The Caen suburbs south of the river were captured by the II Canadian Corps during Operation Atlantic (18–20 July). British and Canadian forces resumed their attacks in the vicinity of Caen and the suburbs and city centre north of the Orne were captured during Operation Charnwood (8–9 July). The British 3rd Infantry Division was to seize Caen on D-Day or to dig in short of the city if the Germans prevented its capture, which would temporarily mask Caen to maintain the Allied threat against it and thwart a potential German counter-attack from the city.Ĭaen, Bayeux and Carentan were not captured by the Allies on D-Day, and for the first week of the invasion, the Allies concentrated on linking the beachheads. Allied air force commanders wanted the area captured quickly to base more aircraft in France. Caen and the area to its south are flatter and more open than the bocage country in western Normandy. The communication links made it an important operational objective for both sides.

The battles followed Operation Neptune, the Allied landings on the French coast on 6 June 1944 (D-Day).Ĭaen is about 9 mi (14 km) inland from the Calvados coast astride the Orne River and Caen Canal, at the junction of several roads and railways.

The Battle for Caen (June to August 1944) is the name given to fighting between the British Second Army and the German Panzergruppe West in the Second World War for control of the city of Caen and its vicinity during the larger Battle of Normandy.

French army tank battles wwii