Operation Bluecoat

Operation Bluecoat
Part of Operation Overlord, Battle of Normandy
Date 30 July – 7 August 1944 Location Normandy, France Result British Victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Miles Dempsey	Paul Hausser
Strength
3 armoured divisions, 3 infantry divisions, 2 armoured brigades	rising to: 3 Panzer Divisions, 3 infantry divisions
Casualties and losses
N/A	Unknown but significant.

Operation Bluecoat was an attack by the British Second Army at the Battle of Normandy during World War II, from 30 July 1944 to 7 August 1944. The geographical objectives of the attack were to secure the key road junction of Vire and the high ground of Mont Pinçon. Strategically, the attack was made to support the American exploitation of their breakout on the western flank of the Normandy beachhead.

Situation

On 25 July, the American army broke out of the beachhead, in Operation Cobra. A few days earlier, the British and Canadian forces had launched Operation Goodwood south of Caen on the eastern flank of the Allied beachhead. This had induced the Germans to concentrate the bulk of their forces, particularly their armoured units, in this sector. As this would make further Allied progress on this part of the front difficult and costly, the armour of the British Second Army under Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey was switched westward towards Villers-Bocage adjacent to the American army. Originally, Dempsey planned to attack on 2 August, but the speed of events on the American front forced him to advance the date.

Initially, only two weak German infantry divisions held the intended attack frontage, south and east of Caumont, although they had laid extensive minefields and constructed substantial defences. They also occupied ideal terrain for defence, the bocage.

The Attack

A preliminary bombardment by over 1,000 bombers was supposed to prepare the way for the attack. The weather was poor, and many of the bombers could not find their targets. When the attack followed up, many units were held up by minefields and steep gullies, but in the centre, the attackers gained five miles.

On the next day (31 July), units of British 11th Armoured Division captured a bridge over the River Soulevre intact, and broke up the first German armoured units sent to counter-attack.

British forces were now only five miles from Vire, but this was on the American side of the boundary between the British and American armies, and the British attack was diverted south-east. This gave the German Seventh Army time to regroup, and move SS Panzer Divisions to reinforce their defences.

End of the Operation

The British advance was held up by these reinforcements. British VIII Corps also had to protect its own eastern flank, because British XXX Corps had not maintained the same rate of advance. (The Corps commander, Gerard Bucknall was dismissed on 2 August and the commander of 7th Armoured Division, George Erskine, relieved of command the next day.) The advance was brought to a temporary halt on 4 August.

After renewed efforts, Vire fell to British and American forces on 6 August. On the same day, British 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division captured Mont Pinçon.

Results

Operation Bluecoat drew substantial forces away from the projected German counter-attack at Avranches, and contributed substantially to the later encirclement of the German forces at the Falaise Pocket.

Forces

British

British Second Army (Miles Dempsey)

British VIII Corps (Richard O'Connor)

British 15th (Scottish) Division (Gordon MacMillan)

British Guards Armoured Division (Allan Adair)

British 11th Armoured Division ("Pip" Roberts)

British 3rd Infantry Division (temporarily attached) (Lashmer Whistler)

British 6th Guards Tank Brigade (Gerald Verney to 3 August then Sir Walter Barttellot)

British XXX Corps (Gerard Bucknall)

British 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division (Gwilym Thomas)

British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division (Douglas Graham)

British 7th Armoured Division (George Erskine to 4 August then Gerald Verney)

British 8th Armoured Brigade (George Prior-Palmer)

German

German Fifth Panzer Army (Heinrich Eberbach)
initially present:

German XLVII Panzer Corps (part) (Hans Freiherr von Funck)

German 276th Infantry Division (Kurt Badinski)

German 326th Infantry Division (Viktor von Drabich-Wächter)

reinforcements:

II SS Panzer Corps (Wilhelm Bittrich)

9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen (Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock)

10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg (Heinz Harmel)

German 21st Panzer Division (Edgar Feuchtinger)

1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (part) (Theodor Wisch)

Notable Actions

• Night attack by 5th DCLI on Les Plessis Grimoult, south of Mont Pinçon.
• Destruction of most of a Squadron from 6th Guards Tank Brigade by Jagdpanthers from 654 schwere Panzerjägerabteilung

References

• UK MoD Brochure on Normandy
• Delaforce, Patrick (1993). The Black Bull : from Normandy to the Baltic with the 11th Armoured Division. Stroud, Gloucs.: Sutton. ISBN 978-0750904063.
• Delaforce, Patrick (2002). The Fighting Wessex Wyverns : from Normandy to Bremerhaven with the 43rd (Wessex) Division. Stroud, Gloucs.: Sutton. ISBN 978-0750931878. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Jary, Sydney (2003). 18 Platoon. Winchester, Hants.: Light Infantry. ISBN 978-1901655018. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Mead, Richard (2007). Churchill's Lions: A biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II. Stroud (UK): Spellmount. p. 544 pages. ISBN 978-1-86227-431-0.
• Wilmot, Chester (1997). The Struggle For Europe. Ware, UK: Wordsworth Editions. ISBN 978-1853266775. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)

External links

• Operation Bluecoat at memorial-montormel.org
• History of 11^th armoured division at memorial-montormel.org
• D-Day Tanks Website
• Les Plessis Grimoult (French website