Fighting the Breakout: The German Army in Normandy from COBRA to the Falaise Gap

291 Pages·2015·5.63 MB·English

by  Freiherr von Luttwitz

FIGHTING THE
BREAKOUT
WORLD WAR II GERMAN DEBRIEFS
PUBLISHED BY GREENHILL BOOKS
THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE: THE GERMAN VIEW
Perspectives from Hitler’s High Command HITLER’S ARDENNES
OFFENSIVE
The German View of the Battle of the Bulge INSIDE THE AFRIKA KORPS
The Crusader Battles, 1941–1942
THE GERMAN ARMY AT D-DAY
Fighting the Invasion
FIGHTING IN NORMANDY
The German Army from D-Day to Villers-Bocage FIGHTING THE
BOMBERS
The Luftwaffe’s Struggle Against the Allied Bomber Offensive PANZERS ON
THE EASTERN FRONT
General Erhard Raus and his Panzer Divisions in Russia, 1941–1945
FIGHTING THE
BREAKOUT
THE GERMAN ARMY IN NORMANDY FROM
‘COBRA’ TO THE FALAISE GAP
by
Generalmajor Rudolf-Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff
(Chief of Staff, German Seventh Army) and
Generaloberst Paul Hausser (Commander-in-Chief,
German Seventh Army) with
General der Artillerie Wilhelm Fahrmacher, General der
Panzertruppen Hans Eberbach and General Heinrich
Freiherr von Luettwitz Edited by David C. Isby
Frontline Books
Fighting the Breakout:
The German Army in Normandy from ‘Cobra’ to the Falaise Gap
First published in 2004 by
Greenhill Books
published in this format in 2015 by
Frontline Books
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street, Barnsley, S70 2AS
www.frontline-books.com
Copyright © David C. Isby
The right of David C. Isby to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of
1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or
introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior
written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act
in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil
claims for damages.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Fighting the breakout: the German Army in Normandy
from ‘Cobra’ to the Falaise Gap
1. Germany. Heer – History – World War, 1939–1945
2. World War, 1939–1945 – Campaigns – France – Normandy
3. World War, 1939–1945 – Personal narratives, German
I. Luettwitz, Freiherr von
II. Isby, David C.
940.5'42142
ISBN 1-85367-584-9
Designed and typeset by Roger Chesneau
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
MPG Books Limited, Bodmin, Cornwall
Contents
List of Illustrations
Introduction
The Contributors
Sources
Part One
1 The Situation Prior to 25 July
by Generalmajor Rudolf-Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff
Part Two
2 The American Breakthrough
by Generalmajor Rudolf-Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff
3 25–26 July
by Generaloberst Paul Hausser
Part Three
4 Avranches to Argentan
by General der Artillerie Wilhelm Fahrmacher
5 27–31 July
by Generaloberst Paul Hausser
Part Four
6 The German Counterattack Against Avranches
by Generalmajor Rudolf-Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff
7 1–5 August
by Generaloberst Paul Hausser
8 6–12 August
by Generaloberst Paul Hausser
Part Five
9 Defensive Fighting of the Fifth Panzer Army, 25 July-21 August
by Generalmajor Rudolf-Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff
10 Panzer Group Eberbach
by General der Panzertruppen Hans Eberbach
Part Six
11 The Battle of the Falaise – Argentan Pocket, 12–21 August
by Generalmajor Rudolf-Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff
12 13–18 August
by Generaloberst Paul Hausser
13 19–20 August
by Generaloberst Paul Hausser
14 The Attack on Alençon by 2nd Panzer Division
by General Heinrich Freiherr von Luettwitz (A-856)
Appendices
1 Units of the Seventh Army, 24 July
2 List of Commanding Officers in the Seventh Army, 24 July

Sources for the Original Documents
by Generalmajor Rudolf-Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff
Glossary
List of Illustrations

Photographs
German SP 47mm AT gun, Littry, 20 June
Sf Kfz 222 scout car, St-Lô, 15 July
German SP quad 20mm, Roncey
2nd Panzer Division column, Roncey
Panther tank near Isigny
US M5A1 tank
German headquarters
Hummel 150mm SP gun, 29 July
2nd Panzer Division Panzer IV, 3 August
US M7 SP 105mm howitzer battery
US 1 st Infantry Division troops
2nd Panzer Division Panzer IV, near Pont-Farcy
Flakpanzer 38(t), Tilly-sur-Vire, 3 August
US troops liberate French town
Panther tank
US 4.2-inch mortar
Disabled Panzer IV
US 81mm mortar
USAAF C-47 evacuating casualties
German POWs
German infantryman
German column on the move

Maps
Situation of Seventh Army, 24 July
Seventh Army front, 10 June-1 August
Operation ‘Cobra’: VII Corps Plan, 20 July
German Troop disposition, night 24—25 July
Attack of Second British Army, 18–21 July
Breakthrough, 25–27 July
First Army breakout, 24 July-4 August
The battlefield, 25 July-20 August 50–1
The breakout: St-Lô (south)
The breakout: Coutances
Normandy and the Brittany approaches
Breakout operations, 1–13 August
First US Army, 1–6 August
Regrouping of German forces, 1–6 August
German Counterattack at Mortain, 7 August
US XX Corps operations during the breakout
12th Army Group plan, 8 August
XV Corps, 2–8 August
Closing the Falaise-Argentan pocket, and the Mortain counterattack
Defense of Argentan, 12–19 August
Breakout from Argentan-Falaise pocket
Argentan-Falaise pocket
12–16 August
Seventh Army front, 11–21 August
German Army Map of the area of the breakout and the Falaise Gap
German Army tactical map
Pursuit to the Seine and Loire