DK - World War II Map by Map

194 TURNING THE TIDE 1943–1944

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F R A N C E
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BELGIUM
NETHERLANDS
UNITED
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G E R M A N Y

G R E A T E R

PROVENCE

Grenoble

Valence

Nice

Cannes

St.-Maxime

Cavalaire-

Toulon Sur-Mer

Marseille

Avignon

Montélimar

Lyon

Geneva

Berne

Besançon

Vesoul

Sombernon

Chaumont

Épinal

Colmar

Belfort Basel

Dijon

Vichy

La Rochelle

Royan

Bordeaux

Nantes

St. Nazaire

Lorient

Troyes

Chartres

Laon

Orléans

Le Mans

Angers

Amiens

Rouen

Évreux

Falaise

Vire

Carentan

Mortain

Bayeux

St.-Lô

Brest

Argentan

Strasbourg

Metz

Reims Verdun

Châlons

Rotterdam Arnhem

Roermond Düsseldorf

Antwerp

Tournai

Ostend

Ghent

Paris

Rennes

Loudéac

Cologne

SAARLAND

RUHR

Saarbrücken

Maastricht

Liège Aachen

Mons Namur

Brussels

Eindhoven

Caen

Cherbourg

St. Malo

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Le Havre

Dieppe

Calais

Cap Gris-Nez

Boulogne

Dunkirk

Aug 24–25 Paris is

liberated by Free French

and US forces.

Aug 13–21 The Allies

destroy most of German

Army Group B in the Battle

of the Falaise Pocket.

Aug 21–29 Battle of

Montélimar: the Allies

attempt to block the

German retreat but the

German forces escape.

Sep 29

The Canadians capture

the German long-range

heavy artillery at

Cap Gris-Nez.

Sep 8 Ostend is

liberated by

Canadian forces.

Aug 31 The British

capture Amiens and cross

the Somme River.

Sep 8 Liège is

liberated by the

US 1st Army.

Aug 28

The Free French

liberate Marseille

and Toulon.

Sep 11 Northern

and southern Allied

forces meet

at Sombernon.

Aug 29

General Patton’s

troops enter Reims.

▽ France liberated

The Statue of Liberty is shown in front

of the French flag in this 1944 poster. It

celebrates the Allied troops who helped

to free France from German occupation.

INTO BELGIUM

SEPTEMBER 3–16, 1944

On September 3, the British 2nd Army swept

into Belgium to capture Brussels. The following

day, they surprised the Germans in Antwerp,

preventing them from destroying the docks. They

were now just 100 miles (160 km) from the Rhine

and the entry point to the industrial Ruhr region.

Further east, the US 1st Army had captured Liège,

and had begun to patrol within Germany itself.

4

Allied advance into Belgium, Sep 3–16

Liberation of Brussels

Ruhr region

SECURING THE CHANNEL PORTS

AUGUST 26–SEPTEMBER 29, 1944

The Canadian 1st Army was tasked with taking

the Channel ports, which were vital to Allied

supply lines. The Germans determined to hold

the ports for as long as possible, designating them

“fortresses.” Le Havre fell first, on September 12,

and by September 29 the Canadians had taken

Boulogne and Calais. Dunkirk proved tougher, and

the major Canadian units moved on to Belgium,

leaving a smaller force to continue the siege.

5

Canadian 1st Army advance, Aug 26–Sep 14

German fortress ports

Sep 12, 1944–May 7, 1945

German submarine harbors along

the Atlantic coast hold out against

Allied forces. Royan and La Rochelle

surrender, on April 17 and May 7

respectively, after heavy bombing.

US_194-195_The_breakout.indd 194 20/03/19 3:55 PM