Operation Bluecoat
Encyclopedia
Operation Bluecoat was an attack by the British Second Army
British Second Army
The British Second Army was active during both the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front and in Italy...

 at the Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...

 during the Second World War, from 30 July – 7 August 1944. The geographical objectives of the attack were to secure the key road junction of Vire
Vire
Vire is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.- History :In 1123, Henri I Beauclerc, King of England and Duke of Normandy, had a redoubt constructed on a rocky hill top, which was surrounded by the Vire river...

 and the high ground of Mont Pinçon
Mont Pinçon
Mont Pinçon is the highest point of the département of Calvados, in Normandy, with an elevation of . It is in the west of Swiss Normandy about to the south-west of Caen, near the village of Plessis-Grimoult....

. Strategically, the attack was made to support the American exploitation of their break-out on the western flank of the Normandy beachhead.

Situation

On 25 July, the American army broke out of the beachhead, in Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II...

. A few days earlier, the British and Canadian forces had launched Operation Goodwood
Operation Goodwood
Operation Goodwood was an attack launched on 18 July 1944, during the Second World War, by the British army to the east of the city of Caen...

 south of Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....

 on the eastern flank of the Allied beachhead. This had induced the Germans to keep 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
British Second Army
The British Second Army was active during both the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front and in Italy...

 under Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey
Miles Dempsey
General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, GBE, KCB, DSO, MC was commander of the British Second Army during the D-Day landings in the Second World War...

 was switched westwards toward Villers-Bocage
Villers-Bocage, Calvados
-External links:* *...

 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
Caumont-sur-Orne
Caumont-sur-Orne is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Population:-References:*...

, although they had laid extensive minefields and constructed substantial defences. They also occupied ideal terrain for defence, the bocage
Bocage
Bocage is a Norman word which has entered both the French and English languages. It may refer to a small forest, a decorative element of leaves, a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture, or a type of rubble-work, comparable with the English use of 'rustic' in relation to garden...

.

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 5 mi (8 km).

On the next day (31 July), units of the British 11th Armoured Division
British 11th Armoured Division
The 11th Armoured Division, known as The Black Bull, was a British Army division formed in 1941 during the Second World War. The Division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of German panzer divisions...

 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 5 mi (8 km) from Vire
Vire
Vire is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.- History :In 1123, Henri I Beauclerc, King of England and Duke of Normandy, had a redoubt constructed on a rocky hill top, which was surrounded by the Vire river...

, 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 7th Army
German Seventh Army
The 7th Army was a World War I and World War II field army of the German land forces.-Origins:The 7th Army was activated in Stuttgart on August 25, 1939 with General Friedrich Dollmann in command. At the outbreak of the war, the 7th Army defended the German border and manned the Westwall in the...

 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. VIII Corps also had to protect its own eastern flank, because XXX Corps had not kept up the same rate of advance. The commander of XXX Corps, Lieutenant-General Gerard Bucknall
Gerard Bucknall
Lieutenant General Gerard Corfield Bucknall, CB, MC was a British Army officer and corps commander during World War II.-Military career:...

, was dismissed on 2 August and the commander of the 7th Armoured Division, Major-General George Erskine
George Erskine
General Sir George Watkin Eben James Erskine GCB, KBE, DSO was a senior British Army officer during World War II-Background:...

, was relieved of command the next day. Replacing Bucknall was Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks
Brian Horrocks
Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks, KCB, KBE, DSO, MC was a British Army officer. He is chiefly remembered as the commander of XXX Corps in Operation Market Garden and other operations during the Second World War...

, a seasoned veteran of North Africa
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...

. The 2nd Army's advance was brought to a temporary halt on 4 August.

After renewed efforts, Vire fell to British/American forces on 6 August. On the same day, the British 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division
British 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division
The 43rd Infantry Division was a British Territorial Army division first formed in 1908. It was reformed in 1920 as part of the rebuilding of the Territorial Army, and raised a second line duplicate, 45th Infantry Division, on the doubling of the Territorial Army in 1939.-History:The Division was...

 and tanks of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars captured Mont Pinçon
Mont Pinçon
Mont Pinçon is the highest point of the département of Calvados, in Normandy, with an elevation of . It is in the west of Swiss Normandy about to the south-west of Caen, near the village of Plessis-Grimoult....

.

Results

Operation Bluecoat drew substantial forces away from the projected German counter-attack
Operation Lüttich
Operation Lüttich was a codename given to a German counterattack during the Battle of Normandy, which took place around the American positions near Mortain from 7 August to 13 August 1944...

 at Avranches
Avranches
Avranches is a commune in the Manche department in the Basse-Normandie region in north-western France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called Avranchinais.-History:...

, and contributed substantially to the later encirclement of the German forces at the Falaise Pocket
Falaise pocket
The battle of the Falaise Pocket, fought during the Second World War from 12 to 21 August 1944, was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy...

.

British

British Second Army
British Second Army
The British Second Army was active during both the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front and in Italy...

 (Miles Dempsey
Miles Dempsey
General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, GBE, KCB, DSO, MC was commander of the British Second Army during the D-Day landings in the Second World War...

)
British VIII Corps (Richard O'Connor
Richard O'Connor
General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor KT, GCB, DSO & Bar, MC, ADC was a British Army general who commanded the Western Desert Force in the early years of World War II...

)
British 15th (Scottish) Division
British 15th (Scottish) Division
The 15th Infantry Division was a British Army division in both the First and Second World Wars.- First World War :The division was a New Army unit formed in September 1914 as part of the K2 Army Group. The division moved to France in July 1915 and spent the duration of the First World War in...

 (Gordon MacMillan)
British Guards Armoured Division
British Guards Armoured Division
The Guards Armoured Division was a Second World War British Army formation.The Guards Armoured Division was formed on 17 June 1941. The division remained in the United Kingdom, training, until 26 June 1944, when it landed in Normandy as part of VIII Corps...

 (Allan Adair
Allan Henry Shafto Adair
Major General Sir Allan Henry Shafto Adair, 6th Baronet GCVO, CB, DSO, MC & Bar JP DL was a British Army general who served in both World Wars; as a company commander in the Grenadier Guards in the First, and as Commanding Officer the Guards Armoured Division in the Second.-Military career:Adair...

)
British 11th Armoured Division
British 11th Armoured Division
The 11th Armoured Division, known as The Black Bull, was a British Army division formed in 1941 during the Second World War. The Division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of German panzer divisions...

 ("Pip" Roberts
George Philip Bradley Roberts
Major-General George Philip Bradley Roberts CB, DSO, MC, , better known as "Pip", was a British commander of an armoured division during the Second World War.-Military career:...

)
British 3rd Infantry Division
British 3rd Infantry Division
The 3rd Mechanised Division, known at various times as the Iron Division, 3rd Division or as Iron Sides; is a regular army division of the British Army...

 (temporarily attached) (Lashmer Whistler
Lashmer Whistler
General Sir Lashmer Gordon Whistler GCB, KBE, DSO & Two Bars, DL , known as Bolo, was a British army officer who served in the First and Second World Wars. In the Second World War he achieved senior ranks serving with Field Marshal Montgomery in North Africa and Europe...

)
British 6th Guards Tank Brigade
British 6th Guards Armoured Brigade
The 6th Guards Brigade was a First and Second World War British Army Brigade.- World War II :Formation during World War II*2nd Bn, Welsh Guards*3rd Bn, Scots Guards*4th Bn, Coldstream Guards*4th Bn, Grenadier Guards...

 (Gerald Verney to 3 August then Sir Walter Barttelot)
British XXX Corps (Gerard Bucknall
Gerard Bucknall
Lieutenant General Gerard Corfield Bucknall, CB, MC was a British Army officer and corps commander during World War II.-Military career:...

 to 2 August then Brian Horrocks
Brian Horrocks
Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks, KCB, KBE, DSO, MC was a British Army officer. He is chiefly remembered as the commander of XXX Corps in Operation Market Garden and other operations during the Second World War...

)
British 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division
British 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division
The 43rd Infantry Division was a British Territorial Army division first formed in 1908. It was reformed in 1920 as part of the rebuilding of the Territorial Army, and raised a second line duplicate, 45th Infantry Division, on the doubling of the Territorial Army in 1939.-History:The Division was...

 (Gwilym Thomas)
British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division
British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division
The 50th Infantry Division was a 1st Line Territorial Army division during the Second World War. The two Ts in its insignia represent the two boundaries to its recruitment area, the rivers Tyne and Tees...

 (Douglas Graham
Douglas Alexander Graham
Major General Douglas Alexander Henry Graham CB, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC, DL was a British soldier of the First and Second World Wars. During his early life he studied at the University of Glasgow...

)
British 7th Armoured Division
British 7th Armoured Division
The 7th Armoured Division was a British armoured division which saw service during the Second World War where its exploits made it famous as the Desert Rats....

 (George Erskine
George Erskine
General Sir George Watkin Eben James Erskine GCB, KBE, DSO was a senior British Army officer during World War II-Background:...

 to 4 August then Gerald Verney)
British 8th Armoured Brigade
British 8th Armoured Brigade
The 8 Armoured Brigade was a British Army brigade, formed in August 1941 during the Second World War and active until 1956. The brigade was formed by the re-designation of 6th Cavalry Brigade when the 1st Cavalry Division based in Palestine , converted from a motorised formation to an armoured...

 (George Prior-Palmer)

German

5th Panzer Army
German Fifth Panzer Army
The 5th Panzer Army, also known as Panzer Group West and Panzer Group Eberbach was a panzer army which saw action in the Western front and North Africa...

 (Heinrich Eberbach
Heinrich Eberbach
Heinrich Kurt Alfons Willy Eberbach was a German General der Panzertruppen in the German Army of World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves...

)

initially present:
XLVII Panzer Corps
XLVII Panzer Corps (Germany)
The XLVII Panzer Corps was a Panzer Corps formed by Field Marshal Günther von Kluge during the Battle for Normandy, and for Operation Lüttich...

 (part) (Hans Freiherr von Funck
Hans Freiherr von Funck
General Hans Emil Richard Freiherr von Funck was a highly decorated Panzer General in the German army during World War II.-Biography:...

)
276th Infantry Division (Curt Badinski
Curt Badinski
Curt Badinski was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II who held several divisional commands. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful...

)
326th Infantry Division
326th Infantry Division (Germany)
The 326th Infantry Division was formed on November 9, 1942 to serve as an occupation force in France. On May 5, 1943 the division was transformed into a static division. The 326th Infantry Division was destroyed during the Battle of Normandy. A new 326th Volksgrenadier Division The 326th Infantry...

 (Viktor von Drabich-Wächter)


reinforcements:
II SS Panzer Corps
II SS Panzer Corps
The II SS Panzer Corps was a Nazi German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II.- Formation - Kharkov :...

 (Wilhelm Bittrich
Wilhelm Bittrich
Wilhelm Bittrich was an SS-Obergruppenführer and Waffen-SS General during World War II.-Overview:...

)
9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen
9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen
The 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen", also known as SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 9, SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 9 Hohenstaufen or 9. SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen, was a German Waffen-SS Armoured division which saw action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II. The...

 (Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock
Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock
SS-Oberführer Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock was a German Waffen-SS officer who during his career commanded three SS-divisions, the 9.SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen, the 4.SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division and the Latvian 19.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS...

)
10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg
10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg
The 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg or 10.SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg was a German Waffen SS panzer division. The division was formed at the beginning of 1943 as a reserve for the expected Allied invasion of France. However, their first campaign was in the Ukraine in April 1944...

 (Heinz Harmel
Heinz Harmel
Heinz Harmel was a German Waffen-SS General during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...

)
21st Panzer Division (Edgar Feuchtinger)
1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...

 (part) (Theodor Wisch
Theodor Wisch
Theodor Peter Johann Wisch was a German Waffen-SS general and a commander of 1. SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler during World War II. He held the rank of SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS. He was also a winner of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub...

)

Notable actions

  • Night attack by 5th DCLI
    Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
    The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. Its lineage is continued today by The Rifles....

     on Les Plessis Grimoult, south of Mont Pinçon
    Mont Pinçon
    Mont Pinçon is the highest point of the département of Calvados, in Normandy, with an elevation of . It is in the west of Swiss Normandy about to the south-west of Caen, near the village of Plessis-Grimoult....

    .
  • Destruction of most of a Squadron from 6th Guards Tank Brigade
    6th Guards Tank Brigade (United Kingdom)
    The 6th Guards Tank Brigade was formed in 1941 as the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade when Great Britain was under the threat of invasion and more armoured formations were required, permission was granted from King George VI and the Colonels of the Regiments involved and over the summer of 1941, the...

     by Jagdpanther
    Jagdpanther
    The Jagdpanther was a tank destroyer built by Nazi Germany during World War II based on the chassis of the Panther tank. It entered service late in the war and saw service on the Eastern and Western fronts...

    tank destroyers from the 654th Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion

External links

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