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Operation Goodwood
The capture of Caen,the German military command centre for Normandy, had been a key objective following the D-Day landings. The task had been assigned to the British 3rd Infantry Division which had landed on Sword Beach on the 6th June. After the failure to make an immediate swift attack, the arrival of reinforcemnts was disrupted by storms in the English Channel between the 19th and 22nd June and the arrival of German reinforcements from the east. By the end of the month it was clear that the objective was still far from being achieved. An attampt to encircle the town had failed although, by the 9th July, Caen north of the Orne and Odon rivers had been captured. German forces retained possession of the south bank and a number of important locations, including the Colombelles steel works.
Owing to a shortage of infantry divisions, and delays in bringing them to Normandy from Britain, Operation Goodwood was conceived as being primarily an artillery and tank assault, backed up by bombers and ground attack aircraft and Royal Navy ships in position to bombard German positions in range from the coast. The essence of the plan was to drive southwards both east and west of Caen itself to secure the higher ground to the south. this action would initially isolate Caen from German reinforcements, and then enable a final assault on the city from the most favourable direction. A key aim was to attempt to draw Panzers into the open and inflict as much damage as possible on the German armoured divisions.
In advance of the Operation two smaller scale operations were undertaken to try to convince the Germans that the main assault on Caen would come from the West. On the 15th July a heavy night-time assault (operation Greenline) was lanched against strategic points designated at Hill 112 and Hill 113, and this drew the German 9th Panzer Division out and away from the city before the British troops withdrew. On teh following day British infantry moved against teh village of Noyers-Bocage but were repulsed by the 9th SS Panzer Division, who were then committed to the village defence. These actions drew important forces away fortmhe defence fop Caen to the west, weakening the city's defnces on teh east.
Ahead of the main assault, engineers threw prefabricated bridges across the River Orne and Caen Canal to form roadways into the battle area. Intensive air reconnaissance to identify German gun and tank positions was undertaken, with only limited success owing to the extent of effective tree cover. An artillery barrage was begun, in part to disguise the movement of Allied forces to strategic positions, moves which were undertaken in secret at night and under strict radio silence. Augmenting the preliminary artillery bombardment, 2,077 heavy and medium bombers would attack in three waves although,
The operation began at 0545 on the 18th July with a major bombing raid by RAF heavy bombers. At 0620 the artillery in range opened up and at 0700 USAAF B-26 Marauders undertook a heavy raid from high altitude. At the same time fighter-bombers of the RAF based on Landing Grounds in Normandy attacked identified gun emplacements and tank holding positions with bombs and rockets. A third wave of bombers had been planned but was cancelled to avoid the risk of bombing Allied forward forces. At 0745 the bomber raids ceased and the 11th Armoured Brigade began to move forward behind a advancing artillery screen.
The Allied assault moved more slowly than planned, partly due to bottlenecks in the transport corridors and partly due to stiff resistance from a larger number of defenders than anticipated. By the end of the morning the German tanks had moved to occupy the high ground south of the town ahead of the advancing Allied forces. Hawker Typhoon fighter-bombers carrying RP-3 rockets were directed onto the ridge throughout the afternoon, delaying and eventually breaking up the 1st SS Panzer Devision. Nevertheless an attempt by 11th Armoured Division to dislodge the Germans from the ridge failed. At the end of the first day the 11th Doivision had lost 126 tanks and at dusk they pulled back to the Caen–Vimont railway line for the evening. Replacement tanks were brought forward thoughout the night. Meanwhile under cover of darkness the Germans attempted to recover or repair their own damaged tanks, although they lacked a supply of spare parts.
On the 19th July it was the Germans who took the initiative, recovering some of the ground that had been lost and consolidating their position on the ridge south of Caen. The Allied Operation had clearly failed in its primary objective of capturing Caen, and Allied casualties of around 5,000 men had been high. The Allies had also suffered heavier losses of tanks and artillery than the Germans. However the German defenders now faced serious difficulty obtaining spares and supplies or reinforcements, whilst the Allies could continue to build up their forces in Normandy for further efforts to come.
14th Jul 1944 Orders
14th Jul 1944 Preparations
14th Jul 1944 Attack Made
14th Jul 1944 Orders
14th Jul 1944 Attack Made
14th Jul 1944 Quiet
14th July 1944 Orders
15th Jul 1944 Orders
15th Jul 1944 Training
15th Jul 1944 In Action
15th Jul 1944 Planning
15th Jul 1944 Quiet
15th Jul 1944 On the Move
15th Jul 1944 In Action
15th July 1944 Orders
15th July 1944 Into Position
16th Jul 1944 Enemy Aircraft
16th Jul 1944 Shelling
16th Jul 1944 Heavy Shelling
16th of July 1944 Attack
16th Jul 1944 On the Move
16th Jul 1944 Paratroopers
16th Jul 1944 Officer killed
16th Jul 1944 In Action
16th Jul 1944 Line Advanced
16th July 1944 Air Raid
16th July 1944 In Action
16th July 1944 Results not seen
17th Jul 1944 Reorganisation
17th Jul 1944 Attack Repulsed
17th Jul 1944 Orders
17th of July 1944 Patrols
17th Jul 1944 Thick Mist
17th Jul 1944 Attack Made
17th Jul 1944 Shelling
17th Jul 1944 Orders
17th July 1944 Orders
17th Jul 1944 Troop withdrawn
17th Jul 1944 Attack Made
17th July 1944 Motor Transport bombed
17th of July 1944 Conference
17th July 1944 Mortars attacked with rockets
17th Jul 1944 Preparations
18th Jul 1944 Aircraft Lost
18th Jul 1944 In Action
18th Jul 1944 Attack Repulsed
18th Jul 1944 On the Move
18th Jul 1944 Bombing
18th Jul 1944 Attack Fails
18th Jul 1944 Quiet
18th Jul 1944 In Action
18th Jul 1944 In Action
18th Jul 1944 In Action
18th Jul 1944 Shelling
18th July 1944 Crashed on farmhouse
18th of July 1944 Appendix II War Diary for July 1944
18th Jul 1944 Shelling
18th July 1944 Orders Issued
18th July 1944 In Action
18th July 1944 Typhoon pilot taken PoW
18th July 1944 Successful day’s work
18th Jul 1944 Air Raid
19th Jul 1944 619 Squadron Lancaster lost
19th Jul 1944 Counterattack
19th Jul 1944 Minefields
19th Jul 1944 Patrol
19th Jul 1944 Reliefs
19th Jul 1944 Minefields
19th Jul 1944 Shelling
19th Jul 1944 Moves
19th Jul 1944 Reliefs
19th Jul 1944 Enemy Guns
19th July 1944 Instructions
19th July 1944 Lucky escape
19th Jul 1944 Unexploded Ordnace
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Those known to have fought in Operation Goodwood during the Second World War 1939-1945. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
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Want to know more about Operation Goodwood? There are:75 items tagged Operation Goodwood available in our Library
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Gnr. Edward Stollar 124th Bty. 151st Field Regiment Royal Artillery I have a very complete record of the war service of my Uncle Ted, my mother's brother.
Edward Stollar joined on the 27th of February 1941 at the age of 29 and joined the 72nd Coastal Training, 223rd Battery He had served in the Orkneys before joining the Ayrshire Yeomanry in 151st Field Regiment, B troop of A Battery on the 8th February 1944.
151st Field Regiment had spent 1941 travelling up and down the country developing and becoming proficient in its Gunnery skills. In May 1942 it became part of the Order of Battle of 11th Armoured Division with the Black Bull being the divisional sign.
Following training in Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight on the 8th June he left for Tilbury where the regiment was divided in two to be loaded on the Empire Canyon and the Empire Farmer bound with full escort to the English Channel and Normandy. The coast came into view at dawn on the 13th June and 124th Battery landed on the most easterly beach near Ouistreham. Ted and his mate concentrated on Lantheuil village eight kilometres inland for ten days whilst the bridgehead was established.
From the 26th of June to 6th of July he was involved in bridgehead Operation Epsom with the aim of passing Caen and crossing the River One to the south. Further operations included Goodwood (18th - 22 July) and Bluecoat (30th July - 7th August). From the 14th - 19th August the next phase of battle commenced with the closure of the Falaise pocket with Flers liberated on the 16th. The 22nd saw Ted and his mates in action at Face against Tiger tanks. The Allied Liberation of Paris was completed on 30th August ending Operation Overlord. The period 29th Aug to 4th September took Ted across the Seine and in the six days the division had advance 340 miles fighting on five of the six days. This took them to Antwerp. The next stage was moving into Holland and on the 12th September, 151st Regiment fired in support of the Welsh Guards eventually assisting them and breaking through to Arnhem which turned into a bridge too far. Over the next few weeks 151st fired at targets over the Maas.
He returned to the UK and was discharged to the Reserve on 16th Jan 1946, being awarded the France & Germany Star, 1939-45 Defence Medal and Victory Medal.
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Pte. Jack "Tush" Barrett 8th Btn. East Lancashire Regiment Jack Barrett joined the 8th East Lancashire Regiment in 1940 and, on conversion to tanks in 1941, continued to serve in 144th (East Lancashire) Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps on Valentine, Churchill and Sherman Tanks, first as a co-driver then driver.
He saw active service in Normandy, the Low Countries and Germany, taking part in the Battles of Noyers, Pierre sur Mere, Le Havre, Caen, Operation Goodwood, Operation Totalise and Operation Epsom, in the Ardennes and the Rhine Crossing.
In 1945 the regiment became the 4th Royal Tank Regiment. Jack was demobbed in 1946.
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