|
|
On August 1st,
the Americans reorganized their operations. At the head of his
newly-formed Third Army, Patton gave a phenomenal new impetus to the
battle. In fewer than three days, seven divisions, the equivalent of
100,000 men and 10,000 vehicles, were moved through a narrow bottleneck
that had been opened up south of Avranches, before fanning out in
different directions. One of these army corps swept southwards through
Brittany, a second headed for the Loire while the third veered round
towards Le Mans.
During this time, the First US Army had run into problems as it headed
east, up the Sée and Sélune valleys. Their attack was coordinated with
one launched southwards from Caumont-L’Eventé by the XXX British Corps,
as part of Operation Bluecoat. The rugged relief of this area of the
bocage, with its narrow, twisting lanes and impenetrable hedges,
slowed the Allied advance to a crawl, the Germans reluctant to
relinquish even one square inch without a struggle.
|
|
British troops advancing in the Bocage countryside during Operation "Bluecoat".
(IWM) |
|
On
August 2nd, after five days of fighting, the Americans
entered Percy and liberated Villedieu and Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët,
before entering Mortain the next day. For their part, the British
captured Villers-Bocage and what was left of Aunay-sur-Odon, which had
been devastated by aerial bombardments in June. After conquering Mount
Pinçon with considerable difficulty, they started advancing on Vire from
the east, but soon ran into fierce resistance from the 9th
and 10th SS Panzer Divisions.
Then came a bolt from the blue.
In the morning of August 7th,
the Germans launched a major armoured counter-attack on Mortain from
both sides. Operation Lüttich had been planned from start to finish by
the General Headquarters of the Wehrmacht, against the advice of the
military leaders on the ground. Its objective, imposed by Hitler in
person, was to smash through American lines and reach the bay of Mont St
Michel, some thirty kilometres distant, slicing through the Avranches
bottleneck along the way. Cut off from their supplies, Patton’s troops
would be isolated and become sitting ducks.
|
|
|
|
American field communication post during the Mortain counter-attack |
|
|
In
order to achieve this, four panzer divisions were moved with the utmost
secrecy, reinforced by infantry. Thanks to the element of surprise – as
well as the thick morning mist ‑, the panzers broke out and advanced as
much as ten or twelve kilometres in some sectors. Heavily bombed
overnight by the Luftwaffe, Mortain was briefly recaptured. The 30th
US Division bore the brunt of this frontal attack and had to fall back.
Some of its units found themselves surrounded, like the famous “lost
battalion”, which remained under siege on Hill 314, east of the town,
for six days, heroically resisting repeated attacks from the SS. |
|
M8 American vehicle
captured by the Germans during the Mortain counter-attack |
|
Shortly after noon on August 7th, however,
the mists finally lifted and there was a dramatic change in fortunes.
Waves of Allied fighter-bombers attacked the German armoured columns,
firing guns and rockets. The German divisions were pinned down and lost
more than 150 tanks in the space of just a few hours. By the evening, it
was clear that their attack had failed. At Mortain, Hitler had had his
final throw of the dice in Normandy. And he had lost ! |
|
 |
|
German
column destroyed by Allied fighter-bombers |
|
