Day-by-Day Timeline of Events
Friday, July 7th, 1944
After heavy bombing by British Royal Air Force elements, British and Canadian army forces regroup and begin their offensive to take Caen from the Germans.
Thursday, July 13th, 1944
A combined British and Canadian force is stopped outside of Caen by a determined German defense.
Tuesday, July 18th, 1944
US Army forces seize complete control of the town of St. Lo on the Contentin peninsula. Control of this strategic zone now allows for larger, prepared and controlled Allied offensives towards inland France.
Tuesday, July 18th, 1944
The British and Canadian launch Operation Goodwood against Caen. British armored elements are brought to bear against the dug-in and prepared Germans. The goal is to take all of Caen before focusing on Falaise.
Thursday, July 20th, 1944
While the British 2nd Army and 2nd Canadian Division can now lay claim to Caen, they fall short of advancement against Falaise. As such, Operation Goodwood is stopped.
Monday, July 24th, 1944
American forces enact Operation Cobra, this stemming from control of the Contentin peninsula. The goal is to smash through the German defenses and create a road through the Avranches, exposing inland France to future Allied assaults.
Sunday, July 30th, 1944
US Army forces reach Avranches and lay control the region.
Sunday, July 30th, 1944
The German 7th Army attempts a counter-attack at Avranches but the Americans manage to hold their ground.
Tuesday, August 1st, 1944
US General George S. Patton and his 3rd Army manage their way through Avranches towards Liore and Brittany.
Monday, August 7th, 1944
A determined German counter-attack takes Mortain and heads towards Avranches before being stopped. Allied airstrikes and artillery stall the German advance.
Monday, August 7th, 1944
The 1st Canadian Army supports Allied elements just south of Caen, making their way towards Falaise.
Tuesday, August 8th, 1944
US General Omar Bradley talks with British General Benard Law Montgomery about a plan to encircle some 21 divsions of Germans in the Falaise-Argentan pocket. Montgomery likes what he hears and give the plan the green light.
Tuesday, August 8th, 1944
General Patton reaches Le Mans and then heads north to Argentan.
Sunday, August 13th, 1944
Patton's 3rd Army arrives at Argentan.
Monday, August 14th, 1944
Elements of Patton's 3rd Army are sent from Falaise to the east towards Chartres and in the direction of Paris proper.
Wednesday, August 16th, 1944
After seven days of continuous and bitter fighting, Canadian Army forces reach Falaise.
Wednesday, August 16th, 1944
German forces in Falaise are given the okay from Hitler to retreat to a more favorable position. The encirclement of German forces prompts the action from High Command.
Wednesday, August 16th, 1944
The American 3rd Army reaches Chartres.
Saturday, August 19th, 1944
At Mantes Grassicourt, a division of the American XV Corps manages to cross the Seine River.
Sunday, August 20th, 1944
The Falaise pocket is finally closed by the Allies. American and Canadian forces meet to complete the encirclement. German forces in Normandy are now trapped.
Tuesday, August 22nd, 1944
After some additional fighting that results in a further 10,000 German soldiers killed, the trapped elements of the German Army at Normandy surrender to the Allies. In all, some 50,000 soldiers of the German Army are taken prisoner.
Friday, August 25th, 1944
The Allies reach the French capital of Paris.
Friday, August 25th, 1944
Paris is liberated by the arriving Allies.
Friday, August 25th, 1944
Patton and his 3rd Army continue their march and setup critical strategic bridgeheads over the Seine River at Elbeuf and Louviers.
Saturday, August 26th, 1944
Brigadier-General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French forces, leads a contingent of Allied troops on a march down the Champs Elysees to a thunderous reception by liberated French citizens.