Operation Martlet (also known as Operation Dauntless) was part of a series of British attacks to capture the French town of

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 ...

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 ...

begun by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. It was a preliminary operation undertaken on 25 June 1944 by XXX Corps of the British Second Army, to capture Rauray and the area around Noyers. The attack was to protect the right flank of

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 ...

as it began

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 ...

, an offensive into the Odon Valley west of Caen, on 26 June. The

50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division The 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that saw distinguished service in the Second World War. Pre-war, the division was part of the Territorial Army (TA) and the two ''Ts'' in the divisional in ...

and the

49th (West Riding) Infantry Division The 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division fought in the First World War in the trenches of the Western Front, in the fields of France and Flanders. During the Second World War, the divis ...

were to capture Juvigny-sur-Seulles,

Vendes Vendes () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Calvados department The following is a list of the 528 communes of the Calvados department of Franc ...

and Rauray, to prevent German counter-attacks against VIII Corps from the area of the Rauray Spur and then extend the attack towards Noyers and

Aunay-sur-Odon Aunay-sur-Odon (, literally ''Aunay on Odon'') is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Les Monts d'Aunay. The inhabitants of the commun ...

. It was the first time in Normandy that the 49th (West Riding) Division operated as a division. The attack front was held by the right flank of 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, ...

and the left flank of the 12th SS Panzer Division ''Hitlerjugend'', with the support of guns of the . The attack failed to achieve its objectives by the end of 25 June and the 49th (West Riding) Division continued the operation until 1 July, when the division defeated a counter-attack by of 2nd SS-Panzer Division and the 9th SS-Panzer Division , which lost and other armoured vehicles. The II SS ''Panzerkorps'', had been intended for a counter-offensive west of Caen towards

Bayeux Bayeux () is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England. It is also known as the first major tow ...

but was so depleted by the losses of operations Martlet and Epsom and the danger of another British offensive near Caen, that it was reduced to the static defence of the Odon valley.

Background

Invasion of Normandy

The Norman town of

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,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 ...

objective of

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 ...

of the British Second Army, which was to take Caen and form a front running from

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.First US Army and form a jumping-off point for an advance southwards to capture

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 ...

. The 3rd Infantry Division landed on

Sword Beach Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied Fr ...

on 6 June but was stopped short of Caen by 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 ...

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 ...

, a pincer attack to encircle Caen, was begun by I Corps and XXX Corps the following day. I Corps attacked southwards out of the bridgehead on the east bank of the Orne and was halted by the

after advancing a short distance; the attack by XXX Corps was held up west of Caen, north of Tilly-sur-Seulles, by the

. The 7th Armoured Division side-stepped westwards and attacked through a gap on the right flank opened by the

and the 1st US Infantry Division, capturing the town of Villers-Bocage. German forces counter-attacked immediately and the

Battle of Villers-Bocage The Battle of Villers-Bocage took place during the Second World War on 13 June 1944, one week after the Normandy Landings, which had begun the Western Allies' conquest of German-occupied France. The battle was the result of a British attempt to ...

ended in a costly stalemate. The vanguard of the 7th Armoured Division withdrew from the town and by 17 June, the Panzer Lehr Division had also been forced back and XXX Corps had taken Tilly-sur-Seulles.

Battle for Caen

Allied offensive operations were postponed when a severe storm hit 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 ...

on 19 June, which delayed the Allied build-up for three days and left them three divisional disembarkations behind schedule. Operation Dreadnought, an attack from the Orne bridgehead by

to outflank Caen from the east, was cancelled. The poor weather grounded most Allied aircraft until 23 June, allowing the Germans to receive reinforcements relatively undisturbed and the equivalent of two German divisions, artillery and mortar units reached Normandy. Defensive positions were strengthened with minefields and about seventy 88 mm anti-tank guns were sited in hedgerows and woods on the approaches to Caen. On 23 June, the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division attacked Ste Honorine la Chardonnerette before dawn, captured the village and then repulsed a counter-attack, destroying thirteen German tanks. Further west, VIII Corps, which had recently arrived from England, was moved into line between XXX Corps and I Corps, to the west of Caen. Planning for an attack by VIII Corps on 26 June had begun and a preliminary attack by XXX Corps to capture high ground in the area west of VIII Corps was arranged for 25 June.

Prelude

Plan

Operation Epsom, the VIII Corps attack due on 26 June, was vulnerable to a German counter-attack from the Rauray Spur, an area of high ground to the west, which overlooked the line of advance of

15th (Scottish) Infantry Division The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served during the Second World War. It was raised on 2 September 1939, the day before war was declared, as part of the Territorial Army (TA) and served i ...

around the village of

Cheux Cheux () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Thue et Mue.Aunay-sur-Odon Aunay-sur-Odon (, literally ''Aunay on Odon'') is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Les Monts d'Aunay. The inhabitants of the commun ...

. The 49th Division was to reach the first objective ("Barracuda") on the road between Juvigny and Fontenay, with three battalions and then advance south to the second objective ("Walrus") at Tessel Wood and the farm at St. Nicholas, with two fresh battalions. The division was then to advance to the final objective ("Albacore") at Rauray village and the Rauray Spur, to establish a line from Rauray to

and Juvigny-sur-Seulles (Juvigny), to secure the right flank of the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division. The 49th Division planned to advance on a two-brigade front, with the 146th Infantry Brigade on the right and the 147th Infantry Brigade on the left, to its first phase objective at Fontenay and then to Rauray. The 8th Armoured Brigade and the 70th Infantry Brigade were held back in support; an extra field artillery regiment and a regiment of

M10 tank destroyer The M10 tank destroyer was an American tank destroyer of World War II. After US entry into World War II and the formation of the Tank Destroyer Force, a suitable vehicle was needed to equip the new battalions. By November 1941, the Army requeste ...

s were added to the divisional artillery and for the first day, five VIII Corps field artillery regiments and parts of two anti-aircraft brigades operating as ground artillery were made available "on call". On the 50th Division front, a firm base was to be maintained, ready to follow up a German withdrawal.

German defences

Opposite XXX Corps, the German front was held by the Panzer Lehr Division and the left flank of the 12th SS Panzer Division ''Hitlerjugend'', which held a front from Epron north of Caen westwards to Fontenay. The divisions were supported by guns of the , from Saint-André-sur-Orne to Aunay-sur-Odon, which had instructions to engage Allied tanks at ranges greater than . South of the 49th Division, the German defences were held by the III Battalion, 26th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment and tanks from the 12th SS Panzer Regiment from the 12th SS Panzer Division. Both regiments were dug in behind extensive minefields in well-camouflaged positions but had been in action since the invasion and were tired. By 24 June, the Hitler Youth had suffered casualties (about half of its infantry), had only

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 ...

tanks, and an unknown number of the ten tank destroyers in the division on 6 June. The Panzer Lehr Division had Panzer IVs, and a number of the forty and

assault gun Assault gun (from german: Sturmgeschütz - "storm gun", as in "storming/assaulting") is a type of self-propelled artillery which uses an infantry support gun mounted on a motorized chassis, normally an armored fighting vehicle, which are designed t ...

s in the division on 1 June. Since the invasion the division had lost mostly from its infantry and was due to be relieved to refit, as soon as the 276th Division arrived from Belgium.

Battle

25 June

At on the morning of 25 June, Operation Martlet commenced with a mass artillery bombardment, just ahead of the start line of the 49th Division. At the bombardment began to creep forward and the infantry advanced downhill through cornfields. A thick ground mist had developed, reducing visibility to in places. In the 146th Infantry Brigade area on the right flank, the 4th Lincolns and tanks of the

24th Lancers The 24th Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army that existed from late 1940 to mid-1944. Assigned to the 8th Armoured Brigade, the regiment fought during the Invasion of Normandy before being disbanded in July 1944. After disbandment ...

advanced and after an hour, their field radios became ineffective and the infantry struggled to keep direction, shouting to identify themselves as they advanced through the mist, smoke and mortar bombs. A group of German half-tracks were destroyed by hand grenades and a German officer was shot while trying to signal with a bugle, as the battalion reached "Barracuda". As the sun rose, visibility increased to and a hot and sunny day began. On the left of 146th Brigade, the

Hallamshire Battalion The Hallamshire Battalion was an infantry battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment, part of the British Army in existence from 1859. History Formation and early history Formed in 1859 as The Hallamshire Volunteer Rifle Corps with its headquart ...

took compass bearings every few yards and reached "Barracuda" on the Fontenay–Tessel-Bretteville road, from where it came under fire from tanks of the 8th Company of II Battalion, 12th SS Panzer Regiment and two companies of III Battalion, 26th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment. The Hallamshires knocked out two German tanks with 6-pounder anti-tank guns and then advanced laterally in both directions along the road, westwards to le Pont de Juvigny (le Pont) and eastwards to Fontenay, through shell and mortar fire. At noon the

Tyneside Scottish Tyneside Scottish is an honour title which has been held by a variety of British Army units since 1914. The Regiments which have held the title are the Northumberland Fusiliers, Durham Light Infantry, Black Watch and Royal Artillery. The Tynesid ...

moved up to le Haut d'Audrieu to consolidate the area and the 1/4th

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...

advanced with the 24th Lancers through the 4th Lincolns, from the hamlet of Bas de Fontenay (Lower Fontenay), west of Fontenay village along the Juvigny road, to objective "Walrus" at Tessel Wood on the spur north of Vendes. The infantry advanced uphill and had made in four minutes behind a dense creeping bombardment, when a German ''

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 ...

'' bombardment began, slowing the advance and causing many casualties. The battalion eventually advanced to the edge of the wood. A counter-attack was repulsed and the 24th Lancers knocked out two German tanks. On the left flank, in the 147th Infantry Brigade area, the 11th

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...

advancing towards "Barracuda" on the northern fringe of Fontenay, disappeared into the mist and immediately had many casualties. Soldiers held on to each other to maintain direction and when the sun rose, snipers and machine-gunners in their path began to inflict more losses. The survivors reached Fontenay and began to fight through the village hand-to-hand; they then came under fire from Parc de Boislonde to the north-east and were unable to get beyond the road to Tilly. At the 1/7th

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

(1/7th Dukes) advanced through the remnants of the 11th RSF and continued the attack on the village. The III Battalion, 26th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment, which had been reinforced by troops sent from Caen by the 21st Panzer Division and from Vendes by the Panzer Lehr Division, held on to the woods and the east end of the village. Hand-to-hand fighting went on in the village all night. By nightfall, the 49th Division had established a line roughly south-west from Fontenay, about short of Rauray and the high ground which had observation over the VIII Corps area. Cloud cover began to increase as plans were made for the Tyneside Scottish to attack Rauray at dawn. On the western flank of XXX Corps, the 50th Division had managed only to advance a short distance south of Tilly-sur-Seulles. German reserves behind the front opposite VIII Corps, had been moved west to reinforce the defenders attacked by XXX Corps, which was believed by the Germans to be the main axis of the British offensive. The weekly situation report by

Army Group B Army Group B (German: ') was the title of three German Army Groups that saw action during World War II. Operational history Army Group B first took part in the Battle of France in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands. The second formation of Ar ...

for recorded that a gap wide and deep had been forced at the junction of the defences of the Panzer Lehr and 12th SS Panzer divisions.

26 June

The 70th Infantry and 8th Armoured brigades prepared to advance south of Fontenay at with Operation Epsom due to begin further west at On the left flank of the 49th Division, the 7th Dukes and the

Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY) was a British Yeomanry regiment. In 1967 it was amalgamated with other units to form the Royal Yeomanry (RY), a light cavalry regiment of the Army Reserve. Originally raised as the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Ca ...

attacked towards "Walrus" at with the first objective being St. Nicholas farm, about away. The German garrison and hidden tanks repulsed the attack until when a second attempt after a twenty-minute artillery barrage, took the farm and ground beyond. The Yeomanry tanks then advanced to the crossroads north of Rauray and the 11th DLI arrived at to consolidate the position. A patrol lurked forward to the edge of the village for a night attack but found that despite a fighter-bomber attack with rockets during the day, the village was full of German infantry and the woods nearby were held by tanks. In the centre, the 1st Tyneside Scottish and the 4/7th Royal Dragoon Guards prepared to attack , with the right flank guarded by the 24th Lancers and the 12th (Motorised) Battalion,

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United ...

(12th KRRC) of the 8th Armoured Brigade, making an advance towards Tessel-Bretteville. The attack began with less artillery support, as much of the extra artillery made available on 25 June, reverted to the support of VIII Corps. German return fire from tanks and concealed machine-guns forced the infantry under the cover of banks, which had been ranged by

Nebelwerfers 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 repl ...

and were immediately bombarded. The rockets hit trees and hedges nearby and sent lethal wood splinters everywhere. Beyond stream, four dug-in tanks held up the attack, as well as a company of infantry in and infantry reinforcements from the 21st Panzer Division, dug in around Tessel Wood. The 12th KRRC crossed le Bordel Rau stream at midday but was pinned down beyond and six Dragoon Guard tanks were knocked out attacking the farm. At the infantry were withdrawn to le Haut d'Audrieu, except for a small party which reached the farm. The 12th KRRC, mounted mainly in

M3 Half-track The M3 half-track was an American armored personnel carrier half-track widely used by the Allies during World War II and in the Cold War. Derived from the M2 half-track car, the M3 was extensively produced, with about 15,000 standard M3s and mo ...

s and

Universal Carrier The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier and sometimes simply the Bren Carrier from the light machine gun armament, is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and othe ...

s, attacked towards Tessel-Bretteville as the Shermans of the 24th Lancers moved past the east side of Tessel Wood. The British were engaged by the tanks at and others near Tessel-Bretteville. Two Panthers met the leading squadron of the Lancers, one tank each being hit and set on fire. The advance was limited by 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 ...

and sunken lanes but reached stream. The attackers then reached the west end of the village, before retiring to Tessel Wood under a smoke screen, due to the number of tank and other vehicle losses. During the night, two companies from II Battalion, 192nd Panzer Grenadier Regiment of the 21st Panzer Division, came up to bolster the defences of the Panzer Lehr Division near Vendes, which remained in German hands for the duration of the operation. The Panzer Lehr Division had briefly engaged elements of 146th Brigade but most of it remained concentrated against the 50th Division on the right flank of the 49th Division.

27 June

At Yeomanry tanks and a patrol from the 11th DLI began to probe into Rauray against the III Battalion, 26th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment. Flanking fire from tanks and knocked out several Yeomanry tanks and forced the rest to withdraw. A platoon of the DLI fought their way into the village centre but the rest of the battalion was bombarded by mortar fire, directed by a concealed observer. After an artillery bombardment at the DLI fixed bayonets and advanced in line abreast through machine-gun and sniper fire, which caused many casualties and led to a truce being arranged at noon, for both sides to recover wounded. The attack resumed at and by the village had been captured; several German snipers were found to have been camouflaged and tied to trees. To the west of Tessel-Bretteville, the Hallamshires attacked towards Vendes from Tessel Wood but made little progress and preparations were made to attack Brettevillette the next day.

28 June

At a barrage by four field artillery regiments and the guns of an

Army Group Royal Artillery An Army Group Royal Artillery (AGRA) was a British Commonwealth military formation during the Second World War and shortly thereafter. Generally assigned to Army corps, an AGRA provided the medium and heavy artillery to higher formations within the ...

(AGRA) began and on the left flank, the attack by the 10th DLI and the 4/7th Dragoon Guards resumed through the positions of the 11th DLI in Rauray, towards the high ground south of the village, where the fighting went on all day. At the 1st Tyneside Scottish in the centre, advanced through the bocage close to the creeping barrage, towards the objective of Brettevillette south-west of Rauray. The battalion reached the first objective "Jock" (Tessel-Bretteville) after forty minutes, where two companies consolidated and two pushed on towards the final objective "Jones" (Brettevillette) behind another creeping barrage. German machine-gun fire became intense and the rear of the battalion was bombarded by artillery and mortars but the advance continued and by the battalion had entered the village. After thirty minutes the British were counter-attacked by of the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'', which had arrived the day before from the area south of St. Lô and relieved the 12th SS Panzer Division west of Rauray. With a Panther company of the 2nd Panzer Division, the began several hours of mutually costly counter-attacks as the Tyneside Scottish tried to consolidate their positions in the village. The battalion was withdrawn to Tessel-Bretteville by with an advanced company dug in north of Brettevillette. By recovering the village and holding Queudeville to the south, had kept open a route from Noyers-Bocage for a forthcoming counter-offensive by the

II SS Panzer Corps The II SS Panzer Corps was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on both the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern and Western Front (World War II), Western Fronts during World War II. It was commanded by Paul Hausser during the Thir ...

against the VIII Corps salient to the east.

29–30 June

The weather on the morning of 29 June was bright and clear and Allied aircraft conducted many ground attack

sorties A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare ...

and reconnaissance flights, which found that many German reinforcements were heading for the Odon area. The German counter-offensive by the , took place south of the 49th Division, either side of the Odon river between Queudeville and Évrecy, against the VIII Corps salient. XXX Corps provided artillery support to VIII Corps and prepared to defend the ground around Rauray. The 1st Tyneside Scottish found that any movement attracted massed mortar fire from and a tank periodically harassed the company dug in north of the village. The company was withdrawn to avoid an artillery barrage, preparatory to an attack on the village by the 11th DLI but as soon as the move was spotted, a bombardment began and caused many casualties. The battalion was relieved at on 30 June, by the 4th Battalion

The Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments ...

(4th Lincolns). and artillery fire fell on the 10th DLI and 4/7th Dragoon Guards south of Rauray during the day, where several tanks were lost while reconnoitring the forward slope. On 30 June, the two Durham battalions were relieved at Rauray by the Tyneside Scottish, which sent patrols forward in the evening. The Tyneside Scottish selected as a tank killing ground, an area east and south-east of in front of A and B companies, which had the only good field of observation and dug in four

6-pounder 6-pounder gun or 6-pdr, usually denotes a gun firing a projectile weighing approximately . Guns of this type include: *QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss, a 57 mm naval gun of the 1880s; a similar weapon was designed by Driggs-Schroeder for the US Navy ...

anti-tank gun An anti-tank gun is a form of artillery designed to destroy tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, normally from a static defensive position. The development of specialized anti-tank munitions and anti-tank guns was prompted by the appearance ...

s by the evening. Patrols were sent forward but discovered little because of the poor view in the bocage. The 11th RSF held the right flank near Juvigny, in touch with the 50th Division to the west and the 1/4th KOYLI to the east, who were at the western edge of Tessel Wood. The Hallamshires held the south-west corner of the wood, a little to the north of Vendes and linked with the 4th Lincolns at Tessel-Bretteville. The 11th DLI were dug in near Rauray and linked with the Tyneside Scottish on the high ground at Across the divisional and corps boundary to the east, along the road to le Haut du Bosq, the 6th

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's O ...

(6th KOSB) of the 15th (Scottish) Division were dug in on the south side of the road, an obvious avenue of attack against VIII Corps. Only the units near had a relatively unhampered view, the other battalions being hemmed in by banks, hedgerows and trees. The three 49th Division artillery regiments, tanks of the 24th Lancers, anti-tank guns of the 217th Anti-tank Regiment RA, two dummy 6-pounder anti-tank guns and the Vickers machine-guns of the 2nd Kensingtons, were made ready to support of the infantry. Wireless intelligence, gleaned from the , led to Bomber Command dropping of bombs during the evening on suspected German tank concentrations at Villers-Bocage which, along with a naval and artillery bombardment, obliterated the town in twelve minutes.

German counter-attack, 1 July

During the night of much activity and the sound of tracked vehicles was heard behind the German front by patrols. The 50th Division had continued its attacks south-west of Tilly-la-Campagne and captured

Hottot-les-Bagues Hottot-les-Bagues () is a commune in the Calvados department and Normandy region of north-western France. Geography Hottot-les-Bagues lies 14 kilometres south-east of Bayeux. History The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Viking leader Ro ...

twice, before losing it to counter-attacks; Longraye had been captured to the west. In the morning the 56th Brigade, on the right flank of the 50th Division, took over the line north of Bois de Saint Germain and Crauville, then began vigorous patrolling against the 277th Infantry Division and the tanks of the 2nd Panzer Division, ready for an attack on the wood on 8 July. The Germans had planned a big night attack against the VIII Corps salient for on 1 July by and the 9th SS Panzer Division but the commander of the division, Woith, was wounded by artillery fire and failed to pass on the attack order in time. It was also found that the tanks of the 9th SS Panzer Regiment had retired after dark and the attack was postponed until At midnight a bombardment by mortars and artillery began on the British positions; patrols reported that tanks could be heard south of Brettevillette and soon after, the Tyneside Scottish were ordered to stand to, ready for sunrise at At , with the 19th and 20th SS Panzergrenadier regiments and the 9th SS Panzer Regiment from the 9th SS Panzer Division, began to advance through a smoke screen towards , south of le Haut du Bosq on the Cheux road. Groups of five tanks advanced accompanied by Panzergrenadiers, fired on the British infantry as the troops deployed and then moved forward. Other groups advanced on an arc from east to north-east, into the defences of the 6th KOSB and the 4th Lincolns from Rauray to Tessel-Bretteville. The 24th Lancers and the divisional artillery opened fire German tank-infantry groups as they emerged from the smoke screen at about German tactics reflected the vulnerability of tanks and infantry once they emerged from the bocage, against which the British replied with anti-tank fire from camouflaged positions, although to gain a field of fire the guns were dug in close to hedgerows, which disclosed the approximate position of the guns. German fire on the anti-tank positions increased in accuracy during the engagement and they were destroyed one-by-one. The German artillery alternated HE and smoke bombardments so that the tanks could emerge from the smoke-screen, engage suspected British positions and then move on supported by infantry. The British field artillery then forced the German tanks to retire and the infantry to get under cover, while the German artillery resumed the HE bombardment; each German thrust inflicted casualties on the British and went further forward. German snipers and parties of machine-gunners infiltrated the British outpost line around Rauray and the positions of the Tyneside Scottish. By the British outpost line had been overrun on both sides of the track. A line of 17-pounder anti-tank guns of 344 Antitank Battery RA near le Haut-du-Bosq, became the front line despite the restricted view. When A Company of the Tyneside Scottish was forced back into the 6th KOSB area, German tanks and Panzergrenadiers swung north, behind B Company, where they were engaged by tanks of the 24th Lancers. Six German tanks were knocked out and the advance was stopped; artillery was called for around Brettevillette. Much of the artillery support had responded to calls by artillery observers for Defensive Fire task and had fallen in the area in front of the Tyneside Scottish and the KOSB. During the afternoon, an artillery observer in the Belleval Château saw German tanks forming up in a triangular wood and called for The call was revised to a "Mike Target" (to be engaged by all of the field regiment), then revised to an "Uncle target" (bombardment by the of all three divisional field artillery regiments) and revised again to a "Victor Target", (a bombardment including all of the medium and heavy guns of VIII Corps). A similar call was made on the guns of XXX Corps and a huge bombardment fell on the German staging area. Later in the day British troops re-occupied the outpost line, supported by Churchill Crocodile flame-throwers, which flamed hedgerows and forced the German infantry into the open, many of whom ran back rather than attempt to surrender and were shot down. On the front of the 10th DLI, 11th DLI and the 4th Lincolns, German infantry encroached on defensive positions but were pushed out by counter-attacks, which were costly for both sides. C Squadron of the Sherwood Rangers lost two tanks in support of the 10th DLI and the 55th Anti-Tank Regiment RA, which was deployed behind the DLI battalions, knocked out six Panthers.

Aftermath

Analysis

In 2003,

Terry Copp Terry Copp (born 1938) is a Canadian military historian and Professor Emeritus at Wilfrid Laurier University and is co-founder and Director of the Laurier Centre for Military and Strategic Disarmament Studies since the late 1980s. Copp was born ...

wrote that the German counter-attack against the ground captured by XXX Corps was a costly failure and that the Germans holding the remaining positions on the Rauray Spur were reduced to passive defence. German armoured units had encountered the same problems of lack of observation and room for manoeuvre as the Allies. A shortage of infantry and the effect of Allied artillery fire made co-operation much more difficult and made direct command almost impossible. Operation Martlet had achieved its purpose in distracting and inflicting attrition on the German forces opposite. Ian Daglish wrote in 2007, that although XXX Corps had failed to reach its objective, German attention was diverted from the area of Operation Epsom and that tanks in the area had been sent westwards to counter-attack the gap forced by the 49th Division, leaving them out of position when the main attack by VIII Corps began. In a report on the battle of 1 July written the same day, Lieutenant-Colonel A. E. Warhurst called the German repulse a severe defeat, in which had been committed. Warhurst estimated that tanks had been knocked out, ten to the Tyneside Scottish, eleven to the 24th Lancers, six to the 217th Battery, 55th Anti-tank Regiment and five to a barrage from the medium artillery; five Shermans were lost by the 24th Lancers. Each of the mortars of the Tyneside Irish fired and the artillery inflicted many losses on the Germans because the British were able to maintain excellent signal communications all day, while German radio operators had to be stationed at a distance from their headquarters, due to the speed with which British wireless listening posts plotted their positions and directed artillery fire onto them. In 2013, John Buckley wrote that the German defence against Martlet had been poorly co-ordinated and was costly against the firepower at the disposal of the British, a tactical phenomenon encountered by the Germans all through the Normandy campaign. Martlet had succeeded in diverting German forces from Operation Epsom but the German success in holding Rauray Ridge was a British failure, which left the Germans in a commanding position, even when Rauray was captured.

Casualties

In June, the assembly of the 2nd SS Panzer Division in Normandy was incomplete; on 1 July, the division had an establishment of but only at the battlefront. and the 9th SS Panzer Division defended the Rauray Spur and participated in the counter-offensive against Operation Epsom. The lost (until 1 July inclusive) killed, and The 9th SS Panzer Division had until 1 July (inclusive) and the number of operational fell from 41 to 9 in June and rose to ten on 2 July, the number Panthers fell from 27 to 19 between the number of fell from 38 to 22 in June and to 19 on 2 July. The left flank units and reinforcements from the 12th SS Panzer Division were engaged against XXX Corps and from 24 June to 11 July, the division lost in the three days to 1 July inclusive. From 24 June to 2 July, the number of operational tanks fell from 58 to 32 ''Panzer IV'', 44 to 24 Panthers and an unknown number of . The Panzer Lehr Division was slowly relieved by the 276th Infantry Division from 26 June to 5 July and suffered in June. From 24 to 26 June the number of operational fell from 33 to 27, Panthers from 30 to 26; the number of operational and is unknown. By 1 July, availability had recovered to and . The 21st Panzer Division lost from 24 to 30 June and another by 6 July. From 21 June to 1 July, the number of operational fell from 76 to 61, although it is not known which losses occurred in action against XXX Corps during Operation Martlet. The number of operational Tiger tanks available to the 101st fell from 15 to 11 between 16 June and 1 July and from 11 to none by 4 July. The 49th (West Riding) Division casualties were Scottish, and in the 4th Lincolns.

Subsequent operations

The 49th Division held the line around Rauray for almost a month, except for a diversionary attack around Juvigny during the Second Battle of the Odon. On 30 July, the division was transferred from XXX Corps to I Corps and took post in the bridgehead east of the River

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributa ...

. The 12th SS-Panzer Division , severely depleted by the Epsom battles, continued fighting against further British offensives at Carpiquet airfield (

Operation Windsor Operation Windsor was a Canadian attack, which was part of the Battle of Normandy during the Second World War. The attack was undertaken by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division to take Carpiquet and the adjacent airfield, from troops of the of ...

), Caen (

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 ...

) and Operation Goodwood. It settled in a position south-east of Caen in mid-July, from where it was gradually forced back by the later Anglo-Canadian offensives. The 9th SS-Panzer Division remained in the Odon Valley, holding

Hill 112 A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

against the

43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was an infantry division of Britain's Territorial Army (TA). The division was first formed in 1908, as the Wessex Division. During the First World War, it was broken-up and never served as a complete forma ...

during Operation Jupiter. It too was eventually pushed back into the Falaise Pocket.

Notes

Footnotes

References

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External links

Breaking the Panzers, book review (BCMH)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martlet, Operation Battle for Caen

Martlet A martlet in English heraldry is a mythical bird without feet that never roosts from the moment of its drop-birth until its death fall; martlets are proposed to be continuously on the wing. It is a compelling allegory for continuous effort, expre ...

Battles of World War II involving Germany June 1944 events July 1944 events 1944 in France