Maps of the Western Front
June-July 1944
Projection of Allied Advances to July 26, 1944
Although the Allied command's expectations of progress in the first fifty days of the Normandy invasion were somewhat optimistic, the results of themilitary campaign in fact showed that the Allies had produced a reasonable forecast of progress to be expected for the first ninety days after the invasion.
Allied Invasion Forces Available for D-Day
In addition to the armed forces that were designated for the initial landings, there were further divisions and corps allocated for exploitation after a successful beachhead was established.
Normandy Invasion: June 6-9, 1944
The first objective after establishing the beachheads was to link the five landing sites together. German counterattacks followed the landings as well but only after an important delay.
Development of the Normandy Bridgehead: June 10-18, 1944
Allied forces continued to press forward. American armed forces established a corridor cutting off the German held Contentin Peninsula while British and Canadian armies continued to tie down the bulk of the German armor in the battle for Caen.
7th Armoured Division at Villers-Bocage: June 11-15, 1944
The legendary armored engagement in which a lone Tiger tank (commanded by Michael Wittmann) destroyed an entire column of British armor, took place during the 7th Armoured Division's foray into Villers-Bocage.
Clearing the Cotentin Peninsula: June 10-30, 1944
American armed forces initially forced a corridor across the Cotentin Peninsula and then cleared it of German military resistance by the end of June. Cherbourg was captured by June 29th and served as an important landing site and base for Allied armies operating in Normandy.
Operation Epsom: June 24 - July 1, 1944
In the continuing effort to capture Caen, British armed forces launched a flanking attack on the right of the front which proved insufficient to break the German defense. Operation Epsom, however, drew considerable German armor away from American armed forces aiming to break out of Normandy.
Allied Capture of Caen: July 7-9, 1944
British and Canadian military units advanced toward Caen against heavy resistance by German armed forces. Royal Air Force heavy bombers contributed to the reduction.