Road, 2nd Division attacked to the west. By noon Verrières Ridge had finally fallen, and Canadian and Polish armour was preparing to exploit south towards Falaise. However, strong resistance by the 12th SS Panzer Division and the 272nd Volksgrenadier Division halted the advance. Although 12 km (7.5 mi) of ground had been gained, Canadian forces had failed to reach Falaise itself. Simultaneously, the Germans had launched a desperate and ill-prepared armoured thrust towards Mortain, beginning on 6 August 1944. This was halted within a day and, despite the increasingly dangerous threat presented by the Anglo-Canadian advance on Falaise, German commander Field Marshal Günther von Kluge was prohibited by Adolf Hitler from redeploying his forces. Thus, as American armoured formations advanced towards Argentan from the south, the Allies were presented with an opportunity to encircle large sections of the German Seventh Army. The First Canadian Army was ordered south, while the Americans prepared to move on Chambois on 14 August. Simonds and Crerar quickly planned a further offensive that would push through to Falaise, trapping the German Seventh Army in Normandy. Operation Tractable On 14 August, the First Canadian Army launched Operation Tractable with the aim of capturing Falaise and achieving a linkup with American forces in Chambois. A daylight attack was executed after artillery provided smoke-screen cover and medium bombers softened up the German defenses. The offensive was largely successful and, although the 2nd Division was not an active participant, divisional troops entered Falaise on 16 August as the remainder of First Canadian Army moved south-east towards Trun and Chambois. By 21 August the remnants of the battered German Seventh Army had surrendered in the Falaise Pocket, bringing the Battle of Normandy to a close. The German forces committed to Normandy since D-Day had been virtually annihilated—by the end of Operation Tractable, the 12th SS Panzer Division, the main adversary of the Canadians, had lost 80% of its tanks, 70% of its personnel carriers, and 60% of its artillery. Shortly afterwards, the 2nd Division moved to Foret de la Londe, along the valley of the River Seine. From 27 to 29 August, the 4th and 6th Brigades were engaged in heavy fighting against the rearguard of German forces seeking to withdraw across the Seine. Channel Ports and the Scheldt Throughout September and October 1944, the First Canadian Army moved along the coast of France with the aim of securing the