Capture of Vire

After the success of Operation Cobra and the breakthrough at Avranches, the 3rd US Army advanced out of Normandy. Meanwhile the 1st US Army continued to fight against German 7.Armee. The CCA of 2nd US Armoured Division failed to take …

1944-08-05

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After the success of Operation Cobra and the breakthrough at Avranches, the 3rd US Army advanced out of Normandy. Meanwhile the 1st US Army continued to fight against German 7.Armee. The CCA of 2nd US Armoured Division failed to take Vire because of a set back on the bridge of Martilly where 14 of 19 Sherman tanks were destroyed by German artillery fire. So, the 29th US Infantry Division was ordered to take the town. On the 05th of August, GI's of the 116th Inf Rgt attacked from hill 219 west of Vire river, crossed the Virène stream and entered in the town by the South. On the 08th of August, after some street fighting, Vire was liberated.

Vire, France

Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the United States First Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy campaign of World War II. The intention was to take advantage of the distraction of the Germans by the British and Canadian attacks around Caen in Operation Goodwood, and thereby break through the German defenses that were penning in their forces while the Germans were unbalanced. Once a corridor had been created, the First Army would then be able to advance into Brittany, rolling up the German flanks once free of the constraints of the bocage country. After a slow start, the offensive gathered momentum and German Resistance collapsed as scattered remnants of broken units fought to escape to the Seine. Lacking the resources to cope with the situation, the German response was ineffectual and the entire Normandy front soon collapsed. Operation Cobra, together with concurrent offensives by the British Second Army and the Canadian First Army, was decisive in securing an Allied victory in the Normandy campaign.

Wikipedia: Operation Cobra

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