Second Battle of the Odon

The Second Battle of the Odon was a series of operations fought by the British Army in mid July 1944 against the German Army as part of the Battle of Normandy. The two operations launched, Greenline and Pomegranate, were designed to draw German attention away from the upcoming assault, out of the Orne bridgehead, codenamed Goodwood. No significant territorial gains were made but the operations were strategically successful keeping three German ar... more

The Second Battle of the Odon was a series of operations fought by the British Army in mid July 1944 against the German Army as part of the Battle of Normandy. The two operations launched, Greenline and Pomegranate, were designed to draw German attention away from the upcoming assault, out of the Orne bridgehead, codenamed Goodwood. No significant territorial gains were made but the operations were strategically successful keeping three German armoured divisions attracted to the west of Caen in the Odon river valley area and away from the Goodwood battlefield. The historic Normandy town of Caen was a D-Day objective for the British 3rd Infantry Division that landed on Sword Beach on 6 June 1944. The capture of Caen, while "ambitious", has been described by historian L F Ellis as the most important D-Day objective assigned to Lieutenant-General Crockers's I Corps. Operation Overlord called for Second Army to secure the city and then form a front line from Caumont-l'Éventé to the south... less