Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

First Army under Lieutenant General

Omar Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893April 8, 1981) was a senior officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army. Bradley was the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and over ...

seven weeks after the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

landings, during the

Normandy campaign Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The intention was to take advantage of the distraction of the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

by the British and Canadian attacks around

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Operation Goodwood,Trew, p. 64 and thereby break through the German defenses that were penning in their forces while the Germans were unbalanced. Once a corridor had been created, the First Army would then be able to advance into

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

, rolling up the German flanks once free of the constraints of the

bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ''Bocage'' may a ...

country. After a slow start, the offensive gathered momentum and German resistance collapsed as scattered remnants of broken units fought to escape to the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributa ...

. Lacking the resources to cope with the situation, the German response was ineffectual and the entire Normandy front soon collapsed. Operation Cobra, together with concurrent offensives by the British Second Army and the Canadian First Army, was decisive in securing an Allied victory in the Normandy campaign. Having been delayed several times by poor weather, Operation Cobra commenced on 25 July 1944, with a concentrated aerial bombardment from thousands of Allied aircraft. Supporting offensives had drawn the bulk of German armored reserves toward the British and Canadian sector and, coupled with the general lack of men and

materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the spec ...

available to the Germans, it was impossible for them to form successive lines of defense. Units of the U.S.

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VII R ...

led the initial two-division assault, while other First U.S. Army corps mounted supporting attacks designed to pin German units in place. Progress was slow on the first day but opposition started to crumble once the defensive crust had been broken. By 27 July, most organized resistance had been overcome and the VII and

VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to: * VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars *VIII Army Corps (German Confederation) * VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army ...

advanced rapidly, isolating the

Cotentin Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...

. By 31 July, XIX Corps had destroyed the last forces opposing the First Army, which emerged from the bocage. Reinforcements were moved west by

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Günther von Kluge Günther Adolf Ferdinand von Kluge (30 October 1882 – 19 August 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II who held commands on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. He commanded the 4th Army of the Wehrmacht during the invasio ...

and employed in various counterattacks, the largest of which, ''Unternehmen Lüttich'' (Operation Liège), was launched on 7August between Mortain and

Avranches Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History By the end of the Roman period ...

. Although this led to the bloodiest phase of the battle, it was mounted by already exhausted and understrength units and was a costly failure. On 8August, troops of the newly activated

Third United States Army Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

captured the city of

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

, formerly the German 7th Army headquarters. Operation Cobra transformed the high-intensity infantry combat of Normandy into rapid

maneuver warfare Maneuver warfare, or manoeuvre warfare, is a military strategy which seeks to shatter the enemy's overall cohesion and will to fight. Background Maneuver warfare, the use of initiative, originality and the unexpected, combined with a rut ...

and led to the creation of the Falaise pocket and the loss of the German strategic position in northwestern France.

Background

Following the successful Allied

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

on 6June 1944, progress inland was slow. To facilitate the Allied build-up in France and to secure room for further expansion, the deep water port of

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

on the western flank of the U.S. sector and the historic town of

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Miles Dempsey General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, (15 December 1896 – 5 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars. During the Second World War he commanded the Second Army in north west Europe. A highly professional an ...

) would secure Caen and the area south of it and the First U.S. Army (

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

) would "wheel round" to the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhôn ...

valley.

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Sir

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence an ...

—commanding all Allied ground forces in Normandy—intended Caen to be taken on D-Day, while Cherbourg was expected to fall 15 days later. The Second Army was to seize Caen and then form a front to the southeast, extending to

Caumont-l'Éventé Caumont-l'Éventé () is a former commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Caumont-sur-Aure.Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebec ...

, which could be used as the pivot for a swing east to advance on

Argentan Argentan () is a commune and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in northwestern France. Argentan is located NE of Rennes, ENE of the Mont Saint-Michel, SE of Cherbourg, SSE of Caen, SW of Rouen and N ...

and then the

Touques River The Touques () is a small coastal river in Pays d'Auge in Normandy, France. The Touques is officially navigable up to the Pont des Belges, from its estuary. Its source is in the Perche hills, south of Gacé. The river runs northwards, and flow ...

. The capture of Caen has been described by the British official historian

Lionel Ellis Lionel Frederic Ellis CVO CBE DSO MC (13 May 1885 – 19 October 1970) was a British Army officer and military historian, author of three volumes of the official ''History of the Second World War''. Between the two World Wars, he was General ...

as the most important

objective assigned to the British

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...

(Lieutenant-General

John Crocker General Sir John Tredinnick Crocker, (4 January 1896 – 9 March 1963) was a senior British Army officer who fought in both world wars. He served as both a private soldier and a junior officer in the First World War, and as a distinguished br ...

). Ellis and Chester Wilmot called the Allied plan "ambitious" since the Caen sector contained the strongest defenses in Normandy. Battleforceanmapenglish

The initial attempt by I Corps to reach the city on D-Day was blocked by elements of the

21st Panzer Division The 21st Panzer Division was a German armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the North African Campaign from 1941–1943 during World War II when it was one of the two armoured divisions making up the Deutsches Afrikakorp ...

and with the Germans committing most of the reinforcements sent to meet the invasion to the defense of Caen, the Anglo-Canadian front rapidly congealed short of the Second Army's objectives.

Operation Perch Operation Perch was a British offensive of the Second World War which took place from 7 to 14 June 1944, during the early stages of the Battle of Normandy. The operation was intended to encircle and seize the German occupied city of Caen, which ...

in the week following D-Day and

Operation Epsom Operation Epsom, also known as the First Battle of the Odon, was a British offensive in the Second World War between 26 and 30 June 1944, during the Battle of Normandy. The offensive was intended to outflank and seize the German-occupied city ...

(26–30 June) brought some territorial gains and depleted its defenders but Caen remained in German hands until

Operation Charnwood Operation Charnwood was an Anglo-Canadian offensive that took place from 8 to 9 July 1944, during the Battle for Caen, part of the larger Operation Overlord (code-name for the Battle of Normandy) in the Second World War. The operation was i ...

(7–9 July), when the Second Army managed to take the northern part of the city up to the

River Orne The Orne () is a river in Normandy, within northwestern France. It is long. It discharges into the English Channel at the port of Ouistreham. Its source is in Aunou-sur-Orne, east of Sées. Its main tributaries are the Odon and the Rouvre. The ...

in a frontal assault.Keegan, p. 135Williams, p. 131 Bocagenormandy

The successive Anglo-Canadian offensives around Caen kept the best of the German forces in Normandy, including most of the armor, to the eastern end of the Allied

lodgement A lodgement is an enclave, taken and defended by force of arms against determined opposition, made by increasing the size of a bridgehead, beachhead, or airhead into a substantial defended area, at least the rear parts of which are out of dire ...

but even so the First U.S. Army made slow progress against dogged German resistance. In part, operations were slow due to the constraints of the

landscape of densely packed banked hedgerows, sunken lanes and small woods, for which U.S. units had not trained. With no ports in Allied hands, all reinforcement and supply had to take place over the beaches via the two Mulberry harbors and was at the mercy of the weather. On 19 June, a severe storm descended on the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

, lasting for three days and causing significant delays to the Allied build-up and the cancellation of some operations.Williams, p. 114 The First U.S. Army advance in the western sector was eventually halted by Bradley before the town of Saint-Lô, to concentrate on the seizure of Cherbourg.Williams, p. 163Greiss, p. 312 The defense of Cherbourg consisted largely of four German battlegroups formed from the remnants of units that had retreated up the

, but the port defenses had been designed principally to meet an attack from the sea. Organized German resistance finally ended on 27 June, when the

U.S. 9th Infantry Division The 9th Infantry Division ("Old Reliables") is an inactive infantry division of the United States Army. It was created as the 9th Division during World War I, but never deployed overseas. In later years, it would become an important unit of the ...

managed to reduce the defenses of

Cap de la Hague Cap de la Hague is a cape at the tip of the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, France. The La Hague area has precambrian granite and gneiss cliffs, several coves and small fields surrounded by hedges. France's oldest rocks are to be found on i ...

, north-west of the port. Within four days,

(

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

J. Lawton Collins General Joseph Lawton Collins (May 1, 1896 – September 12, 1987) was a senior United States Army officer. During World War II, he served in both the Pacific and European Theaters of Operations, one of a few senior American commanders to do so. ...

) resumed the offensive toward Saint-Lô, alongside XIX Corps and

, causing the Germans to move more armor into the U.S. sector.Greiss, p. 316

Planning

The originator of the idea for Operation Cobra is disputed. According to Montgomery's official biographer, the foundation of Operation Cobra was laid on 13 June. Planning was immensely aided by detailed

Ultra adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley P ...

intelligence which supplied up-to-date decodes of communications between '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW, the German armed forces high command) and Hitler's generals. Montgomery's plan at that time called for the U.S. First Army to take Saint-Lô and

Coutances Coutances () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. History Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of ''Constantia'' in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chloru ...

and then make two southward thrusts; one from Caumont toward Vire and Mortain and the other from Saint-Lô toward Villedieu and

. Although pressure was to be kept up along the Cotentin Peninsula towards La Haye-du-Puits and

Valognes Valognes () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. Geography Valognes is situated in the Cotentin Peninsula, southeast of Cherbourg. Valognes station has rail connections to Caen, Paris and Cherbourg. Histo ...

, the capture of Cherbourg was not the priority. With the capture of Cherbourg by VII Corps on 27 June, Montgomery's initial timetable was overtaken by events and the thrust from Caumont was never adopted. Following the conclusion of Operation Charnwood and the cancellation of the First Army offensive towards Saint-Lô, Montgomery met with Bradley and Dempsey on 10 July to discuss plans for the

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

.Trew, p. 49 Bradley said that progress on the western flank was very slow but that plans had been laid for another breakout attempt, codenamed Operation Cobra, to be launched by the First Army on 18 July. Montgomery approved the plan and that the strategy would remain the diversion of German attention from the First Army to the British and Canadian sector.Bradley, p. 272 Dempsey was instructed to "go on hitting, drawing the German strength, especially the armour, onto yourself—so as to ease the way for Brad". To accomplish this, Operation Goodwood was planned and Eisenhower ensured that both operations would have the support of the Allied strategic bombers. Saint Lo and Vicinity

On 12 July, Bradley briefed his commanders on the Cobra plan, which consisted of three phases. The main effort would be under the control of VII Corps. In the first phase, the breakthrough attack would be conducted by the 9th Infantry Division (Major General Manton S. Eddy) and the 30th Infantry Division (Major General

Leland Hobbs Major General Leland Stanford Hobbs (February 4, 1892 – March 6, 1966) was a decorated senior United States Army officer who commanded the 30th Infantry Division in Western Europe during World War II. Early life and military career Hobbs was ...

), which would break into the German defensive zone and then hold the flanks of the penetration while the 1st Infantry Division (Major General Clarence Huebner) and 2nd Armored Division (Major General

Edward H. Brooks Lieutenant General Edward Hale Brooks (April 25, 1893 – October 10, 1978) was a senior officer of the United States Army, a veteran of both World War I and World War II, who commanded the U.S. Second Army during the Korean War. He received th ...

) pushed into the depth of the position until resistance collapsed. The 1st Infantry Division "was to take Marigny, with this objective exploited by a stream of General Watson's 3rd Armored Division armor that would move south toward Coutances". The 2nd Armored Division—part of "Collins' exploitation force" of the 2nd Armored Division in the east of the VII Corps sector and the "1st Infantry Division reinforced by

Combat Command A combat command was a combined-arms military organization of comparable size to a brigade or regiment employed by armored forces of the United States Army from 1942 until 1963. The structure of combat commands was task-organized and so the force ...

B (CCB) of the 3rd Armored division in the west"—would "pass through the 30th Infantry Division sector... and guard the overall American left flank." If VII Corps succeeded, the western German position would become untenable, permitting a relatively easy advance to the southwest end of the bocage to cut off and seize the

peninsula.Hastings, p. 250 First Army intelligence estimated that no German counterattack would occur in the first few days after Cobra's launch and that if they did later, they would be no more than battalion-sized operations. Cobra was to be a concentrated attack on a front, unlike previous U.S. broad front offensives and would have a mass of air support.Hastings, pp. 249–250 Fighter-bombers would concentrate on hitting forward German defenses in a belt immediately south of the Saint-Lô–Periers road, while General Spaatz's heavy bombers would bomb to a depth of behind the German main line of resistance.Williams, p. 181 It was anticipated that the physical destruction and shock value of a short, intense preliminary bombardment would greatly weaken the German defense so in addition to divisional artillery, Army- and Corps-level units would provide support, including nine heavy, five medium and seven light artillery battalions. More than a thousand divisional and corps artillery pieces were committed to the offensiveWeigley, p. 151 and approximately 140,000 artillery rounds were allocated to the operation in VII Corps, with another 27,000 for VIII Corps. To overcome the constraints of the bocage that had made attacks so difficult and costly for both sides, Rhino modifications were made to some

M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It ...

, M5A1 Stuart tanks and M10 tank destroyers, by fitting them with hedge-breaching 'tusks' that could force a path through hedgerows.Hastings, p. 252 German tanks remained restricted to the roads but U.S. armored vehicles could maneuver more freely, although the effectiveness of the devices was exaggerated. By the eve of Cobra, 60 percent of the tanks of the First Army had the rhino modification. To preserve operational security, Bradley forbade their use until Cobra was launched. In all, 1,269 M4 medium tanks, 694 M5A1 light tanks and 288 M10 tank destroyers were available.Zaloga, p. 30

Supporting operations

On 18 July, the British VIII and I Corps—to the east of Caen—launched Operation Goodwood. The offensive began with the largest air bombardment in support of ground forces yet, with more than 1,000 aircraft dropping of high explosive and fragmentation bombs from low altitude.Williams, p. 161 German positions to the east of Caen were shelled by 400 artillery pieces and many villages were reduced to rubble but German artillery further to the south, on the Bourguébus Ridge, was outside the range of the British artilleryWilliams, p. 165 and the defenders of Cagny and Émiéville were largely unscathed by the bombardment.Williams, p. 167 This contributed to the losses suffered by Second Army, which sustained over 4,800 casualties. Principally an armored offensive, between 250 and 400 British tanks were put out of action, although recent examination suggests that only 140 were completely destroyed with an additional 174 damaged. The operation remains the largest tank battle ever fought by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

and resulted in the expansion of the Orne bridgehead and the capture of Caen on the south bank of the Orne. Simultaneously, the II Canadian Corps on the western flank of Goodwood began

Operation Atlantic Operation Atlantic (18–21 July 1944) was a Canadian offensive during the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. The offensive, launched in conjunction with Operation Goodwood by the Second Army, was part of operations to seize the French ...

to strengthen the Allied foothold along the banks of the Orne river and take Verrières Ridge to the south of Caen.Copp, Approach to Verrières Ridge Atlantic made initial gains but ran out of steam as casualties mounted. Having cost the Canadians 1,349 men and with the heavily defended ridge firmly in German hands, Atlantic was closed down on 20 July. At Montgomery's urging, "strongly underlined in the Supreme Commander's communications to Montgomery", the II Canadian Corps commander,

Guy Simonds Lieutenant-General Guy Granville Simonds, (April 23, 1903 – May 15, 1974) was a senior Canadian Army officer who served with distinction during World War II. Acknowledged by many military historians and senior commanders, among them Sir Max Ha ...

, began a second offensive a few days later, codenamed

Operation Spring Operation Spring (July 25–27, 1944) was an offensive operation of the Second World War conducted by II Canadian Corps during the Normandy campaign in 1944. The plan was intended to create pressure on the German forces operating on the Briti ...

. This had the limited but important aim of tying down German units to prevent them from being transferred to the U.S. sector, although Simonds took the opportunity to make another bid for Verrières Ridge. Again the fighting for Verrières Ridge proved extremely bloody for the Canadians, with 25 July marking the costliest day for a Canadian battalion—

The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada , colors = , march = Quick: " Hielan' Laddie"Slow: "The Red Hackle" , mascot = , battles = Second Boer WarFirst World WarSecond World War War in Afg ...

—since the

Dieppe Raid Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, s ...

of 1942. A counterstroke by two German divisions pushed the Canadians back past their start lines and Simonds had to commit reinforcements to stabilize the front. With Goodwood, the Canadian operations caused the Germans to commit most of their armor and reinforcements to the eastern sector. Operation Spring—despite its cost—had drawn the

9th SS Panzer Division The 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" (german: 9. SS-Panzerdivision "Hohenstaufen") was a Waffen-SS armoured division of Nazi Germany during World War II. It participated in battles on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. The division was ...

away from the U.S. sector on the eve of Operation Cobra.Hastings, p. 256 Only two ''Panzer'' divisions with 190 tanks now faced the First Army.Jackson, p. 113 Seven ''Panzer'' divisions with 750 tanks were around Caen, far away from Operation Cobra as were all the heavy Tiger tank battalions and the three ''

Nebelwerfer The Nebelwerfer (smoke mortar) was a World War II German series of weapons. They were initially developed by and assigned to the Wehrmacht's "smoke troops" (''Nebeltruppen''). Initially, two different mortars were fielded before they were replace ...

'' brigades in Normandy.Hastings, p. 236

Logistics

Each division consumed of supplies daily.

Allied offensive

Preliminary attacks

To gain good terrain for Operation Cobra, Bradley and Collins conceived a plan to push forward to the Saint-Lô–Periers road, along which VII and VIII Corps were securing jumping-off positions.Hastings, p. 249 On 18 July, at a cost of 5,000 casualties, the U.S.

29th 29 (twenty-nine) is the natural number following 28 and preceding 30. Mathematics * 29 is the tenth prime number, and the fourth primorial prime. * 29 forms a twin prime pair with thirty-one, which is also a primorial prime. Twenty-nine is also ...

and 35th Infantry Divisions managed to gain the vital heights of Saint-Lô, driving back ''General der Fallschirmtruppen''

Eugen Meindl __NOTOC__ Eugen Meindl (16 July 1892 – 24 January 1951) was a German paratroop general in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Life and career Born in 18 ...

's II Parachute Corps. Meindl's paratroopers, together with the

352nd Infantry Division The 352nd Infantry Division (''352. Infanterie-Division'') was an infantry division of the German Army during World War II. Deployed on the Western Front, the division defended Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944. History Formation and stren ...

(which had been in action since its D-Day defense of

Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" r ...

) were now in ruins, and the stage for the main offensive was set. Due to poor weather conditions that had also been hampering Goodwood and Atlantic, Bradley decided to postpone Cobra for a few days—a decision that worried Montgomery, as the British and Canadian operations had been launched to support a breakout attempt that was failing to materialize.Hastings, p. 253Williams, p. 174 By 24 July the skies had cleared enough for the start order to be given, and 1,600 Allied aircraft took off for Normandy. However, the weather closed in again over the battlefield. Under poor visibility conditions, more than 25 Americans were killed and 130 wounded in the bombing before the air support operation was postponed until the following day. Some enraged soldiers opened fire on their own aircraft, a not uncommon practice in Normandy when suffering from friendly fire.

Main attack and breakthrough 25–27 July

After the one-day postponement, Cobra got underway at 09:38 on 25 July, when around 600 Allied fighter-bombers attacked strongpoints and enemy artillery along a -wide strip of ground located in the St. Lô area. For the next hour, 1,800 heavy bombers of the U.S.

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forc ...

saturated a area on the Saint-Lô–Periers road, succeeded by a third and final wave of medium bombers.Hastings, p. 254 Approximately 3,000 U.S. aircraft had carpet-bombed a narrow section of the front, with the ''

Panzer-Lehr-Division The Panzer-Lehr-Division (in the meaning of: Armoured training division) was an elite German armoured division during World War II. It was formed in 1943 onwards from training and demonstration troops (''Lehr'' = "teach") stationed in Germany, ...

'' taking the brunt of the attack. However, once again not all the casualties were German; Bradley had specifically requested that the bombers approach the target from the east, out of the sun and parallel to the Saint-Lô–Periers road, in order to minimize the risk of friendly losses, but most of the airmen instead came in from the north, perpendicular to the front line. Bradley, however, had apparently misunderstood explanations from the heavy bomber commanders that a parallel approach was impossible because of the time and space constraints Bradley had set. Additionally, a parallel approach would not in any event have assured that all bombs would fall behind German lines because of deflection errors or obscured aim points due to dust and smoke.Sullivan, p. 107 Despite efforts by U.S. units to identify their positions, inaccurate bombing by the Eighth Air Force killed 111 men and wounded 490.Williams, p. 182 The dead included Bradley's friend and fellow West Pointer Lieutenant General Lesley McNair—the highest-ranking U.S. soldier to be killed in action in the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

. By 11:00, the infantry began to move forward, advancing from crater to crater beyond what had been the German outpost line. Although no serious opposition was forecast, the remnants of Fritz Bayerlein's ''Panzer Lehr''—consisting of roughly 2,200 men and 45 armored vehicles—had regrouped and were prepared to meet the advancing U.S. troops, and to the west of ''Panzer Lehr'' the German 5th Parachute Division had escaped the bombing almost intact.Williams, p. 183 Collins' VII Corps were quite disheartened to meet fierce enemy artillery fire, which they expected to have been suppressed by the bombing.Hastings, p. 255 Several U.S. units found themselves entangled in fights against strongpoints held by a handful of German tanks, supporting infantry and guns—VII Corps gained only during the rest of the day. However, if the first day's results had been disappointing, General Collins found cause for encouragement; although the Germans were fiercely holding their positions, these did not seem to form a continuous line and were susceptible to being outflanked or bypassed. Even with prior warning of the U.S. offensive, the British and Canadian actions around Caen had convinced the Germans that the real threat lay there, and tied down their available forces to such an extent that a succession of meticulously prepared defensive positions in depth, as encountered during Goodwood and Atlantic, were not created to meet Cobra. Saint Lo Breakthrough

On the morning of 26 July, the U.S. 2nd Armored Division and the 1st Infantry Division joined the attack as planned, reaching one of Cobra's first objectives—a road junction north of Le Mesnil-Herman—the following day.Hastings, p. 257 Also on 26 July, VIII Corps (Major General Troy H. Middleton) entered the battle, led by the 8th U.S. Infantry Division and 90th U.S. Infantry Division. Despite clear paths of advance through the floods and swamps across their front, both divisions initially disappointed the First Army by failing to gain significant groundHastings, p. 258 but first light the next morning revealed that the Germans had been compelled to retreat by their crumbling left flank, leaving only immense minefields to delay VIII Corps. By noon on 27 July, the U.S. 9th Infantry Division was also clear of any organized German resistance and was advancing rapidly.

Breakout and advance 28–30 July

By 28 July, the German defenses across the U.S. front had largely collapsed under the full weight of the VII and VIII Corps advance and resistance was disorganized and patchy. The 4th Armored Division (VIII Corps)—entering combat for the first time—captured Coutances but met stiff opposition east of the town and U.S. units penetrating into the depth of the German positions were counter-attacked by elements of the 2nd SS Panzer Division,

17th SS Panzergrenadier Division 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, ...

and the 353rd Infantry Division, seeking to escape entrapment.Hastings, p. 260 Around

Roncey Roncey () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. See also *Communes of the Manche department The following is a list of the 446 communes of the Manche department of France. The communes cooperate in the ...

, P-47 Thunderbolts of the 405th Fighter Group destroyed a German column of 122 tanks, 259 other vehicles and 11 artillery pieces. An attack by British Typhoons close to La Baleine destroyed 9tanks, 8other armored vehicles and 20 other vehicles. A counter-attack was mounted against the U.S. 2nd Armored Division by German remnants but this was a disaster and the Germans abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot. Two columns of the 2nd SS Panzer Division were mauled by the U.S. 2nd Armored Division. A column around La Chapelle was bombarded at point blank range by 2nd Armored Division artillery. In two hours, U.S. artillery fired over 700 rounds, into the column. The Germans suffered the loss of 50 dead, 60 wounded and 197 taken prisoner. Material losses were over 260 German combat vehicles destroyed.Zaloga p. 67 Beyond the town another 1,150 German soldiers were killed and the Germans lost 96 armored combat vehicles and trucks. The U.S. 2nd Armored Division destroyed 64 German tanks and 538 other German combat vehicles during Operation Cobra.Zaloga p. 75 The U.S. 2nd Armored Division suffered 49 tank losses in the process. The 2nd Armored Division also inflicted over 7,370 casualties on the Germans while suffering 914 casualties. At the beginning of Operation Cobra the German

Panzer Lehr Division The Panzer-Lehr-Division (in the meaning of: Armoured training division) was an elite German armoured division during World War II. It was formed in 1943 onwards from training and demonstration troops (''Lehr'' = "teach") stationed in Germany, ...

had only 2,200 combat troops, 12 Panzer IV and 16 Panthers fit for action and 30 tanks in various states of repair behind the lines. Panzer Lehr was in the path of Allied bombing that consisted of 1,500 bombers. The division suffered about 1,000 casualties during this bombardment. An exhausted and demoralized Bayerlein reported that his ''Panzer Lehr Division'' was "finally annihilated", with its armor wiped out, its personnel either casualties or missing and all headquarters records lost. Coutances

Field Marshal

'' Oberbefehlshaber West'' (commander of German forces on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

)—was mustering reinforcements, and elements of the

2nd Panzer Division The 2nd Panzer Division ( en, 2nd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the Heer, during World War II. Created as one of the original three German tank divisions in 1935, it was stationed in Austria after the Anschluss and ...

and the

116th Panzer Division The 116th ''Panzer'' Division, also known as the "Windhund (Greyhound) Division", was a German armoured formation that saw combat during World War II. History Formation The 116th Division was constituted in the Rhineland and Westphalia are ...

were approaching the battlefield. The U.S. XIX Corps (Major General Charles H. Corlett) entered the battle on 28 July on the left of VII Corps and between 28 and 31 July became embroiled with these reinforcements in the fiercest fighting since Cobra began. During the night of 29/30 July near

Saint-Denis-le-Gast Saint-Denis-le-Gast () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. See also *Communes of the Manche department The following is a list of the 446 communes of the Manche department of France. The communes coop ...

, to the east of Coutances, elements of the 2nd Armored Division found themselves fighting for their lives against a German column from the 2nd SS Panzer Division and 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division, which passed through the U.S. lines in the darkness. Other elements of the 2nd Armored Division were attacked near Cambry and fought for six hours; Bradley and his commanders knew that they were dominating the battlefield and such desperate assaults were no threat to the U.S. position. When ordered to concentrate his division, Colonel

Heinz Günther Guderian __NOTOC__ Heinz Günther Guderian (23 August 1914 – 25 September 2004) was a German officer in the and later a major general and Inspector of Panzer Troops in the West German and NATO. He was the son of World War II General Heinz Guderian. Bo ...

the senior staff officer of the 116th Panzer Division was frustrated by the high level of Allied fighter-bomber activity. Without receiving direct support from the 2nd Panzer Division as promised, Guderian stated that his panzergrenadiers could not succeed in a counterattack against the Americans. Advancing southward along the coast, later that day, the U.S. VIII Corps seized the town of Avranches—described by historian Andrew Williams as "the gateway to Brittany and southern Normandy"Williams, p. 185—and by 31 July XIX Corps had thrown back the last German counterattacks after fierce fighting, inflicting heavy losses in men and tanks.Hastings, p. 262 The U.S. advance was now relentless, and the First Army was finally free of the bocage.

Operation Bluecoat, 30 July – 7 August

On 30 July, to protect Cobra's flank and prevent the disengagement and relocation of further German forces, VIII Corps and XXX Corps of the Second Army began

Operation Bluecoat Operation Bluecoat was a British offensive in the Battle of Normandy, from 30 July until 7 August 1944, during the Second World War. The geographical objectives of the attack, undertaken by VIII Corps and XXX Corps of the British Second Army ( ...

southwards from Caumont toward Vire and

Mont Pinçon Mont Pinçon is the highest point of the department of Calvados, in Normandy, with an elevation of . It is in the west of Norman Switzerland about to the south-west of Caen, near the village of Plessis-Grimoult. It was the site of many strateg ...

. Bluecoat kept German armored units fixed on the British eastern front and continued the wearing down of the strength of German armored formations in the area. The breakthrough in the center of the Allied front surprised the Germans, when they were distracted by the Allied attacks at both ends of the Normandy bridgehead. By the time of the U.S. breakout at Avranches, there was little to no reserve strength left for ''Unternehmen Lüttich'', which had been defeated by 12 August, leaving the 7th Army with no choice but to retire rapidly east of the Orne river, with a rearguard of the remaining armored and motorized units, to allow time for the surviving infantry to reach the Seine. After the first stage of the withdrawal beyond the Orne, the maneuver collapsed for a lack of fuel, Allied air attacks and the constant pressure of the Allied armies, culminating in the encirclement of German forces in the Falaise pocket.

Aftermath

At noon on 1 August, the

U.S. Third Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

was activated under the command of Lieutenant General

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

. Lieutenant General

Courtney Hodges General Courtney Hicks Hodges (January 5, 1887 – January 16, 1966) was a decorated senior officer in the United States Army who commanded First U.S. Army in the Western European Campaign of World War II. Hodges was a notable "mustang" office ...

assumed command of the First Army and Bradley was promoted to the overall command of both armies, named the U.S. 12th Army Group. Patton wrote a poem containing the words, The U.S. advance following Cobra was extraordinarily rapid. Between 1and 4August, seven divisions of Patton's Third Army had swept through Avranches and over the bridge at

Pontaubault Pontaubault () is a commune in the Manche department in north-western France. History Patton's VIII Corps crossed the Pontaubault bridge on 1 August 1944 into Brittany following the success of Operation Cobra Traffic From 29 July 1901 t ...

into Brittany. The Westheer (German army in the west) had been reduced to such a poor state by the Allied offensives that, with no prospect of reinforcement in the wake of

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...

, the Soviet summer offensive against

Army Group Centre Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army for ...

, very few Germans believed they could now avoid defeat. Rather than order his remaining forces to withdraw to the Seine,

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

sent a directive to von Kluge demanding "an immediate counterattack between Mortain and Avranches" ( ''Unternehmen Lüttich'') to "annihilate" the enemy and make contact with the west coast of the Cotentin peninsula.Williams, p. 196 Eight of the nine Panzer divisions in Normandy were to be used in the attack but only four (one of them incomplete) could be relieved from their defensive tasks and assembled in time.Wilmot, p. 401 German commanders immediately protested that such an operation was impossible given their remaining resources but these objections were overruled and the counter-offensive commenced, on 7August around Mortain. The 2nd, 1st SS and 2nd SS Panzer Divisions led the assault, although with only 75

Panzer IV The ''Panzerkampfwagen'' IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the ''Panzer'' IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panz ...

s, 70

Panthers Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

and 32

self-propelled gun Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled ...

s. Hopelessly optimistic, the offensive was over within 24 hours, although fighting continued until 13 August. By 8 August, the city of

—the former headquarters of the German 7th Army—had fallen to the Americans. With von Kluge's few remaining battleworthy formations destroyed by the First Army, the Allied commanders realized that the entire German position in Normandy was collapsing.Williams, p. 197 Bradley declared: On 14 August, in conjunction with U.S. movements northward to Chambois, Canadian forces launched

Operation Tractable Operation Tractable was the final attack conducted by Canadian and Polish troops, supported by a British tank brigade, during the Battle of Normandy during World War II. The operation was to capture the tactically important French town of Fala ...

; the Allied intention was to trap and destroy the German 7th Army and 5th Panzer Army near the town of Falaise. Five days later, the two arms of the encirclement were almost complete; the advancing U.S. 90th Infantry Division had made contact with the Polish 1st Armored Division and the first Allied units crossed the

at Mantes Gassicourt, while German units were fleeing eastward by any means they could find. By 22 August, the Falaise Pocket—which the Germans had been fighting desperately to keep open to allow their trapped forces to escape—was finally sealed, ending the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

with a major Allied victory.Bercuson, p. 232 All German forces west of the Allied lines were now dead or in captivityHastings, p. 306 and although perhaps 100,000 German troops escaped they left behind 40,000–50,000 prisoners and more than 10,000 dead. A total of 344 tanks and self-propelled guns, 2,447 soft-skinned vehicles and 252 artillery pieces were found abandoned or destroyed in the northern sector of the pocket. The Allies were able to advance freely through undefended territory and by 25 August all four Allied armies (First Canadian, Second British, First U.S., and Third U.S.) involved in the Normandy campaign were on the river Seine.Williams, p. 204

Footnotes

Citations

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Panzer IV vs Sherman: France 1944 by Steven Zaloga

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cobra, Operation 1944 in France Battles and operations of World War II involving the United States Military operations of World War II involving Germany Operation Overlord