BattleMapUSFirstArmyBreakoutNormandy

Codenamed Cobra, the Allied breakout from the Normandy Beachhead
finally would begin late in July 1944. U.S. General Omar Bradley left
nothing to chance in planning the breakout. Bradley sought to first
breakthrough the German positions, and second turn loose General
Patton's' newly activated Third Army to cut off the Brittany peninsula
from France. After securing his flanks Patton would then race for the
Seine River to the east and then beyond. On the Allies' left flank
Montgomery, pursuing his own ambitious offensive, would mostly
maintain the pressure on the German defenses near Caen and deny
German reinforcements from switching across the front to stop Cobra.
Ultimately, the armies under Montgomery would serve as a pivot point
for the allies once the German front collapsed under the Americans
assault. If Bradley's plan developed as expected the Allies could finally
destroy the German armies in Normandy.

Weeks of planning set up Cobra. The Allies stockpiled immense
quantities of supplies to guarantee not only penetrating the German
lines, but also to ensure the success envisioned for the subsequent
breakthrough. The Americans prepared a massive aerial and artillery
bombardment to support Cobra, as the American reliance on firepower
continued to comprise her primary weapon for battering through the
German defenses. To that end, Bradley amassed approximately 2,500
bombers and fighter-bombers to hammer German positions within a
small box totaling just six square miles of land west of St. Lo, with the
bombers set to roll across the front in staggered waves depositing an
aggregate total of 4,000 tons of bombs.

The American VII Corps led by General Collins spearheaded Cobra.
Collins ordered two infantry divisions to wrench open a hole in the
German front, and then hold open the breach's shoulders as one
infantry and two armored divisions punched through the weakened
German defenders. The Allied infantry would then advance on
Coutances, some 15 miles behind the German lines, and the armor
would push on to Avranches and beyond. The assault divisions would
be the primary beneficiaries for the supporting firepower raining down
upon only some 5,000 German soldiers holding the front in Cobra's
immediate path.

The Germans had built their defensive positions along the bocage's
last stronghold, where the favorable defensive terrain in Normandy
began giving way to the more open countryside in central France.
Land ideal for allied armies built on mobile warfare. The battered but
elite Panzer Lehr division would face the brunt of Bradley's assault,
and although reinforced with a combat element from the 275th
Division and a regiment from the 5th Parachute Division was hardly
capable of stopping what Bradley had planned. The Panzer Lehr,
although once one of the most powerful divisions in the German army,
by the end of July was a mere shell of itself after nearly two months
of constant combat. The Panzer Lehr could only field one-third its
authorized strength - all told about 45 tanks and 3,200 infantry.
Supporting Panzer Lehr stood the 2nd SS Panzer Divisions, with only
two companies from the 2nd SS representing the Germans scant
armored reserves - hardly adequate for stopping the Americans if they
broke out of the bocage.

Map Courtesy of: Department of History, United States Military
Academy