Bloody Verrières - The I. SS-Panzerkorps defence of the Verrières-Bourguébus Ridges

Описание: Bloody Verrières - The I. SS-Panzerkorps defence of the Verrières-Bourguébus Ridges
With Arthur Gullachsen
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South of Caen, the Verrières and Bourguebus ridges were key stepping stones for the British Second Army in late July 1944 - taking them was crucial if it was to be successful in its attempt to break out of the Normandy bridgehead. To capture this vital ground, Allied forces would have to defeat arguably the strongest German armored formation in Normandy: the I. SS-Panzerkorps "Leibstandarte." The resulting battles of late July and early August 1944 saw powerful German defensive counterattacks south of Caen inflict tremendous casualties, regain lost ground and at times defeat Anglo-Canadian operations in detail.

Viewed by the German leadership as militarily critical, the majority of its armored assets were deployed to dominate this excellent tank country east of the Orne river. These defeats and the experience of meeting an enemy with near-equal resources exposed a flawed Anglo-Canadian offensive tactical doctrine that was overly dependent on the supremacy of its artillery forces. Furthermore, weaknesses in Allied tank technology inhibited their armored forces from fighting a decisive armored battle, forcing Anglo-Canadian infantry and artillery forces to further rely on First World War "Bite and Hold" tactics, massively supported by artillery. Confronted with the full force of the Panzerwaffe, Anglo-Canadian doctrine at times floundered. In response, the Royal Artillery and Royal Canadian Artillery units pummeled the German tankers and grenadiers, but despite their best efforts, ground could not be captured by concentrated artillery fire alone.

Our guest today is Arthur W. Gullachsen, an Associate Professor in the Royal Military College of Canada’s History Department where he currently teaches military history. The author of An Army of Never-Ending strength: The Reinforcement of the Canadian Army 1944–1945, he is also a regular contributor to the Canadian Military History Journal and has authored chapters to the US Army University Press’s Large Scale Combat Operations book series.

Arthur's previous WW2TV appearance
An Army of Never-Ending Strength - Normandy and Beyond    • An Army of Never-Ending Strength - Normand...  

Bloody Verrieres: the I. SS-Panzerkorps' Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges: Volume I: Operations Goodwood and Atlantic by Arthur W. Gullachsen
UK https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5843/978163...
USA https://bookshop.org/a/21029/97816362...

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