EOA 11: OPERATION COBRA & GOODWOOD from SHAEF’s Point of view

1. EOA 11: OPERATION COBRA & GOODWOOD from SHAEF’s Point of view End state: breakthrough of German lines in Normandy IOT allow CF to continue the attack on German forces and recapture France. How do I: Penetrate German front lines in Normandy, Break the stalemate and realize proper lodgement area with seaport. IOT: Allow CF to continue the attack east and secure Paris/France defeating Germans Given: US Armies 1st US, 2nd K, and 1st Canadian, 9th and 8th Air Force for bombing, Naval Gun fire. Against: German Army group B in DEF positions Duration: 2-3 weeks after D-day Conditions: Allied forces must maintain local Air superiority, generate enough mass to exploit breakthrough, and leave bocage areas Military and political subltlties of coaliton, weather, loss of mulberry, delayed build up of CBT power. COG: German Army (Operational) their leadership OP Approach: Indirect approach (saturation bombing & huge artillery barrage) followed by a ground attack to achieve penetration and breakout of German defenses. Basing: Norman Ports, England SHAEF will conduct a 4 phase operation IO penetrate German lines in NW France IOT enable Maneuver and allow 12th and 21st army groups to defeat German Forces. After CF builds sufficient combat power, Bombing and ARTY will Saturate areas around CAEN IOT allow 21st Army group to conduct a deliberate attack on CAEN IOT fix German forces in that area. Then After another Heavy bombing and ARTY Barrage, 12th Army Group will attack to penetrate and secure ports in brittany. * Branch to surround Germans. This OP Ends with CF breaking out of Bocage country, enabling CF maneuver and securing of ports IOT Allow follow on OPS to defeat Germany and liberate France. PH1: Reinforce foothold and Basing – prep troops, armor, ammo and LOG. PH2A: Bombard and ARTY prep of CAEN PH2B: Deliberate Attack of CAEN IOT contain/Fix German Armor. PH3A: Bombardment and ARTY prep to S/West PH3B: Penetration of German lines to the S/W PH4: Breakout of US Armor from Bocage to establish maneuver and secure ports to west in Brittany. DO: 12th Army Group attack to penetrate SO1: 21st Army Group attack to fix IOT enable 12th Army SO2: Air Force bombing and Arty prep strike/fire IOT enable 12th Army SUST: Build CMBT Power and SUST forces (750 tonnes a day per Division)

2. EOA 11: OPERATION COBRA & GOODWOOD from SHAEF’s Point of view LOO: Operate on interior lines Risk: Exhaustion of CMBT power to exploitiontion. Strat Bombing for Tactical gains – loss of use for strat OBJ, - loss of US forces – massive resources for small gains. Opportunities: Prohibit Germany Army for reinforcing and massing on US army. Synch: Goodwhoo and Atlantic then Cobra and Spring Depth, Strat bombing, Medium bombers – tactical and operational level OBJ, fighter bombers CAS and tactical targets. Bradley briefed his subordinate commanders on the Cobra plan, which consisted of three phases. The main effort would be under the control of Collins' VII Corps. Phase1, Bombardment in depth and artillery barrage, Fighter-bombers concentrated on hitting forward German defenses in a 230 m belt immediately south of the Saint-Lô–Periers road, while heavy bombers would bomb to a depth of 2,300m behind German lines. In addition to divisional artillery, Army- and Corps-level units provided support, including nine heavy, five medium, and seven light artillery battalions. Over 1,000 tubes of divisional and corps artillery were committed to the offensive, and approximately 140,000 artillery rounds were allocated to the operation in VII Corps alone, with another 27,000 for VIII Corps. Phase2, the breakthrough attack would be conducted by Major General Eddy's 9th and Major General Hobbs' 30th infantry divisions, which would punch a hole in the German tactical zone and then hold the flanks of the penetration. Phase3A 1st Infantry & 2nd Armored divisions would attack into the depth of the position until resistance collapsed. Then 1st Infantry Division "was to take Marigny, with this objective exploited by a stream of 3rd Armored Division armor that would move south toward Coutances.“ The 2nd Armored Division—part of "Collins' exploitation force" of the 2nd Armored Division in the east of the VII Corps sector and the "1st Infantry Division reinforced by Combat Command B (CCB) of the 3rd Armored division in the west“ would "pass through the 30th Infantry Division sector ... and guard the overall American left flank. Phase3B, when the VII Corps' efforts are successful, the western German position would become untenable, permitting a relatively easy advance to the southwest end of the bocage to cut off and seize the Brittany peninsula.

3. EOA 11: OPERATION COBRA End state: breakthrough of German lines in Normandy IOT allow CF to continue the attack on German forces and recapture France. How do I: Establish a decisive breakthrough in 1st Army sector. IOT: Secure a starting point for 3rd Army Operations IVO Avaranche and Pountaubault Given: 4 US Corps(V, VII, VIII, XIX), Allied Air forces Against: German 7th Army 35K in DEF positions Duration: July to August In Regards to: Restrictive terrain (Bocage), avenues of advance, well defended German troops. COG: Contance (X-roads) that forces the turning of German defesive positions RISK: Heavy bombing coordinated with ground attack. Use of Patton Opp: Smash GER ring of containment Patton’s aggressive nature an need for redemption. LOO: DP1: Penetrate German DEF Positions, DP2 Seize Constances, DP3 Crossing points VIC Avaranche. DP4 Crossing points at Pountaubault. OP Approach: 3 Phase operation with the overall OBJ of Avaranches-Pontauboult and the Vive-Mortain-Forugeres line IOT posture 3rd army for the seizure of Brittany peninsula and join with MONTY brits, and attack toward seine & Paris. This is a DO/SO/SU framework operation with the initial Arial bombardment to create and Infantry to hold a gap as the SO and allow the DO to exploit the Gap. Then utilize the road network for the SU to allow 3rd Army to move forward and continue the offensive. Indirect approach ( saturation bombing & huge artillery barrage) followed by a ground attack to achieve penetration and breakout of German defenses. DO: penetration of GAP IOT achieve a breakthrough allowing 3rd Army to secure the ports in Brittany. SO1: Saturation bombing of narrow sector of German defensive positions IOT neutralize German capabilities. SO2: Seizure of gap through flank security IOT facilitate breakthrough. SUST: secure key road networks for follow on ops. PHASING: PH1: Shaping Ops – Bombing, then ARTY, then LD of SO2 to seize gap with 7th CORPS. PH2:Penetration, 7th CORPS breaks through and seizes Constances. PH3: Exploitation by 8th corps to Avaranch and Porutablaut, 7th corps protects flanks, Ends with 1st Army facing east along Vivre-Mortain line and 3rd Army attacking toward Brittany

4. EOA 11: OPERATION COBRA End state: breakthrough of German lines in Normandy IOT allow CF to continue the attack on German forces and recapture France. How do I: Penetrate German front lines in Normandy IOT: Allow CF to continue the attack east and secure Paris/France defeating Germans Given: US Armies, 8th Air Force for bombing Against: German Armies in DEF positions Duration: 2-3 weeks after D-day Conditions: Allied forces must maintain local Air superiority, generate enough mass to exploit breakthrough, and leave bocage areas COG: German Army (Operational) their leadership OP Approach: Indirect approach (saturation bombing & huge artillery barrage) followed by a ground attack to achieve penetration and breakout of German defenses. Decisive Points: Basing: Norman Ports, England LOO/LOE: OP Reach:  Tempo: Simultaneity and Depth: Air Phasing/Transitions: Culmination. Risk: Theorist Synthesis: Bradley briefed his subordinate commanders on the Cobra plan, which consisted of three phases. The main effort would be under the control of Collins' VII Corps. Phase1, Bombardment in depth and artillery barrage, Fighter-bombers concentrated on hitting forward German defenses in a 230 m belt immediately south of the Saint-Lô–Periers road, while heavy bombers would bomb to a depth of 2,300m behind German lines. In addition to divisional artillery, Army- and Corps-level units provided support, including nine heavy, five medium, and seven light artillery battalions. Over 1,000 tubes of divisional and corps artillery were committed to the offensive, and approximately 140,000 artillery rounds were allocated to the operation in VII Corps alone, with another 27,000 for VIII Corps. Phase2, the breakthrough attack would be conducted by Major General Eddy's 9th and Major General Hobbs' 30th infantry divisions, which would punch a hole in the German tactical zone and then hold the flanks of the penetration. Phase3A 1st Infantry & 2nd Armored divisions would attack into the depth of the position until resistance collapsed. Then 1st Infantry Division "was to take Marigny, with this objective exploited by a stream of 3rd Armored Division armor that would move south toward Coutances.“ The 2nd Armored Division—part of "Collins' exploitation force" of the 2nd Armored Division in the east of the VII Corps sector and the "1st Infantry Division reinforced by Combat Command B (CCB) of the 3rd Armored division in the west“ would "pass through the 30th Infantry Division sector ... and guard the overall American left flank. Phase3B, when the VII Corps' efforts are successful, the western German position would become untenable, permitting a relatively easy advance to the southwest end of the bocage to cut off and seize the Brittany peninsula.

5. First Army's intelligence estimated that no German counterattack would occur in the first few days after Cobra's launch, and that if attacks materialized after that date, they would consist of no more than battalion-sized operations. Cobra was to be a concentrated attack on a 7,000 yd (6,400 m) front, unlike previous American 'broad front' offensives, and would have heavy air support. In an attempt to overcome the mobility constraints of the bocage that had made offensive operations so difficult and costly for both sides, "Rhino" modifications were made to some M4 Sherman and M5A1 Stuart tanks, and M10 tank destroyers, by fitting them with hedge-breaching 'tusks' that were capable of forcing a path through the Norman hedgerows. While German tanks remained restricted to the roads, U.S. armor would now be able to maneuver more freely, although in practice these devices were not as effective as often believed.  However, by the eve of Cobra, 60% of First Army's tanks were so equipped and to preserve operational security, Bradley forbade their use until Cobra was launched. In all, 1,269 M4 medium tanks, 694 M5A1 light tanks, and 288 M10 tank destroyers were available. Supporting operations: Operation Goodwood, Operation Atlantic, and Operation Spring On 18 July, the British VIII and I Corps—to the east of Caen—launched Operation Goodwood. The offensive began with the largest air bombardment in support of ground forces yet, with more than 1,000 aircraft dropping 6,000 short tons (5,400 t) of high explosive and fragmentation bombs from low altitude. German positions to the east of Caen were shelled by 400 artillery pieces and many villages were reduced to rubble, but German artillery further to the south, on the Bourguébus Ridge, was outside the range of the British artillery, and the defenders of Cagny and Émiéville were largely unscathed by the bombardment. This contributed to the losses suffered by Second Army, which sustained over 4,800 casualties. Principally an armored offensive, between 250 and 400 British tanks were put out of action, although recent examination suggests that only 140 were completely destroyed with an additional 174 damaged. The operation remains the largest tank battle ever fought by the British Army,[66] and resulted in the expansion of the Orne bridgehead and the final capture of Caen. Simultaneously, the II Canadian Corps on Goodwood's western flank launched Operation Atlantic. Intended to strengthen the Allied foothold along the banks of the Orne River and take Verrières Ridge to the south of Caen,[67] Atlantic made initial gains but ran out of steam as casualties mounted.[5] Having cost the Canadians 1,349 men and with the heavily-defended ridge firmly in German hands,[68] Atlantic was closed down on 20 July. However, at Montgomery's urging, "strongly underlined in the Supreme Commander's communications to Montgomery", II Canadian Corps's commander, Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, launched a second offensive a few days later, codenamed Operation Spring. This had the limited but important aim of tying down German units that might otherwise be transferred to the American sector. GERMANS: Only two Panzer divisions with 190 tanks now faced Bradley's First Army. Seven Panzer divisions with 750 tanks were positioned in the Caen area, far away from where Operation Cobra would be launched, as were all the heavy Tiger tank battalions and three brigades in Normandy. Logistics: Each division consumed 750 short tons (680 t) of supplies daily.

6. EOA 11: OPERATION GOODWOOD General Demsey’s Elements of Operational Art End state: Capture of Caen and set to conditions for a breakout from the beachhead. Conditions: Allied forces must must fix German forces ISO the conditions for a breakout (Operation COBRA); destruction of German lines of communication COG: German Panzer Group-West (Operational) OP Approach: Indirect approach (saturation bombing and artillery barrage) followed by a ground assault, IOT breakthrough German defenses. Decisive Points: Key terrain connecting the lines of operations Basing: England; Normandy ports LOO: Allied forces operated on interior lines of operations until they achieve a breakout and expand the beachhead. OP Reach: Limited to the beachhead and ports taken. Tempo: Simultaneity and Depth: Air bombardment, supporting operations: Operation ATLANTIC and Operation SPRING Phasing/Transitions: Phase I-Bombardment in depth and artillery barrage; Phase II- breakthrough attack; Phase III-attack into the depth of the position until resistance collapsed Culmination: Risk (strategic, operational, tactical): Theorist Synthesis: Modern Theory (Biddle), Air Power (Douhet, Mitchell) and the Usual Suspects (Clausewitz, Jomini, Naveh, etc.) Timeline: 17 July 1944: Movement and preparation beings for Operation GOODWOOD 18 July 1944: Operation GOODWOOD commences 19 July 1944: VIII Corps secures and controls Four, Soliers, Bras, Hubert-Folie, Le Poirier 24 July 1944: Operation COBRA air bombardment begins 25 July 1944: Operation COBRA commences 28 July 1944: Soviet troops take Brest-Litovsk. U.S. troops take Coutances 30 July 1944: German forces retreat; breakout successful