The Battle of Villers-Bocage, fought during the Second World War on 13 June, 1944, was part of the wider Battle of Normandy. While attempting to encircle and capture the German-occupied city of Caen, a Brigade group of the British 7th Armoured Division made an opportunistic thrust into the German flank through a gap that opened up in the front line. The British reached the town of Villers-Bocage without incident, but the Germans had foreseen the ...
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The Battle of Villers-Bocage, fought during the Second World War on 13 June, 1944, was part of the wider Battle of Normandy. While attempting to encircle and capture the German-occupied city of Caen, a Brigade group of the British 7th Armoured Division made an opportunistic thrust into the German flank through a gap that opened up in the front line. The British reached the town of Villers-Bocage without incident, but the Germans had foreseen the danger and correctly anticipated the likely direction of an attack. The unexpected intervention of German heavy armour caught the 7th Armoured Division's vanguard unprepared, and increasingly strong German counterattacks caused the British to abandon Villers-Bocage for a more defensible position outside the town. The Brigade group was withdrawn the following day.
Launched on the heels of D-Day, Operation Perch was a pincer attack aimed at capturing the major Allied objective of Caen. British XXX Corps, forming the western arm of the...
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