But the obvious scarcity of enemy forces in Brittany, the disorganization of the German left flank forces near Avranches, and the fact that in driving to Avranches the Americans had outflanked the German defensive line in Normandy quickly led to an alteration of plans. The Allies started this operation with Patton's drive into Brittany as the main effort of the 12th Army Group. According to preinvasion plans, the Allies hoped to gain the lodgment through the following maneuver: Patton's Third Army was to go westward from Avranches to take Brittany and its vital ports Hodges' First Army was to protect the commitment of Patton's forces into Brittany, wheel on the right of the British and Canadian armies to the southeast and east, and then move eastward with those armies to the Seine River. The objective of OVERLORD, the cross-Channel attack, was lodgment of the Allied forces in roughly that portion of northwestern France which lies between the Seine and the Loire Rivers. The events described in this paper are covered in detail in theĪuthor's Breakout and Pursuit, a volume in preparation for UNITED STATES Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, assumed personal direction of the ground campaign-a task he undertook on the first day of September-Montgomery functioned as the commander of the land forces executing Operation OVERLORD. armies under Bradley, and a British and a Canadian army, both under General Sir Bernard L. Allied ground forces in western Europe then comprised two U.S. Hodges and assumed command of the 12th Army Group. There, on the first day of August, as General Patton's Third Army became operational, General Bradley relinquished command of the First Army to Lt.

Army under General Bradley broke out of the confinement imposed by the Germans in the hedgerow country of the Cotentin and streamed in triumph toward Avranches. The story starts during the breakout in Normandy in July 1944, when the First U. Why General Bradley made his decision and whether he was correct are questions that have stirred discussion ever since World War II. The virtually surrounded German forces in Normandy, escaping through the Argentan-Falaise gap, avoided complete encirclement and almost certain destruction.

As a consequence, the Allies failed to close the Argentan-Falaise pocket. He thus prevented its movement northward through Argentan toward a juncture with Canadian forces coming south from Caen toward Falaise. Army Group, abruptly halted the advance of the XV Corps of Lt. (See Chapter 13 for information of the author.) GENERAL BRADLEY'S DECISION AT ARGENTAN (13 AUGUST 1944)

A Soldier's Story by Omar N. Bradley