Chambois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Commune of Chambois |
|
Location | |
Administration | |
---|---|
Country | France |
Region | Basse-Normandie |
Department | Orne |
Arrondissement | Argentan |
Canton | Trun |
Intercommunality | Communauté de communes du Pays d'Exmes |
Statistics | |
Elevation | 89 m–156 m (avg. 110 m) |
Land area¹ | 8.3 km² |
Population² (1999) |
475 |
- Density | 57/km² (1999) |
Miscellaneous | |
INSEE/Postal code | 61083/ 61160 |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Chambois is a commune of Orne, in France. The city is remarkable for its Norman keep (12th century) and was part of the Falaise pocket in 1944.
[edit] In the Falaise pocket
Chambois was the place of one of the most bitter battles of the Normandy campaign, in August 1944, which was also known as the Falaise pocket. Here, the 90th Infantry Division (United States) finally met 10th dragoons from 1st Armoured Division (Poland) (Polish 1 Dywizja Pancerna) in the evening of August 19, 1944.
For two days, Poles and Americans defended the town against continuous assaults launched by overwhelming enemy forces (mostly remnants of the German 7th Army), taking thousands of prisoners. The battle ultimately was ended as Allied air support finally destroyed what was left of the German forces.
The Memorial of Coudehard - Montormel [1], on the neighboring Hill 262, keeps the memory of the Falaise pocket.
[edit] Video games
In the video game Call of Duty 3 the player is involved in a series of missions as the Allies move in the Falaise pocket toward Chambois. The Battle for Chambois is the final chapter of the game.
In the video game Company of Heroes the player is tasked to take and defend a series of bridges against German attacks at Chambois. This culminates with the American forces linking up with Canadian soldiers. The level is the 15th and final level.