Falaise Pocket - Background

Background

Early Allied objectives in the wake of the successful D-Day invasion of German-occupied France included both the deep water port of Cherbourg and the area surrounding the historic Normandy town of Caen. Attempts to rapidly expand the Allied lodgement areas met fierce opposition, however, and bad weather conditions in the English Channel delayed the build-up of supplies and reinforcements. Cherbourg was able to hold out until 27 June, when it fell to the U.S. VII Corps, and Caen resisted a number of offensives until 20 July, when it was taken by the British and Canadians during Operations Goodwood and Atlantic.

The Allied ground forces commander—General Bernard Montgomery—had envisaged a theatre strategy of drawing German forces away from the U.S. front to the British and Canadian sector, thus preparing the way for a U.S. breakout. On 25 July, while German attention was fixed firmly on the area around Caen, Lieutenant General Omar Bradley launched Operation Cobra. The U.S. First Army ruptured the thin German lines screening Brittany and by the end of the third day had advanced 15 mi (24 km) south of its start line at several points. On 30 July, Avranches—at the base of the Cotentin Peninsula—was captured; the German left flank was now wide open, and within 24 hours Patton's VIII Corps swept across the bridge at Pontaubault into Brittany and continued south and west through open country, almost without opposition.