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SECOND WORLD WAR TH 60ANNIVERSARY The Final Battle for Normandy Northern France 9 July – 30 August 1944 ‘The decisive defeat of the German forces in Normandy’ No.5 The Final Battle for Normandy CAEN, LOWER NORMANDY, NORTHERN FRANCE NETHERLANDS London• Berlin• Caen• BELGIUM Paris• GERMANY FRANCE London• Southampton • Dover • • • Portsmouth Calais ENGLISH CHANNEL KEY FACTS Cherbourg• • Le Havre Caen is: • Caen • Situated on the banks of the NORMANDY River Orne • 238 km (148 miles) NW of Paris FRANCE • 342 km (212 miles) SW of Calais Cover image: A Sexton 25-pounder Self-Propelled (SP) Howitzer crosses the River Seine IWM B 9807 THE FINAL BATTLE FOR NORMANDY | 1 Foreword by the Under Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans, Don Touhig MP This series of 60th anniversary commemorative booklets aims to highlight battles and operations fought during the Second World War. Through the booklets, readers have an opportunity to gain an understanding of the campaigns and the hardships endured by those who were there. Booklet number 5 focuses on the actions of Operation Goodwood, Operation Bluecoat and the advance towards Falaise. Through the coalition of the Allied forces, all operations were successful and resulted in the encirclement of German troops to the south of Falaise. However, although the war in Normandy was transformed, the forces involved encountered determined enemy resistance, which resulted in many casualties on both sides. Sixty years later, we have the opportunity to pay tribute to the self-sacrifice, discipline and dedication of all involved in the Final Battle for Normandy. Through commemoration, remembrance and education, we can honour the generations who served and try to gain an understanding of the sacrifices made for the freedoms we have today. 2 | THE FINAL BATTLE FOR NORMANDY Operation Goodwood (18–20 July 1944) N WE S Operation Goodwood, 18–20 July 1944 Having captured the northern part of Caen in the east, thus assisting with the American during Operation Charnwood, General Operation Cobra offensive. However, the Montgomery, on 9 July 1944, began planning British Army was struggling to replace the large a new offensive. Operation Goodwood aimed number of infantry casualties already sustained in to capture the southern half of Caen and the Normandy. Consequently, Montgomery decided Bourguébus Ridge. Seizing these locations to use armoured units in this offensive, as he could would allow further Allied operations to unfold afford to lose tanks but not infantrymen. to the south across the excellent tank terrain of the Falaise plain. Securing the Falaise The German defences south of Caen were plain would provide the Allies with adequate formidable, consisting of four defensive belts space to establish airfields on Norman soil, a up to 16 km (10 miles) deep. These comprised: development considered critical by the Second (1) infantry, (2) panzer grenadiers, (3) fortified Tactical Air Force Commander, Air Chief Marshal villages with anti-tank guns and mortars, and Coningham. It would also allow the Allies to (4) defensive positions running across higher develop their supply lines. Montgomery wanted to ground from the Bourguébus Ridge in the south- initiate an offensive to tie down German armour west to Troarn in the east. Beyond the fourth THE FINAL BATTLE FOR NORMANDY | 3 belt was an armoured reserve of Panther and KEY FACTS Tiger tanks from the 1st and 2nd SS Panzer Divisions. Montgomery could not start Operation List of senior Allied commanders Goodwood until 18 July because he needed 21st Army Group to assemble a large force to overcome this General B Montgomery well-established German defence. He also relied heavily on aerial bombardment. However, given Second (British) Army the depth and dispersal of the German defences, Lt-General M Dempsey Montgomery probably appreciated that it was First Canadian Army optimistic to expect bombing to be very effective. Lt-General H Crerar I (British) Corps For Montgomery to secure the maximum bombing support possible, it seems he had to Lt-General J Crocker convince senior air commanders that Operation II Canadian Corps Goodwood would be a decisive breakthrough Lt-General G Simonds offensive. The Second (British) Army commander, VIII (British) Corps Lieutenant-General Dempsey, who originally Lt-General R O’Connor conceived the offensive, certainly believed this XII (British) Corps to be the case. Montgomery privately had held more modest and realistic expectations for the Lt-General N Ritchie offensive. It would appear Lt-General Dempsey, XXX (British) Corps to an extent, convinced Montgomery that, during Lt-General G Bucknall Operation Goodwood, British armoured forces Lt-General B Horrocks (from 4 August 1944) could secure the ground required to answer the IWM B 9473 Allied commanders: US General Hodges, Lt-General Crerar, General Montgomery, US General Bradley and Lt-General Dempsey 4 | THE FINAL BATTLE FOR NORMANDY mounting criticisms made by Coningham and These divisions would strike south to secure the Americans concerning the lack of British the dominating Bourguébus Ridge between progress. In addition, Dempsey argued, Verri`eres and Troarn. To their east, I (British) Operation Goodwood would tie down Corps was to mount a flank protection attack German strength in the east, aiding the American towards Troarn. At the same time, Operation Operation Cobra and minimising infantry losses. Atlantic, led by II Canadian Corps, struck south- The controversy that subsequently surrounded the east from its positions around Caen to secure extent to which Operation Goodwood could be the western fringes of the Bourguébus Ridge. deemed a success stemmed from the differing understanding of the objectives of the offensive. However, the bridgehead east of the River Orne was narrow and this caused VIII (British) Given that the previous attempt to outflank Corps serious problems in starting the offensive. Caen from the west (Operation Epsom) had The three armoured divisions could only be failed, in mid-July Montgomery now decided launched one behind the other into the attack, to attempt an outflanking move from the east. restricting the combat power that could be The three armoured divisions of VIII (British) deployed against the enemy. Corps commenced Operation Goodwood from the bridgehead east of the River Orne which Additionally, the fact that so few bridges had been captured on D-Day (6 June 1944). existed over the River Orne made it difficult for National Archives WO 171/1349 Coulomns 16th 2000 Battalion (Bn) move to concentration (conc) area EAST of River ORNE near RANVILLE. Ranville 17th 0100 Bn arrived at conc area complete. 18th Commencement of great armoured thrust SOUTH from EAST of CAEN. Bn is spearhead of all infantry (inf) in 2nd Army’s attack. Attack preceded by 2000 bomber force. 0745 Bn crosses Start Line, and is assisted by artillery (arty) barrage of six medium and six Field (Fd) Regiments (Regts). First objective was CUVERVILLE. 0845 Village captured and prisoners taken. Opposition slight; most trouble being machine gun (MG) posts. One position of 6 MG posts wiped out by Lieutenant C.G. SHORT (Canadian Infantry (Cdn Inf)) and one section. This day was a momentous one in the history of the unit, and everyone is thrilled by the sight of our first prisoners. Major (Maj) W.P. SWEETMAN, Second in Command (2IC), wounded. Extract from 3rd Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment war diary, 16–18 July 1944 THE FINAL BATTLE FOR NORMANDY | 5 IWM CL 692 and medium bombers striking 11 target zones. The offensive began between 0530 and 0615 hours, when over 850 RAF heavy bombers attacked in good weather conditions and delivered over 15,500 bombs onto three targets – the Colombelles–Mondeville and Touffreville–Emiéville areas on the flanks of the offensive, as well as Cagny. By 1944 standards of accuracy, this was an effective bombing strike, which successfully neutralised the German flank defences. At 0700 hours, over 340 American and British medium bombers struck the German defences in Giberville, Cuverville, Démouville and Manneville. By the time that these aircraft arrived over the battlefield, visibility had declined. Many of the target areas were The bomb-damaged Normandy town of May sur obscured by the smoke and dust thrown up Orne, south west of Cagny from the recent British heavy bombing strikes. Consequently, nearly 25 per cent of the VIII (British) Corps to move these spearhead medium bombers had to abort their missions. divisions forward. Indeed, much of VIII (British) These medium bombing strikes were less Corps’ supporting artillery had to be kept back accurate than the previous Allied sorties on the western side of the River Orne as there and achieved only about 12 per cent of the was insufficient room for them on the other envisaged bombing density. Simultaneously, side. This meant that some of the supporting fighters and fighter-bombers from 83 and 84 artillery was deployed further back than was RAF Groups attacked various enemy positions. tactically desirable. From 0830 to 0930 hours, over 640 Additionally, the Germans could observe this American Liberator heavy bombers attacked bridgehead from high ground, which made three locations – two areas located along the it very difficult for VIII (British) Corps to preserve northern face of the Bourguébus Ridge and the any degree of surprise. A Welsh Guardsman’s perspective of These considerations meant that Operation Operation Goodwood Goodwood could not be ‘teed-up’ as tidily as the Allies would have wished. Operation ‘The whole northern sky was filled with them Goodwood, therefore, was an offensive that was [bombers] for as far as the eye could see – launched for strategic and political reasons, in wave upon wave, stepped up one above spite of the attack’s unpromising tactical potential. the other and spreading out east and west Operation Goodwood commenced before till it seemed that there was no room for more. dawn on 18 July, initiated by aerial support Everyone was out of their vehicles now, staring operations.

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