Most people know that June 6 commemorates the Allied invasion of France to liberate it from Hitler’s Germany. Yet little is discussed about the events that occurred after the first day of the attack. With some of the most gruesome military battles in the history of the world, the Battle of Normandy was essentially a stalemate for the next few weeks. Only the most astute World War II enthusiasts would know that Operation Overlord, the code name for the invasion, lasted until Aug. 30, 1944.
One of the more critical military campaigns during this time was Operation Charnwood, a military campaign I learned about while visiting the Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy. It began with a bombing campaign on July 7 by the Royal Air Force against the Germans occupying the city of Caen. It was the Allies’ third attempt to take the city.
Charnwood was initially set for June 6, but stronger-than-expected German resistance made that impossible. A joint operation conducted by British and Canadian forces, the military objective of the campaign was to engage German forces and prevent them from sending reinforcements westward to the American sector of Normandy beaches, Omaha and Utah. Additionally, it was supposed to divide German occupation along the French coast, an essential part of the strategy in the early stages to liberate France.
Eventually, Brits and Canadians pushed the Germans back to the Orne River and took about half the city. But German forces mounted a counterattack and proved too strong for further Allied advancement. The fighting itself was brief but brutal. Allied forces in Charnwood suffered greater losses than they did on D-Day. British and Canadian troops suffered nearly 4,000 casualties, while the Germans suffered slightly more than 2,000. Additionally, the Allies lost 80 tanks, compared to only 32 for the Germans.
Charnwood ended on July 9 with the Allies liberating half the city from German occupation. It was considered only a partial victory and was categorized as “not having met expectations.” It would not be until the conclusion of Operation Goodwood that Germans were forced from the city altogether.
However, Charnwood did accomplish one of its goals by cutting off German reinforcements to Omaha and Utah beaches. This allowed the Americans to advance inward and push the Germans back further. Moreover, Charnwood was important because the lessons learned in this campaign were applied to more successful ones, such as Operation Cobra, which were pivotal to the greater success of Overlord and, ultimately, the Allied victory in 1945.
