We are honored to publish the video of the third Masterclass lectured by Col. Roger Cirillo of the US Army. A lecture hold within the framework of the Master’s Degree in Military History of INISEG, the International Institute for Studies on Global Security.
In this new lecture (watch the first & second ones), our distinguished speaker details all the Allied operations to break the German front in Western Europe. The American commanders, especially General Patton, criticized Montgomery’s decisions regarding the Falaise Pocket, although General Bradley believed Patton would have been unable to close the breach. This issue has been the subject of disagreement among many historians. Hitler relieved Field Marshal von Kluge of command on August 15 and replaced him with Field Marshal Walter Model. Kluge committed suicide on August 19 after Hitler learned that he had participated in his assassination attempt on July 20.
The French Resistance rose up against the Germans in Paris on August 19. Initially, Eisenhower wanted to postpone the capture of Paris to pursue other objectives, but news of the deprivations Parisians were suffering and Hitler’s declared intention to destroy the city led General de Gaulle to insist on its liberation. French forces of the 2nd Armored Division led by General Leclerc arrived from the west on August 24, supported from the south by the US 4th Division. After a series of engagements the previous night, Paris was liberated during the morning of August 25.
Operations continued in the Anglo-Canadian sectors until the end of the month. On August 25, the US 2nd Armored Division fought its way to Elbeuf, where it made contact with British and Canadian armored divisions. Eisenhower took direct command of the Allied ground forces on September 1. Concerned about a possible German counterattack and the scarce supplies reaching France, he decided to continue operations on a broader front rather than attempting to penetrate deep into enemy territory.
Col. Cirillo served in the US Army from 1971 to 1995, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He served in armored cavalry units in the United States, Korea and West Germany, on the staff and faculty of the Air Defense and Armor Schools. Col. Cirillo was a War Plans Officer in NATO Army Central Group and served in the CINC (Commander in Chief Office), USAREUR (United States Army Europe Command). He also taught military history at the US Army Command and Staff College and holds a Ph.D. in military history from Cranfield University at the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, UK.
He is the author of the book titled «Ardennes-Alsace Campaign» and assisted in the publication of more than 30 military history books for the AUSA, the Association of the United States Army. He is editor of the «American Warrior» series and the «Battles and Campaigns» series for the University Press of Kentucky.
Blog GRIP will keep publishing a selection of Masterclasses and lectures on military history and armed conflicts, with a special emphasis, albeit not exclusive (as this lecture shows), on the Vietnam War, direct consequence and legacy of the First Indochina War, a conflict taught by Professor Juanjo Alarcón in the Master’s Degree in Contemporary Military Conflicts, whose video presentation is also available on Blog Grip. Incidentally, Prof. Juanjo Alarcón is the host of these lectures.
We really hope that this series of selected lectures may spark your interest in the topics presented in each one of them. And since they are all part of the Area on Security and Defense and the Master’s Degree in Military History of INISEG, we provide you with the links to INISEG’s academic offer directly related to the lectures we publish:
