Operation Totalize was an offensive launched by Allied troops in the First Canadian Army during the latter stages of Operation Overlord, from 8 to 9 August 1944.
As the US First Army launched Operation Cobra in late July and broke out of the Normandy beachhead, the German left flank collapsed, causing the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen, and the 116th Panzer Division to shift westward from Verrieres Ridge to face the threat of an Allied advance from Brittany. General Bernard Montgomery, seeking to trigger a general German collapse, ordered the First Canadian Army to launch an attack on the eastern flank of the front to capture Falaise. The 2nd Canadian Division, 3rd Canadian Division, 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, 51st (Highland) Infantry Division, 4th Canadian Division, Polish 1st Armored Division, 2nd Canadian Armored Brigade, and the British 33rd Armored Brigade launched Operation Totalize south of Caen, initiating the offensive with a mechanized infantry attack on the dawn on 8 August 1944. The Canadians broke through the German front lines and captured vital positions deep in the German defenses, but hesitancy by two inexperienced Canadian armored divisions to press the attack enabled German armored counterattacks to halt the offensive. The Allies halted 7 miles north of Falaise, forcing them to prepare a fresh attack.