Today in World War II History—August 17, 1944
Saturday, August 17, 2024 by Sarah Sundin
Canadian troops in Falaise, Normandy, 17 August 1944 (public domain via Wikipedia)
80 Years Ago—August 17, 1944: Germans begin retreat from southern France.
Germans begin retreat from the Falaise pocket in Normandy; Canadians take Falaise.
US Third Army takes Saint-Malo, Chartres, and Orléans in France.
Allied liberation of Saint-Malo severs the last link between the Channel Islands (still occupied by Germany) and France, leading to severe food shortages in the Channel Islands.
Germans arrest the government of the French State, including Prime Minister Pierre Laval, all to be deported to Germany.
