Operation Cobra

Operation Cobra was a U.S. Army offensive launched in Normandy on July 25, 1944. It broke through German defenses west of Saint-Lô and enabled the Allied breakout from the beachhead.

Saint-Lô: A town in Normandy captured by U.S. forces in July 1944 after heavy fighting. The offensive began west of Saint-Lô, whose capture helped secure its eastern flank.
Normandy landings: The Allied amphibious invasion of German-occupied Normandy on June 6, 1944. The landings established the beachhead whose stalemate Cobra was designed to break.
Falaise pocket: A pocket in Normandy where Allied forces encircled German troops in August 1944. The breakthrough helped make the later encirclement of German forces in Normandy possible.
Friendly fire incidents in Operation Cobra: Incidents in which Allied bombs struck U.S. troops during the opening air attacks of Operation Cobra. Bombs fell short of their targets and killed or wounded American soldiers, including Lieutenant General Lesley McNair.
Carpet bombing: An air-attack method that saturates a broad area with bombs rather than targeting a single point. Allied bombers used concentrated area bombing to weaken German positions before the ground advance.
Battle of the Hedgerows: The slow, costly fighting through Normandy's enclosed fields during June and July 1944. Its defensive terrain and attrition helped prompt a plan for a concentrated breakthrough.
Liberation of Paris: The end of German occupation in Paris when Free French and Allied forces entered the city in August 1944. The rapid advance following Cobra carried Allied forces toward Paris.
Lesley J. McNair: A U.S. Army lieutenant general who was killed by Allied bombing during Operation Cobra. McNair's death became the most prominent friendly-fire casualty of the opening attack.
George S. Patton: A U.S. Army general who commanded the Third Army during the final years of World War II. His Third Army exploited the breach Cobra opened and advanced rapidly across France.
Operation Goodwood: A British-led armored offensive east of Caen in July 1944 that failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough. Goodwood and Cobra were coordinated offensives, but Cobra targeted the western front for a rupture.

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