Operation Goodwood

Two M4 Sherman tanks and a Sherman Firefly carrying infantry and a Sherman Crab wait for the order to advance at the start of Operation Goodwood, 18 July

Date	18–20 July 1944
Location	Normandy, France 49°10′54″N 00°16′03″W / 49.18167°N 0.26750°W / 49.18167; -0.26750Coordinates: 49°10′54″N 00°16′03″W / 49.18167°N 0.26750°W / 49.18167; -0.26750
Result	See Aftermath section

Belligerents

United Kingdom

Germany

Commanders and leaders

Strength

3 armoured divisions (c. 1,100 tanks)
2 infantry divisions

3 armoured divisions
2 heavy tank battalions (377 tanks)
4 infantry divisions

Casualties and losses

3,474 casualties
314 tanks

unknown total casualties
2,000–2,500+ captured
75–100 tanks

Operation Goodwood
Operational scope	Operation as part of an offensive strategy
Planned by	Second Army
Objective	See Aftermath section
Executed by	Second Army, VIII Corps and supporting attacks by I Corps

Operation Goodwood was a British offensive in the Second World War, that took place between 18 and 20 July 1944 as part of the battle for Caen in Normandy, France. The objective of the operation was a limited attack to the south, to capture the rest of Caen and the Bourguébus Ridge beyond, forcing the Germans to keep powerful formations opposite the British and Canadians on the eastern flank of the Normandy beachhead. Goodwood succeeded in this limited aim and Operation Cobra the First US Army attack which began on 25 July after a delay forced the German defences opposite to collapse. At least one historian has called the operation the largest tank battle that the British Army has ever fought.

Goodwood was preceded by preliminary attacks later called the Second Battle of the Odon. The offensive began when the British VIII Corps, with three armoured divisions, attacked to seize the German-held Bourguébus Ridge, the area between Bretteville-sur-Laize and Vimont and to inflict maximum casualties on the Germans. On 18 July, the British I Corps conducted an advance to secure a series of villages and the eastern flank of VIII Corps, while to the west, the II Canadian Corps launched Operation Atlantic, synchronised with Goodwood, to capture the rest of Caen south of the Orne River.

When Operation Goodwood ended on 20 July, the armoured divisions had broken through the outer German defences and advanced 7 mi (11 km) but had been stopped short of Bourguébus Ridge, armoured cars having penetrated further south and beyond the ridge.

The historic Normandy town of Caen was a D-Day objective for the British 3rd Infantry Division, which landed on Sword Beach on 6 June 1944. The capture of Caen, while "ambitious", was called the most important D-Day objective assigned to I Corps (Lieutenant-General John Crocker).Operation Overlord called for Second Army to secure the city and then form a front line from Caumont-l'Éventé–south-east of Caen, to acquire space for airfields and to protect the left flank of the US First Army (Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley), while it moved on Cherbourg. Possession of Caen and its surroundings would give the Second Army a staging area for a push south to capture Falaise, which could be used as the pivot for a swing left, to advance on Argentan and then towards the Touques River. The terrain between Caen and Vimont was especially promising, being open, dry and conducive to mobile operations. Since the Allied forces greatly outnumbered the Germans in tanks and mobile units, a fluid fast-moving battle was to their advantage.

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