The town is known for the battle of the "Falaise pocket" during the Allied reconquest of France in August 1944 in which two German armies were encircled and destroyed. Some 10,000 German troops were killed and 50,000 taken prisoner. Two-thirds of Falaise was destroyed by Allied bombing before the town was taken by Canadian and Polish troops. Falaise was largely restored after the war.
Miscellaneous
Exhibits at the Museum of the Battle of the Falaise Pocket include several military vehicles, pieces of artillery, and other weapons.
CALVADOS, a department of north-western France, formed in 1790 out of Bessin, Cinglais, Hiemois, Bocage, the Campagne de Caen, Auge and the western part of Lieuvin.
The orchards of Auge and Bessin produce a superior kind of cider, of which upwards of 40,000,000 gallons are made in the department; a large quantity of cider brandy (eau-de-vie de Calvados) is distilled.
Amongst the great number of medieval churches which the department possesses, the fine Gothic church of St. Pierresur-Dives is second in importance only to those of Lisieux and Bayeux; that of Norrey, a good example of the Norman-Gothic style, and that of Tour-en-Bessin, in which Romanesque and Gothic architecture are mingled, are of great interest.
The castle (12th-13th century), which overlooks the town from a high crag, was formerly the seat of the dukes of Normandy.
The town is known for the battle of the "Falaise pocket" during the Allied reconquest of France in August 1944 in which two German armies were encircled and destroyed by the British 2nd Army.
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