United States of America · Warfare / World War, 2nd. Chronological records rendered directly from the World History Database.
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
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
Pushes Patton through a gap in the German defence toward Avranches
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
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
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