Saturday, July 15, 1944
The days that marked the Battle of Normandy
The British continued the attacks directed south and east of Caen, defended by the German S.S. troops who refused to abandon their positions. Artillery bombardment continues in the southern part of the city, while Commonwealth troops have difficulty evolving in the rubble of the northern part.
Hill 113, in the hands of the German soldiers of the Hitlerjugend division, resists and still blocks access to the southern region of Caen. A new British offensive, led by the Scottish 15th Infantry Division and named Operation Greenline, is launched in the Odon Valley. It is supposed to blow the latch of Hill 113.
The Americans are still trampling ahead of Périers and Saint-Lô, two major allied objectives which, once under control, should allow for a more rapid advance towards the center of France and towards Brittany in the southwest of Normandy. But the German divisions are firmly established in the bocage and the hedgerows war proves to be a veritable quagmire for the Americans.
North-east of Saint-Lô, American divisions belonging to the 19th Corps progressed at best only two kilometers to the south. But the German forces of the Seventh Army, commanded by General Hausser, are severely tested and must gradually retreat.
In mid-July, the Allies disembarked nearly 1,500,000 soldiers in Normandy, a total of 36 divisions, as well as 300,000 vehicles. 54,000 tons of material are landed each day on the beaches of Utah and Omaha, as well as at Arromanches, where the artificial harbor operates 24 hours a day.
