THE BREAKOUT 195
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F R A N C E
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BELGIUM
NETHERLANDS
UNITED
KINGDOM
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LA
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I T A
L Y
G E R M A N Y
G R E A T E R
PROVENCE
Grenoble
Valence
Nice
Cannes
St.-Maxime
Cavalaire-
Toulon Sur-Mer
Marseille
Avignon
Montélimar
Lyon
Geneva
Berne
Besançon
Vesoul
Sombernon
Chaumont
Épinal
Colmar
Belfort Basel
Dijon
Vichy
La Rochelle
Royan
Bordeaux
Nantes
St. Nazaire
Lorient
Troyes
Chartres
Laon
Orléans
Le Mans
Angers
Amiens
Rouen
Évreux
Falaise
Vire
Carentan
Mortain
Bayeux
St.-Lô
Brest
Argentan
Strasbourg
Metz
Reims Verdun
Châlons
Rotterdam Arnhem
Roermond Düsseldorf
Antwerp
Tournai
Ostend
Ghent
Paris
Rennes
Loudéac
Cologne
SAARLAND
RUHR
Saarbrücken
Maastricht
Liège Aachen
Mons Namur
Brussels
Eindhoven
Caen
Cherbourg
St. Malo
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Ru
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Rh
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Le Havre
Dieppe
Calais
Cap Gris-Nez
Boulogne
Dunkirk
REGAINING FRANCE
AND BELGIUM
Eisenhower’s decision to advance
along a broad front brought Belgium
and France under Allied control by
mid-September 1944, but left their
forces thinly spread over a large area.
KEY
Allied gains
by Sep 14
Axis territory,
Sep 14
SEP 1 OCT 1
In August, the Allied breakout from Normandy developed into a
rout as their forces spread east, chasing the Germans from northern
France. By the end of the month, they had cleared Brittany, reached
the Loire, and moved as far as Troyes to the east. Paris was liberated,
having been under Nazi control since June 1940, and General de
Gaulle was installed in the city. Meanwhile, a French and US force had
landed in Provence and begun to drive the Germans from the south.
The Allies disagreed on how best to proceed. British Field Marshal
Bernard Montgomery wished to advance on a narrow front and push
north-east through Belgium to reach the Ruhr Valley. However, US
General Dwight Eisenhower—Supreme Commander of the Allied
forces in Europe—rejected Montgomery’s plan, favoring a “broad
front” strategy in which troops would be deployed along the entire
Western Front before driving into Germany. By mid-September,
the Allies were stretched across a front from Antwerp in the north
to the Swiss border near Belfort in the south. The British were
poised to make a dramatic attempt to invade Germany through the
Netherlands (see pp.198–199), while the US forces were within
touching distance of the economically vital Saarland and Ruhr
regions. However, both faced increasing German resistance.
THE RED BALL EXPRESS
“Steady, Monty. You can’t speak to me like
that. I’m your boss. ”
EISENHOWER TO MONTGOMERY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1944
For 83 days, from August 25 to
November 16, 1944, convoys of trucks
emblazoned with red balls and driven
predominantly by African Americans
carried food, fuel, and munitions along
the road from Cherbourg to the Allied
logistics base at Chartres. At its peak,
the Red Ball Express operated nearly
6,000 vehicles, carrying 12,500 tons
(11,300 metric tons) of supplies each
day. The convoy system was
abandoned once the port of Antwerp
and the French railroad lines were
re-opened and fuel pipes installed.
THE BREAKOUT
Within three months of the D-Day landings, the Allies
had broken out of Normandy, liberating France and
most of Belgium. They swept eastward to reach the
German border by the middle of September. However,
a hard fight lay ahead.
A US soldier on the Red Ball Highway
Allied advance, Aug 13–26
Falaise Pocket
1
Liberation of Paris
OPERATION DRAGOON
AUGUST 15–SEPTEMBER 14, 1944
The invasion of southern France, code named
Dragoon, began on August 15 when US and
French troops landed between Toulon and Cannes.
The French took Toulon and Marseille, opening
up another supply route to the forces in the north,
before joining the US divisions in pursuing the
Germans up the RhÔne Valley. The Germans
withdrew from France on September 14, escaping
into Alsace-Lorraine and the Vosges mountains.
2
Allied army landings, Aug 15
Allied advance to Sep 14
TOWARD SAARLAND
AUGUST 26–SEPTEMBER 14, 1944
The US 3rd Army under General Patton headed
east to take Verdun on August 31. Patrols pressed
on to the Moselle River near Metz, but the main
body of the army did not reach the river until
September 5. The Americans were closing in
on the industrial centers of the Saarland region,
but the Germans gathered a force, intending to
hold the Moselle and defend Metz.
3
Allied advance to the German border,
Aug 26–Sep 14
The Saarland region
PARIS LIBERATED AUGUST 13–26, 1944
The Allies moved eastward from Normandy,
reaching Orléans on August 16 and encircling and
closing the Falaise Pocket—a concentration of
German troops—on August 21. On August 19,
with the Allies nearing Paris, the French Resistance
staged an uprising in the capital. Five days later,
Free French and US forces entered the city. Its
governor, Dietrich von Choltitz, surrendered,
having ignored Hitler’s orders to raze the city.
Allied gains
by Aug 13
Allied gains
by Aug 26
2
3
4
1
TIMELINE
AUG 1, 1944
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US_194-195_The_breakout.indd 195 24/05/19 1:16 PM