Emergency Surgery

Patton's rush across Brittany to take the port city of Brest and fortress of St. Malo met little resistance during July. To keep the pressure on, he ordered the formation of Task Force A, a regiment sized unit composed of the 15th Cavalry Group and the 159th Engineer Combat Battalion, …

1944-08-04

AP139

Patton's rush across Brittany to take the port city of Brest and fortress of St. Malo met little resistance during July. To keep the pressure on, he ordered the formation of Task Force A, a regiment sized unit composed of the 15th Cavalry Group and the 159th Engineer Combat Battalion, but not much infantry. Instead, they would be supported by the Forces Frangaises de l'Interieur (French Forces of the Interior, or FFI) Bretagne led by a mysterious Colonel Albert Eon, which had already begun securing the needed routes westward. Commanded by Brigadier General Herbert Earnest, Task Force A finally encountered retreating German units of XXV Armeekorps, busy setting up strongpoints along the highway from Avranches to St. Malo. Fearing that allowing even small German rearguard units to remain in the vicinity of St. Malo would be like “allowing a small sore to grow into cancer,” VIII Corps commander General Troy Middleton ordered emergency surgery, pushing Task Force A and its FFI allies westward.

Châteauneuf, 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.

American / French

German

Scenario Type = Standard