 Operation Totalize ( also spelled " Operation <unk> " in some more recent British sources ) was an offensive launched by Allied troops of the First Canadian Army during the later stages of Operation Overlord , from 8 to 13 August 1944 . The intention was to break through the German defences south of Caen on the eastern flank of the Allied positions in Normandy and exploit success by driving south to capture the high ground north of the city of Falaise . The goal was to precipitate the collapse of the entire German front , and cut off the retreat of German forces fighting American and British armies further west . The battle is considered the inaugural operation of the First Canadian Army , which had been formally activated on 23 July . 
