
86Close Combat
“I did not feel we owed an apology to anyone for our gains. At the end of one week ashore we had linked beachheads. During the second we cut the Cotentin. In the third we captured Cherbourg. During the fourth we attacked out of the neck. And when the fifth rolled around, we had put together our Cobra plan and were already edging toward a breakout.”
A Soldier’s Story
“It was one terrible blood- letting.”
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s terse summary of the Normandy Campaign
Goodwood, pushing the Germans east of Caen. Although the British suffer severe tank losses, the attack draws even more German troops into the vicinity of Caen and away from the Americans.
Bradley characterizes the hedgerow battle as “. . . a slugger’s match, too slow a process.” To end the stalemate once and for all, he launches Operation Cobra. Bad weather delays the breakout for a week until July 25, when German positions five miles west of
German opposition is no longer organized in depth, and forms only a very tough but discontinuous crust against the onslaught. Those German soldiers who have survived the bombing repeatedly find themselves outflanked or bypassed. Since a significant portion of the German forces are still engaged against the British and Canadians to the east, there are no reserve troops or Panzers to fill in any holes in the front line near
By the beginning of August, Cobra has clearly proved to be a success. The Avranches breakout frees the Americans from the bocage, and propels them into the battle of maneuver they have longed for.
Patton Unleashed
Following the success of Cobra, U.S. General George S. Patton’s Third Army becomes operational on August 1, and takes its position on the Allies’ right flank. Patton’s troops quickly overrun much of Brittany, then head south toward the Loire valley. On August 4, Montgomery makes the first major change in the Overlord plan, ordering the Third Army to drive east toward Le Mans, while the First Army is to swing eastward to encircle the Germans. Montgomery also organizes a drive by British and Canadian forces south from Caen.