Operation Cobra

Omar Bradleys intention was to take advantage of the German preoccupation with British and Canadian activity around the town of Caen, and punch through the German defenses penning in his troops while his opponent was distracted and unbalanced

To gain good terrain for Operation Cobra, Bradley and Collins conceived a plan to push forward to the Saint-L“-Periers road, along which VII and VIII Corps were securing jumping-off positions. The American 29th and 35th Infantry Divisions managed to gain the vital heights of Saint-Lo, driving back General der Fallschirmtruppen Eugen Meindls II Parachute Corps

Forced to postpone Operation Cobra due to heavy rainfall

Operation Cobra is postponed for a 2nd time

After the United States First and Third Armies broke out from the Normandy beachhead during Operation Cobra on 25 July 1944, Hitler ordered Operation Luttich.

Following breakout by the American First Army and American 3rd Army from the beachhead during the Battle of Normandy during Operation Cobra Adolf Hitler ordered an immediate counterattack against Allied forces in the form of Operation Luttich.

Following breakout by the American First Army and American 3rd Army from the beachhead during the Battle of Normandy during Operation Cobra Adolf Hitler ordered an immediate counterattack against Allied forces in the form of Operation Luttich

Gives the go ahead for Operation Cobra

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 300 yd (270 m)-wide strip of ground located in the St. Lo area

2,500 bombers from the Eighth & 9th Air Forces open a gap west of St Lo

Operation Cobra commenced on 25 July with a concentrated aerial bombardment from thousands of Allied aircraft

To help Patton to break out of Avranches & drive into Brittany. Clearing ports such as Lorient & Brest

Clearing ports such as Lorient & Brest

Following breakout by the US First Army and American 3rd Army from the beachhead during the Battle of Normandy during Operation Cobra on July 25, 1944, Adolf Hitler ordered an immediate counterattack against Allied forces in the form of Operation Luttich

Following breakout by the American First Army and American 3rd Army from the beachhead during the Battle of Normandy during Operation Cobra Adolf Hitler ordered an immediate counterattack against Allied forces in the form of Operation Luttich

Following breakout by the American First Army and American 3rd Army from the beachhead during the Battle of Normandy during Operation Cobra Adolf Hitler ordered an immediate counterattack against Allied forces in the form of Operation Luttich

After the United States First and Third Armies broke out from the Normandy beachhead during Operation Cobra on 25 July 1944, Hitler ordered Operation Luttich.

Following breakout by the American First Army and American 3rd Army from the beachhead during the Battle of Normandy during Operation Cobra Adolf Hitler ordered an immediate counterattack against Allied forces in the form of Operation Luttich.

Following breakout by the American First Army and American 3rd Army from the beachhead during the Battle of Normandy during Operation Cobra Adolf Hitler ordered an immediate counterattack against Allied forces in the form of Operation Luttich

Pushes Patton through a gap in the German defence toward Avranches

Approves a limited withdrawal of the 7th Army

By 27 July most organized resistance had been overcome, and VII and VIII Corps were advancing rapidly, isolating the Cotentin peninsula

By 28 July, the German defenses across the US front had largely collapsed under the full weight of VII and VIII Corps advance, and resistance was disorganised and patchy

By 31 July, XIX Corps had destroyed the last forces opposing the First Army, and Bradleys troops were finally freed from the bocage

Authorizes Patton to outflank the Germans at Caen

Authorizes Patton to turn into the Orleans gap toward the Seine & Paris

An attempt to outflank the Germans at Caen

Authorised by Bradley to turn into the Orleans gap toward the Seine & Paris

Reinforcements were moved west by Marshal Gunther von Kluge and employed in various counterattacks, the largest of which (codenamed Operation Luttich) was launched on 7 August between Mortain and Avranches

Troops of the newly activated 3rd United States Army captured the city of Le Mans, formerly the German 7th Armys headquarters

Operation Cobra, together with concurrent offensives by the Second British and First Canadian Armies, was decisive in securing an Allied victory in the Normandy Campaign