O SPREY Campaign 143 Campaign (cid:129) PUBLISHING Accounts of history’s greatest conflicts, detailing the command Caen 1944 C Caen 1944 a m strategies, tactics and battle experiences of the opposing p a forces throughout the crucial stages of each campaign Montgomery’s ig n break-out attempt (cid:129) Montgomery’s break-out attempt 1 4 3 One of the key objectives of British forces on D-Day was the capture of the strategically vital city of Caen. General C Montgomery saw Caen as a the key to Normandy and e n the springboard for the Allied 1 breakout, but so did the 9 3-dimensional ‘bird’s-eye view’ maps Germans and the city did 4 Full colour battlescenes not fall. It took three major 4 St Aubin sur Mer offensives and more than 30 Luc sur Mer Lion sur Mer bloody days of struggle to uvres Riva Bella Cabourg ivrande finally take Caen. In the process Ouistreham Merville Franceville Plage xxx the city was devastated and its eooiCsnnnas sPmoSlnabtsi enCseontestxxxLébisIeIy Cxxxan BénoSutevO iHrllneoenCoarnialnOreneHxéRxroaExunsvvciiollllveeiVtltleeIIIIxSxxaBxlrleénvi5elll61eles xx 346D cAilvtihlioaung pho tphuel aAtliloiens dpeacidim aa hteigdh. Colombelles xx price for Caen, the bitter fight 16 Caen Cuverville Touffréville for control of the city incurred xxGiberville Démouville SannervilleTroarn xx 3 Can 3 Mondeville Manneville heavy casualties amongst the xx LFreé Mmeesnnteill Emiévixllex 2 Can 272 Soliers CagFnryénouville 21xx German forces in Normandy, xx H1u1bert Folie BourguébusLa Hogue Vimont Guards paving the way for the American Tilly Photographs Maps breakout in Operation Cobra. O SPREY K e PUBLISHING n F o www.ospreypublishing.com rd O S P R Ken Ford Illustrated by Peter Dennis E (cid:129) Y © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com Caen 1944 Montgomery’s break-out attempt © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com Campaign (cid:129) 143 Caen 1944 Montgomery’s break-out attempt Ken Ford Illustrated by Peter Dennis (cid:129) Series editor Lee Johnson (cid:129) Consultant editor David G Chandler © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com First published in Great Britain in 2004 by Osprey Publishing, Elms Court, Artist’s note Chapel Way, Botley, Oxford OX2 9LP, United Kingdom. Email: [email protected] Readers may care to note that the original paintings from which the colour plates in this book were prepared are © 2004 Osprey Publishing Ltd. available for private sale. All reproduction copyright All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, whatsoever is retained by the Publishers. All enquiries research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and should be addressed to: Patents Act, 1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, Peter Dennis electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, Fieldhead without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Enquiries should be The Park addressed to the Publishers. Mansfield Notts A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library NG18 2AT ISBN 1 84176 625 9 The Publishers regret that they can enter into no Editor: Lee Johnson correspondence upon this matter. Design: The Black Spot Index by David Worthington Maps by The Map Studio 3D bird’s-eye views by The Black Spot Battlescene artwork by Peter Dennis Originated by The Electronic Page Company, Cwmbran, UK Printed in China through World Print Ltd. 04 05 06 07 08 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For a catalogue of all books published by Osprey Military and Aviation please contact: Osprey Direct UK, P.O. Box 140, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2FA, UK E-mail: [email protected] Osprey Direct USA, c/o MBI Publishing, P.O. Box 1, 729 Prospect Ave, Osceola, WI 54020, USA E-mail: [email protected] www.ospreypublishing.com KEY TO MILITARY SYMBOLS XXXXX XXXX XXX XX X ARMY GROUP ARMY CORPS DIVISION BRIGADE 111 11 1 REGIMENT BATTALION COMPANY INFANTRY CAVALRY ARTILLERY ARMOUR MOTORIZED AIRBORNE SPECIAL FORCES © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com CONTENTS ORIGINS OF THE BATTLE 6 CHRONOLOGY 10 OPPOSING COMMANDERS 11 British Commanders (cid:129) German Commanders OPPOSING ARMIES 15 The British Army (cid:129) The German Army OPPOSING PLANS 21 British Plans (cid:129) German Plans THE STRUGGLE FOR CAEN 27 D-Day and the first drive for Caen (cid:129) Operation Epsom Operation Charnwood (cid:129) Operation Goodwood AFTERMATH 86 THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY 90 ORDER OF BATTLE 92 BIBLIOGRAPHY 94 INDEX 95 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com FIRST ALLIED MOVES ON CAEN 6 N 6 x a Bell xx 5 a Riv enrO x SwordBeach Ouistrehamx 27 3 lanaCenrO Bourguébus 5 8 x 1 8 x ur Mer Lionsur Mer x x 9 x 7 June Luc s Lébisey 21 de xx CourseullesBeoSt Aubinanucsur MerJhsur Mer Bernières sur Merxxx I x 2 Can8 Can DouvresMla Délivranuxxe 3 Can Canx 9 Can Villonsles Buissons Cambesxxen Plaine716Buron St ContestRotsAuthiexxAbbeyd’Ardenne12 SS CaenCarpiquet Airfield nodO Hill 112 I SS enrO x 7 e GoldBeachLa Rivière Ver sur MerxxxecnevXXXorP x 8xxx 50Creully sellueSx x 69 euhT Brettevillel’OrgueilleusBrouayPutoten Bessine Mesnil PatryNorreyen Bessin Cheux xx Lehr xxx Arromanchesles Bains x 213 ednorG xx x 151 Audrieu L es ull e S e x 56 yeux Tilly sur xxx Villers Bocag Port en Bessin Ba Aure xx 352 Front line midnight 6 June 2 miles 5 km 0 0 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com ORIGINS OF THE BATTLE O n 7 April 1944, General Bernard Montgomery, Commander 21st Army Group, briefed all the senior commanders involved in the forthcoming landings in France on the final shape of the invasion plan. Operation Overlord, as the invasion was called, proposed that two Allied armies be landed on the coast of Normandy between the mouth of the River Orne and the base of the Cotentin Peninsula to establish a lodgement from which future operations inland would develop. Montgomery went on to explain how the build-up of troops and equipment would progress and how the growing forces would be used, outlining proposals for the expansion of the beachhead and the preparations required to resist the inevitable German counterattacks. One of the keys to the success of his plans, he told them, was the early capture of the city of Caen and its vital road and rail communications. Caen is situated astride the River Orne 12 kilometres (7.46 miles) inland from the coast and is linked to the sea by the river and a ship canal. In 1944 it was the regional capital of Calvados, surrounded by rich undulating farmland. It also had a large industrial area on the outskirts of the city on the eastern side of the Orne that was dominated by the giant steelworks at Colombelles. Radiating from Caen was a network of road and rail lines leading west towards the Cotentin peninsula and Brittany, east towards Le Havre and the River Seine and inland to the interior of France. This nexus of road and rail links was vital to Allied plans for the drive inland from the beaches. Panzergrenadiers of Battlegroup von Luck from 21st Panzer Division, on the southern outskirts of Caen just before the start of Operation Goodwood. Oberst von Luck was commander of 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment of the division and had formed this battlegroup from the depleted members of his regiment who had been in almost daily contact with the Allies since D-Day. (Bundesarchiv 7 1011/722/0405/04) © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com One of the D-Day beaches given over to the landing of stores after the assault. Most of the stores and equipment used by the Allies in the battle for Normandy were landed over open beaches. These supplies still continued to come ashore here even when the Allies had broken out of the region and were almost at the German border. (IWM CL 537) The early capture of the city was one of the prime objectives of the British troops who landed on D-Day. British 3rd Division, commanded by Major-General Rennie, made an assault landing over ‘Sword’ Beach on 6 June 1944 to herald the start of the invasion. The division was reinforced by the tanks of 27th Armoured Brigade and was ordered to drive on Caen and capture it with all speed, with its right flank protected by Canadian 3rd Division landing on the adjacent ‘Juno’ Beach. Montgomery wanted Caen’s bridges over the Orne in the centre of the city to be in British hands by the end of the day. In the event, British 3rd Division could get no closer than seven kilometres to those bridges on D-Day. The division lacked the drive needed to make such a bold move and a German counterattack by 21st Panzer Division forced it to dig into positions north of the city where it remained for the next four weeks. With hindsight, the expectation that a single division could capture Caen on D-Day was perhaps overambitious, especially with a German Panzer division located just to the south of the city within a few hours’ march of the sea. The capture of Caen quickly became an even more difficult proposition when the first German armoured reinforcements to be moved against the landings were put into the line around Caen. The arrival of the 12th SS-Panzer Division ‘Hitlerjugend’ and the elite Panzer Lehr Division, both well-equipped and with excellent morale, just two days after the Allied landings ensured that the British and Canadians faced a bitter struggle for control of the city. Both sides considered the possession of Caen to be the cornerstone of their strategy in Normandy. To Montgomery, the capture of the city was a prerequisite for his advance onto the open plain to the south where he could deploy his armoured divisions to force a breakthrough towards Paris and the south-east. This was his original plan, outlined before the invasion, which he modified as his forces struggled unsuccessfully, week after week, to seize the city. He subsequently adapted his strategy, suggesting that he continue to batter at Caen, threatening a breakthrough and all the while 8 drawing more of the German armour onto his front, ultimately allowing © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com An aerial view of the centre of Caen showing the River Orne running through the city from bottom to top. The Caen canal and its lock gates are in the top left of the picture. Evidence of the early bombing can be seen near the river at lower left, but all three bridges are still intact. (National Archives of Canada C104861) the Americans to effect a breakthrough further to the west against less formidable German forces. Montgomery launched a number of discrete operations aimed at capturing Caen. The first attempt to take the city was nothing more sophisticated than a headlong dash from the beaches. When this failed he tried sending an armoured division in a wide encircling movement around to the south of the city to cut its communications and supply lines to the interior. This move was combined with another more direct thrust by the Highland Division out of the original 6th Airborne Division bridgehead east of the Orne. Both failed well short of their objectives. Montgomery tried again with a full corps in a set piece attack to push behind the city from the west with no greater success. The next operation attempted to bludgeon its way directly into the city centre along the shortest route with three infantry divisions, supported by the full weight of RAF Bomber Command. Caen was reduced to rubble in the operation and although the centre of the city was secured, the key objective, the bridges across the River Orne, remained beyond reach. It took three armoured divisions, three infantry divisions and several independent armoured brigades, together with the heavy, medium and fighter-bombers of the RAF and the USAAF, in the largest of all the Caen-related operations to finally capture the entire city. British forces swept around the eastern side of Caen and the Canadians encircled it from the west, eventually squeezing German forces from the city completely, opening the roads to the south-west. Caen was a Pyrrhic victory, however, with the city left a shattered wasteland of smoking rubble and the enemy’s Panzer forces still gathered in strength to the south, barring Montgomery’s way onto the Falaise plain. 9 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com CHRONOLOGY 6 JuneD-DAY. Allied forces land in Normandy beginning the Division refuses to loosen its grip on the area. The liberation of France. The Americans land US First Army on operation is halted on the second day with the only gain the western beaches ‘Omaha’ and ‘Utah’, whilst the being the now utterly destroyed village of Carpiquet. British land their Second Army on ‘Gold’, ‘Juno’ and 8–9 JulyOPERATION CHARNWOODbegins with heavy ‘Sword’ beaches to the east. British 3rd Division and bomber raids on the northern outskirts of Caen. Three Canadian 3rd Division advance inland from ‘Sword’ and infantry divisions of I Corps attack the city in a mighty ‘Juno’ beaches to capture Caen and its airfield at show of strength that leaves Caen a mass of burning Carpiquet. This move is halted by a German rubble. The northern part of the city is taken, but the counterattack by 21st Panzer Division that pushes bridges over the River Orne in the south of Caen remain between ‘Sword’ and ‘Juno’ beaches as far as the coast. in enemy hands. 7 JuneCanadian and British 3rd Divisions resume their 10 JulyA strengthened 43rd Division launches OPERATION advance on Caen, but both are halted once more by the JUPITERto capture Hill 112 and get to the River Orne. arrival of 12th SS-Panzer Division ‘Hitlerjugend’. Hill 112 is taken after two days of fighting and then given 8–11 JuneWhile British 3rd Division holds its line, the up in the face of intense German resistance from 9th and Canadians attempt to enlarge their beachhead to the 10th SS-Panzer Divisions. The 43rd Division suffers over west of Caen but are frustrated by counterattacks by 2,000 casualties in the two-day battle. 12th SS-Panzer Division. 15–17 JulyMontgomery orders Dempsey to resume attacks 12 June51st Highland Division fails in an attempt to push along the Odon front with XII and XXX Corps in order to around Caen from the east. 7th Armoured Division keep enemy armour engaged whilst he organises a major attempts a wide encirclement to the west of the city, but new offensive on the eastern side of the River Orne out of suffers heavily in an ambush at Villers-Bocage at the the airborne bridgehead. These attacks gain little new hands of several PzKpfw VI Tiger I tanks commanded by ground and suffer 3,500 casualties, but the pressure Hauptsturmführer Michael Wittmann. The division is forces General der Panzertruppen Eberbach of Panzer halted in its tracks and subsequently withdrawn back into Group West to commit more of his armour against them. XXX Corps’ line south of Bayeux. 18 JulyMontgomery launches OPERATION GOODWOODwith 18 JuneA great storm hits the Channel coast and destroys Canadian II, British I and VIII Corps, planning to send three the American Mulberry harbour and damages the British armoured divisions southwards to establish themselves on artificial port at Arromanches. The storm blows for four the high ground astride the Caen–Falaise road. After the days disrupting the build-up for Montgomery’s proposed largest bombing raid ever mounted in support of ground new offensive. troops, the three corps launch their attacks. Initially 25 JuneXXX Corps starts preliminary moves to seize high progress is good, but German anti-tank guns on the ground around Rauray to protect the left flank of Bourguébus Ridge and in the adjacent fortified villages VIII Corps on its advance to the Odon. bring the armoured divisions’ advance to a halt. 26–29 JuneOPERATION EPSOMcarves out a salient in the 19 JulyAttacking out of the centre of Caen and from the area enemy line and wins a bridgehead over the River Odon, west of the city, Canadian 2nd Division pushes across the but fails in its objective of crossing the River Orne and River Orne. After fierce fighting they link up with Canadian securing the high ground astride the Caen–Falaise road. 3rd Division completing the encirclement of Caen. The 11th Armoured Division gets tanks onto Hill 112 but is city is finally completely in Allied hands 36 days after the later forced to withdraw. landings. 1 JulyThe big German counterattack against the landings fails 20 JulyOPERATION GOODWOODis halted with the Allied to generate enough punch to penetrate the salient gained armoured divisions still well short of the Caen–Falaise by VIII Corps. The impact of fresh armoured reinforcements road. is lost as they have to be fed into the battle piecemeal to prevent the Allies piercing the German line. 2 JulyGeneralfeldmarschall von Rundstedt is dismissed as German Commander-in-Chief (West) for daring to suggest to Hitler that Caen be given up and a new position be established on a more easily defended line. 4–5 JulyOPERATION WINDSORlaunched by Canadian 3rd Division to capture Carpiquet village and its airfield. The heavily-fortified site protects the western approaches 10 to Caen and, despite terrible casualties, 12th SS-Panzer © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com