In summer 1944, the allied forces struggled hard to break out of Normandy, to push back the Germans towards Germany.

As a result, between 12 and 21 August about 100,000 soldiers of the German 7th Army and the 5th Panzer Army became trapped between Allied forces from the North and West (British 2nd Army, Canadian 1st Army) at Falaise and the South (American 3rd Army) near Argentan.
This pincer movement of the Allies is commonly known as The Falaise Pocket.