2 on 2, Round One

In late July 1944, the German and Allied armies were still locked in close combat in the hedgerows and small towns of Normandy. On July 28 a German attack led by elements of the 2nd Panzer Division smashed into the …

1944-07-28

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In late July 1944, the German and Allied armies were still locked in close combat in the hedgerows and small towns of Normandy. On July 28 a German attack led by elements of the 2nd Panzer Division smashed into the unsuspecting American XIX Corps while it was preparing for its own offensive to break out of the bocage. The U.S. 2nd Armored Division moved into the fight, which reached a climax on the second day. That night the Germans withdrew due to problems elsewhere. These two tank divisions would cross swords again in five months later in the Ardennes.

Saint-Denis-le-Gast, 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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American