Today's Itinerary and Activities
Today we visited Bretteville-sur-Laize cemetery, considered the final days in Normandy at the Trun-Chambois gap and Montormel. We then made the long drive to Paris, and our participants had the opportunity to do some sightseeing in the evening.
We returned to the question of the Falaise Gap and addressed some big questions that can guide classroom inquiry:
The action here is one of the most contested international history debates. British and American historians have very different perspectives on the success based on the total numbers of Germans who escaped - Canadians are accused of not effectively closing the gap, when the need to prevent the Germans from falling back to Paris and creating a new front line is paramount.
The German narrative is one of success - 40,000 escaped and successfully held off the Allies, keeping the war going though to 1945. However, the German government decides in the summer of 1944 to pull protected trades, increasing their force by 1.5 million additional troops (these trades are replaced by slave labour from Italy). These 1.5 million are educated tradespeople, well fed, in the prime of their lives. German historians suggest that 40 000 escapees from Falaise are not significant to the Germans at this point.
Can statistics be used to measure the success of the Normandy campaign? It ends on 78th day, ahead of schedule, and Allied losses are lower than anticipated, while German losses are higher than anticipated.
The following points are important in considering this argument:
Why do we teach as though D-Day is the end of the war when there is nearly a year left of the war experience for both soldiers and civilians?
- What does it take to win a campaign?
- How does that campaign help win the war?
The action here is one of the most contested international history debates. British and American historians have very different perspectives on the success based on the total numbers of Germans who escaped - Canadians are accused of not effectively closing the gap, when the need to prevent the Germans from falling back to Paris and creating a new front line is paramount.
The German narrative is one of success - 40,000 escaped and successfully held off the Allies, keeping the war going though to 1945. However, the German government decides in the summer of 1944 to pull protected trades, increasing their force by 1.5 million additional troops (these trades are replaced by slave labour from Italy). These 1.5 million are educated tradespeople, well fed, in the prime of their lives. German historians suggest that 40 000 escapees from Falaise are not significant to the Germans at this point.
Can statistics be used to measure the success of the Normandy campaign? It ends on 78th day, ahead of schedule, and Allied losses are lower than anticipated, while German losses are higher than anticipated.
The following points are important in considering this argument:
- Most of the people who will die in WW2 have not yet died by August 22, Jewish prisoners in camps as well as Allied soldiers
- The war is not over after the Normandy campaign
- The conscription crisis hasn't yet reached its full peak
Why do we teach as though D-Day is the end of the war when there is nearly a year left of the war experience for both soldiers and civilians?
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It is fitting that the memorial flowers of France (the blue cornflower),
the Netherlands (the marguerite), and Canada, the US, and Britain (poppies)
all grow here.
the Netherlands (the marguerite), and Canada, the US, and Britain (poppies)
all grow here.