Sunday July 2nd, 1944
The days that marked the Battle of Normandy
The perimeter liberated by the Scots between June 25 and June 30 east of Caen is the scene of violent fighting between the British troops and the German Panzer Lehr Division. Rommel, back in Normandy after his trip to Germany asked by Hitler, established that by cutting the allied head of the bridge into two parts, one American and the other Anglo-Canadian, the Allies would be greatly weakened by such a situation. He launched an offensive in the direction of Bayeux, which must continue north of the city to join Arromanches. But the Canadians stand firm and do not let the German forces advance. Rommel loses in this battle units that will be missing during the following days.
On the American front, in the Cotentin Peninsula, US soldiers and vehicles converge towards Saint-Lô, again bombed by the Allied aviation and artillery. The fighting progressed towards the south and the Americans assembled the troops in reserve to launch in the hours that follow an offensive in direction of Saint-Lô.
The German General Staff panics and is well aware of the impossibility of winning any decisive victory, due to terrifying German losses in men and equipment. Thus, Marshal von Rundstedt asked his superiors for permission to withdraw. Hitler, who finds this request ridiculous, refuses and dismisses his marshal. He was replaced on 2 July by Marshal von Kluge.
