Operation Goodwood: Encyclopedia II - Operation Goodwood - Background

Operation Goodwood - Background

After the early successes of the Battle of Normandy the Allied advance had come very nearly to a halt by early July. The key town of Caen was not taken on the first day as planned and over a month later it was still in German hands. Pre-invasion planning had proposed taking Caen and holding a front east of the Orne river as the pivot point of the Allied advance. Possession of Caen would give the British Second Army a strong piece of defensive terrain and would provide several bridges over the Orne river and Caen Canal. Also, the Colombelles steel works at Caen included several high towers that provided direct observation of much of the area. Whoever held the steelworks could observe ground (and thus direct artillery fire) for many miles around.

The British 3rd Infantry Division attempt to take Caen on D-Day was abandoned before it really got started. The Division could not both take Caen and protect the Orne bridgehead initially secured by the British 6th Airborne Division. Several subsequent attempts to take Caen and break out to the east were mounted, such as Operation Charnwood. None were successful.

The bocage landscape of Normandy was a serious impediment to attacking units, but the bocage was mostly located in sectors held by the US First Army. Clearer land to the east, between Caen and Vimont, looked more promising. Here the wider-open, dry ground of the Caen-Falaise plain would allow faster offensive operations led by armored units. Since the Allied forces greatly outnumbered the Germans in tanks and mechanized units, transforming the battle into a more fluid fast-moving battle was to their advantage.

German defense of the area included strong armored units as well as the 16th Luftwaffe Field Division. Numerous towed antitank guns and heavy flak guns were dug in on the Bourgebus ridge overlooking the area, and in small villages dotting the landscape.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Background", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki