The Battle for Brest was one of the fiercest battles fought during Operation Cobra, the Allied breakout of Normandy which began on 27 July 1944, during the Battle of Normandy during World War II.
Part of the Allied plan for the invasion of mainland Europe called for the capture of port facilities, in order to ensure the timely delivery of the enormous amount of war materiel required to supply the invading Allied forces (it was estimated that the 37 Allied divisions to be on the continent by September 1944 would need 26,000 tons of supplies each day). The main port the Allied forces hoped to seize and put into their service was Brest, in northwestern France.
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose
There are no great men, only great challenges that ordinary men are forced by circumstances to meet.
Recall that we featured a rifle taken off a fallen GI by a Free French partisan in that battle. In doing research for the piece, it sure sounded to me like the 6th Armored could have taken Brest that first day if somebody like Patton had been in charge. Instead, they held back waiting for all their units to get on line, and the Germans were able to consolidate into a very tough defensive position. When the 6th tried to take it a few days later, they got bloodied and had to bypass it. Army units were trucked in from Normany and made the assault that eventually captured it after a tough fight. L'audace, toujours l'audace!
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