandy was a serious impediment to the German retreat . Field Marshal Walther Model , who on succeeding von Kluge two days earlier had authorised a general withdrawal , was well aware of the need to remove the " cork " from the bottle containing the Seventh Army . He ordered elements of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich and the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen — located outside the pocket — to attack Hill 262 . At 09 : 00 the 8th Infantry Battalion ' s positions around the " Zameczek " to the north and northeast of point 262N were assaulted , and it was not until 10 : 30 that the Germans were driven back . In the heavy fighting a number of the 1st Armoured Regiment ' s supply lorries were destroyed . From within the pocket , German formations seeking an escape route were filtering through gaps in the Allied lines between Trun and Chambois , heading towards the ridge from the west . The Poles could see the road from Chambois choked with troops and vehicles attempting to pass along the Dives valley . A number of columns moving down from the northeast that included tanks and self - propelled artillery were subjected to an hour - long bombardment from the 1st Armoured Regiment ' s 3rd Squadron , breaking them up and scattering their infantry . Having spotted German tank movements towards a nearby height , Point 239 ( roughly north of the ridge ) , an attack was planned to take this feature and provide a buffer for the Poles ' northern positions around the " Zameczek " . However , the 2nd Armoured Regiment ' s 2nd Squadron , tasked with capturing Point 239 , was unable to release its tanks from their defensive duties . At one point during the day a Panther tank of the 2nd SS Panzer Division worked its way onto the height and , at a range of , picked off five Shermans of the 1st Armoured Regiment ' s 3rd Squadron . The survivors were forced to change position although they later lost another tank to fire from the north . Around midday the Germans opened up an artillery and mortar barrage that caused casualties among the ridge ' s defenders and lasted for the entire afternoon . At about the same time , Kampfgruppe Weidinger seized an important road junction northeast of Coudehard . Several units of the 10th SS , 12th SS , and 116th Panzer Divisions managed to clear a corridor past Point 262N , and by mid afternoon about 10 , 000 German troops had passed out of the pocket . A battalion of the 3rd Parachute Division , along with an armoured regiment of the 1st SS Panzer Division , now joined the assault on the ridge . At 14 : 00 the 8th Infantry Battalion on the ridge ' s northern slopes once more came under attack . Although the infantry and armour closing in on the Polish positions were eventually repulsed , with a large number of prisoners being taken and artillery again causing significant casualties , the Poles were being gradually pushed back . However , they managed to retain their grip on Point 262N and with well - coordinated artillery fire continued to exact a toll on German units traversing the corridor . Another attempt was made to organise an attack towards Point 239 but the Germans were ready and the 9th Infantry Battalion ' s 3rd Company was driven back with heavy losses . Exasperated by the casualties to his men , Seventh Army commander " Oberstgruppenführer " Paul Hausser ordered the Polish positions to be " eliminated " . At 15 : 00 , substantial forces , including remnants of the 352nd Infantry Division and several battle groups from the 2nd SS Panzer Division , inflicted heavy casualties on the 8th and 9th Infantry Battalions . By 17 : 00 the attack was at its height and the Poles were contending with German tanks and infantry inside their perimeter . Grenadiers of the 2nd SS Panzer Division very nearly reached the ridge ' s summit before being repulsed by the well dug in Polish defenders . The integrity of the position was not restored until 19 : 00 , by which time the Poles had expended almost all their ammunition leaving themselves in a precarious situation . A 20 - minute ceasefire was arranged to allow the Germans to evacuate a large medical convoy , after which fighting resumed with redoubled intensity . Earlier in the day , Simonds had ordered his troops to " make every effort " to reach the Poles isolated on Hill 262 , but at " sacrificial " cost the remnants of the 9th SS Panzer and 3rd Parachute Divisions had succeeded in preventing the Canadians from intervening . Dangerously low on supplies and unable to evacuate their prisoners or the wounded of both sides — many of whom received further injuries from the unremitting hail of mortar bombs — the Poles had hoped to see the Canadian 4th Armoured Division coming to their rescue by evening . However , as night fell it became clear that no Allied relief force would reach the ridge that day . Lacking the means to interfere , the exhausted Poles were forced to watch as the remnants of the XLVII Panzer Corps left the pocket . Fighting died down and was sporadic throughout the hours of darkness ; after the brutality of the day ' s combat both sides avoided contact although frequent Polish artillery strikes continued to harass German forces retreating from the sector . Stefanowicz , himself wounded during the day ' s fighting , struck a fatalistic note as he addressed his men : 21 August . The next morning , despite poor flying weather , an effort was made to air - drop ammunition to the Polish force on the ridge . Learning that the Canadians had resumed their push and were making for Point 239 , at 07 : 00 a platoon of the 1st Armoured Regiment ' s 3rd Squadron reconnoitred the German positions below the " Zameczek " . Further German attacks were launched during the morning , both from inside the pocket along the Chambois – Vimoutiers road , and from the east . Raids from the direction of Coudehard managed to penetrate the Polish defences and take captives . The final German effort came at around 11 : 00 — SS remnants had infiltrated through the wooded hills to the rear of the 1st Armoured Regiment ' s dressing station . This " suicidal " assault was defeated at point - blank range by the 9th Infantry Battalion with the 1st Armoured Regiment ' s tanks using their anti - aircraft machine guns in support . The machine guns ' tracer ammunition set fire to the grass , killing wounded men on the slope . As the final infantry assaults melted away , the German artillery and mortar fire targeting the hill subsided as well . Moving up from Chambois , the Polish 1st Armoured Division ' s reconnaissance regiment made an attempt to reach their comrades on Point 262N but was mistakenly fired upon by the ridge ' s defenders . The regiment withdrew after losing two Cromwell tanks . At 12 : 00 a Polish forward patrol from the ridge encountered the Canadian vanguard near Point 239 . The Canadian Grenadier Guards reached the ridge just over an hour later , having fought for more than five hours and accounted for two Panthers , a Panzer IV , and two self - propelled gun s along their route . By 14 : 00 , with the arrival of the first supply convoy , the position was relieved . Aftermath . The Falaise pocket was considered closed by the evening of 21 August . Tanks of the Canadian 4th Armoured Division had linked up with the Polish forces in Coudehard , and the Canadian 3rd and 4th Infantry Divisions had fully secured St . Lambert and the northern passage to Chambois . Both Reynolds and McGilvray place the Polish losses on the " Maczuga " at 351 killed and wounded and 11 tanks lost , although Jarymowycz gives higher figures of 325 killed , 1 , 002 wounded , and 114 missing — approximately 20 % of the division ' s combat strength . For the entire operation to close the Falaise pocket , Copp quotes from the 1st Polish Armoured Division ' s operational report , citing 1 , 441 casualties including 466 killed in action . McGilvray estimates the German losses in their assaults on the ridge as around 500 dead with a further 1 , 000 taken prisoner , most of these from the 12th SS Panzer Division . He also records " scores " of Tiger , Panther and Panzer IV tanks destroyed , as well as a significant quantity of artillery pieces . Although some estimates state that up to 100 , 000 German troops , many of them wounded , may have succeeded in escaping the Allied encirclement , they left behind 40 , 000 - 50 , 000 prisoners and over 10 , 000 dead . According to military historian Gregor Dallas : " The Poles had closed the Falaise Pocket . The Poles had opened the gate to Paris . " Simonds stated that he had " never seen such wholesale havoc in his life " and Canadian engineers erected a sign on Point 262N ' s summit reading simply " A Polish Battlefield " . In 1965 on the battle ' s 20th anniversary , a monument to the Polish , Canadian , American and French units that took part in the battle was erected on Hill 262 . Marking the occasion , former President of the United States Dwight D . Eisenhower commented that " no other battlefield presented such a horrible sight of death , hell , and total destruction . " The Mémorial de Coudehard – Montormel museum was constructed on the same site on the battle ' s 50th anniversary in 1994 . In popular culture . The battle of Hill 262 is featured in the final level of the polish campaign during the World War II video game " Call of Duty 3 " .