Operation Goodwood - Preliminary Operations

Preliminary Operations

Shortly after the capture of northern Caen during Operation Charnwood, the British mounted an unsuccessful raid against the Colombelles steelworks complex to the northeast of the city. The factory area remained in German hands, its tall chimneys providing observations posts that overlooked the Orne bridgehead. At 01:00 on 11 July, elements of the 153rd (Highland) Infantry Brigade, supported by Sherman tanks of the Royal Armoured Corps's 148th Regiment, moved against the German position. The intention was to secure the area only long enough for troops from the Royal Engineers to destroy the chimneys before pulling back. However, at 05:00 the British force was ambushed by Tiger tanks and after the loss of nine tanks was forced to withdraw.

While planning and preparation for Goodwood was underway, Second Army launched two preliminary operations. According to Montgomery, their purpose was to "engage the enemy in battle unceasingly; we must 'write off' his troops; and generally we must kill Germans". Historian Terry Copp identifies this as the moment where the Normandy campaign became a battle of attrition; one that Montgomery did his best to ensure the Germans would not win.

Operation Greenline was launched by XII Corps during the evening of 15 July. Greenline's objectives were twofold: to convince the German command that the forthcoming major British assault would be launched west of the Orne though the positions held by XII Corps; and to tie down the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions so that they could not later be relocated to oppose either Goodwood or Operation Cobra. Supported by 450 guns, the British attack made use of "artificial moonlight" and started well despite disruption caused by German artillery fire. By dawn XII Corps had captured several of its objectives including the important height of Hill 113, although the much-contested Hill 112 remained in German hands. Committing the 9th SS Panzer Division, the Germans managed by the end of the day to largely restore their line, although a counter-attack against Hill 113 was unsuccessful. Renewed attacks the following day by XII Corps gained no further ground, so during the evening of 17 July the operation was closed down and the British force on Hill 113 withdrawn.

Operation Pomegranate started on 16 July, one day after Greenline. XXX Corps was to capture several important villages. On the first day British infantry seized a key objective and took 300 prisoners but the next day saw heavy and inconclusive fighting on the outskirts of Noyers-Bocage. Elements of the 9th SS Panzer Division were committed to the village's defence; although the British took control of the railway station and an area of high ground outside the village, Noyers-Bocage itself remained in German hands.

These two operations cost Second Army 3,500 casualties for no significant territorial gains, but Greenline and Pomegranate were strategically successful. Reacting to the developing threats in the Odon Valley, the Germans not only retained the 2nd Panzer and 10th SS Panzer Divisions in the front line but also recalled the 9th SS Panzer Division from Corps reserve. They suffered around 2,000 casualties; the heavy losses on both sides prompted Terry Copp to call the fighting "one of the bloodiest encounters of the campaign".

During the late afternoon of 17 July a patrolling British Spitfire fighter aircraft spotted a German staff car on the road near the village of Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery. The fighter made a strafing attack driving the car off the road. Among its occupants was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the commander of Army Group B, who was seriously wounded leaving Army Group B temporarily leaderless.