Operation Bluecoat

⚔ Conflict · 1944 – 1944

Operation Bluecoat was a British offensive in the bocage country around Vire and Mont Pincon, launched on 30 July 1944 while the Americans were exploiting the Cobra breakout further west. Advancing without a preliminary bombardment to preserve surprise, VIII and XXX Corps pushed south through difficult hedgerow terrain against German armour that was being hurriedly redeployed. The capture of Mont Pincon, the highest ground in the area, gave the British observation over a wide stretch of country and forced the Germans back towards the Orne. Bluecoat is often overlooked beside the more famous Cobra, but it kept pressure on the German left flank and contributed to the general withdrawal that led to the Falaise pocket. Its fighting was typical of the campaign: small fields, close-quarters actions, and slow, costly progress. The point recorded here is an approximate location for the battle area. The operation also drew in German armour that might otherwise have been used against the Americans, and its gains around Mont Pincon helped to unhinge the German line as the Allies pressed towards the Seine.

Sources

• Wikimedia Commons — Charnwood (SVG, by EyeSerene)
• Wikimedia Commons — Operations Greenwood and Pomegranate, Normandy, July 1944 (EN.svg)
• Wikimedia Commons — Operation Tractable (SVG, by EyeSerene)
• Wikipedia — 352nd Infantry Division (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Wikipedia — Falaise pocket (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Wikipedia — Normandy landings (CC BY-SA 3.0)
• Wikipedia — Operation Overlord (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Related

• Normandy landings

Reuse this data: open dataset (GeoJSON / CSV, CC BY 4.0)