Beyond the beaches and D-Day;
The Battle for Normandy continues…
By the end of D-Day, nearly 160,000 troops, in nearly 5,000 craft had crossed the channel and landed in France. Even though none of the original D-Day objectives - the capture of Carentan, Saint-Lô, Caen, and Bayeux and the establishment of a frontline 10 miles inland - had been achieved, by midnight, the allies had a strong toehold in Normandy and the tide had turned.
Historians cannot agree whether Allied success was ever in doubt, given the logistical advantage they had amassed, but D-Day proved to be just the start of a long campaign to liberate Normandy and then Europe. Those events are equally as important and the story of the Battle for Normandy in the weeks after D-Day (described by the use of D+1 for the day after D-Day and then D+2 and so on), are just as compelling.
The Battle for Normandy was a hard-fought campaign. In the east, British and Canadian divisions were to bear the brunt of German resistance which would be strengthened by the arrival of reinforcements from the rest of France, while in the East, US forces would fight their way inland north towards the port of Cherbourg and south to hook up with the British and Canadians.
Local conditions favoured the German defenders: instead of wooden fences, Norman farms and the narrow winding lanes that linked them, were, and still are, enclosed by century-old hedgerows on top of man-made earth walls, deeply rooted with plants. This area is known as the “Bocage” and it created a huge barrier for the Allied forces. German forces used the hedgerows and the extensive areas that they had flooded before D-Day, defensively, creating deadly killing fields which Allied troops had to cross. These nightmare conditions resulted in slow progress after D-day and led to heavy casualties.
One of the priorities for the allies after D-Day, was to re-supply their frontline. In the absence of a large port in the landing zone, Winston Churchill had foreseen the need for an artificial harbour to be created. He ordered that two mobile “Mulberry” harbours were designed and built ready to be transported in bits, over the channel to Normandy where they would be assembled to form manmade ports. In this way, vital supplies could be unloaded efficiently. Large and complex concrete and metal components were built in secret throughout the United Kingdom and they began arriving in Normandy on D-Day+1. “Mulberry A”, was built at Arromanches on Gold Beach by the British and “Mulberry B” at Omaha was built by the Americans. They were ready for use by mid-June. Severe storms on 19th June, interrupted the landing of supplies at Mulberry A and destroyed Mulberry B. At Arromanches, repairs were made quickly, enabling it to receive 6,000 tons of vital materiel every day for the next ten months. The story of the harbours is told in the excellent Musee Debarquement in Arromanches.
The week after D-Day was met with inconsistent resistance but overall progress was slow; the five beach bridgeheads were not connected until 12th June, by which time the Allies held a front around 60 miles long and 15 miles deep. By this time, Hitler had mobilised thousands of Germans and most significantly many tank regiments to oppose further allied moves inland; fighting was intense, progress slow and casualties heavy.
By mid-June, American forces had successfully pushed north and west, isolating Cherbourg from German reinforcements, but the city was so well defended that it did not fall until June 27th. By this time the Germans had destroyed most port facilities, and it did not become operational again until September.
Meanwhile, in the east, the British had come up against even heavier resistance. After a delay because of the storms on 19th June, Operation Epsom, which saw troops swing round the city of Caen to take it from the south, began on 26th June. The Germans retaliated with all their available Panzer units and although the operation failed, they lost a critical number of tanks. British and Canadian forces resumed their attack on Caen and captured the suburbs and city centre north of the Orne during Operation Charnwood on 8th-9th July. However, it was not until the 18th-20th July and Operation Atlantic, that Caen was finally captured, when the II Canadian Corps took the south of the city. The Germans had committed most of their Panzer divisions to their defence of Caen, and the costly defeat deprived the Germans of the necessary resources required to reinforce their troops in the west; this had allowed the Americans to push as far south as St Lo.
Operation Cobra was launched by the Americans on 25th July, and they advanced even further south reaching Avranches by 1st August. The British had launched Operation Bluecoat on 30th July to secure Vire and the high ground of Mont Pinçon. Even further south, Patton's U.S. Third Army, had taken most of Brittany and the Loire and then drove eastward towards the where the German forces were retreating from Caen and the Cotentin Peninsula.
Historians cannot agree whether Allied success was ever in doubt, given the logistical advantage they had amassed, but D-Day proved to be just the start of a long campaign to liberate Normandy and then Europe. Those events are equally as important and the story of the Battle for Normandy in the weeks after D-Day (described by the use of D+1 for the day after D-Day and then D+2 and so on), are just as compelling.
The Battle for Normandy was a hard-fought campaign. In the east, British and Canadian divisions were to bear the brunt of German resistance which would be strengthened by the arrival of reinforcements from the rest of France, while in the East, US forces would fight their way inland north towards the port of Cherbourg and south to hook up with the British and Canadians.
Local conditions favoured the German defenders: instead of wooden fences, Norman farms and the narrow winding lanes that linked them, were, and still are, enclosed by century-old hedgerows on top of man-made earth walls, deeply rooted with plants. This area is known as the “Bocage” and it created a huge barrier for the Allied forces. German forces used the hedgerows and the extensive areas that they had flooded before D-Day, defensively, creating deadly killing fields which Allied troops had to cross. These nightmare conditions resulted in slow progress after D-day and led to heavy casualties.
One of the priorities for the allies after D-Day, was to re-supply their frontline. In the absence of a large port in the landing zone, Winston Churchill had foreseen the need for an artificial harbour to be created. He ordered that two mobile “Mulberry” harbours were designed and built ready to be transported in bits, over the channel to Normandy where they would be assembled to form manmade ports. In this way, vital supplies could be unloaded efficiently. Large and complex concrete and metal components were built in secret throughout the United Kingdom and they began arriving in Normandy on D-Day+1. “Mulberry A”, was built at Arromanches on Gold Beach by the British and “Mulberry B” at Omaha was built by the Americans. They were ready for use by mid-June. Severe storms on 19th June, interrupted the landing of supplies at Mulberry A and destroyed Mulberry B. At Arromanches, repairs were made quickly, enabling it to receive 6,000 tons of vital materiel every day for the next ten months. The story of the harbours is told in the excellent Musee Debarquement in Arromanches.
The week after D-Day was met with inconsistent resistance but overall progress was slow; the five beach bridgeheads were not connected until 12th June, by which time the Allies held a front around 60 miles long and 15 miles deep. By this time, Hitler had mobilised thousands of Germans and most significantly many tank regiments to oppose further allied moves inland; fighting was intense, progress slow and casualties heavy.
By mid-June, American forces had successfully pushed north and west, isolating Cherbourg from German reinforcements, but the city was so well defended that it did not fall until June 27th. By this time the Germans had destroyed most port facilities, and it did not become operational again until September.
Meanwhile, in the east, the British had come up against even heavier resistance. After a delay because of the storms on 19th June, Operation Epsom, which saw troops swing round the city of Caen to take it from the south, began on 26th June. The Germans retaliated with all their available Panzer units and although the operation failed, they lost a critical number of tanks. British and Canadian forces resumed their attack on Caen and captured the suburbs and city centre north of the Orne during Operation Charnwood on 8th-9th July. However, it was not until the 18th-20th July and Operation Atlantic, that Caen was finally captured, when the II Canadian Corps took the south of the city. The Germans had committed most of their Panzer divisions to their defence of Caen, and the costly defeat deprived the Germans of the necessary resources required to reinforce their troops in the west; this had allowed the Americans to push as far south as St Lo.
Operation Cobra was launched by the Americans on 25th July, and they advanced even further south reaching Avranches by 1st August. The British had launched Operation Bluecoat on 30th July to secure Vire and the high ground of Mont Pinçon. Even further south, Patton's U.S. Third Army, had taken most of Brittany and the Loire and then drove eastward towards the where the German forces were retreating from Caen and the Cotentin Peninsula.
Map showing the break-out from the Normandy beachhead and the formation of the Falaise Pocket, August 1944.
When the Canadians continued their push past Caen in Operation Totalize on 8th August, it was clear that with Hitler refusing to allow his troops to retreat, the remaining German forces were going to be encircled by the approaching allies, in the area around Falaise. Some units defied Hitlers orders and escaped east, but by 21st August, the “Falaise gap” was closed trapping up to 75,000 German troops. 10,000–15,000 were killed and 40,000–50,000 were taken prisoner.
With the closing of the gap, the Battle for Normandy was over and with the retreat continuing so rapidly, the Allies began clearing the rest of France of German forces. Paris was liberated on 25th August when the German Garrison surrendered and with the Germans retreating further, they were able to push towards Holland and the Rhine.
When the Canadians continued their push past Caen in Operation Totalize on 8th August, it was clear that with Hitler refusing to allow his troops to retreat, the remaining German forces were going to be encircled by the approaching allies, in the area around Falaise. Some units defied Hitlers orders and escaped east, but by 21st August, the “Falaise gap” was closed trapping up to 75,000 German troops. 10,000–15,000 were killed and 40,000–50,000 were taken prisoner.
With the closing of the gap, the Battle for Normandy was over and with the retreat continuing so rapidly, the Allies began clearing the rest of France of German forces. Paris was liberated on 25th August when the German Garrison surrendered and with the Germans retreating further, they were able to push towards Holland and the Rhine.
