The story
The 1st Infantry Division rolled through the wreckage left by the carpet bombing of 25 July and attacked towards Marigny.
Organized resistance had by and large been shattered, but small groups of Germans kept up the fight.
Confused fighting swirled around Marigny itself before the town was finally secured.
The division’s attached Combat Command B pushed on towards Coutances, but that attack was overcome by events.
A general withdrawal of German forces west of Marigny was followed up on by American divisions in that sector, who seized Coutances themselves.
The division redirected its attack from southwest to due south.
Effectively supported by wide ranging fighter-bombers and encountering increasingly incoherent hasty battle positions, the division’s attached armor barreled past Brecey on 31 July.
Infantrymen mopped up scattered resistance in the wake of the mounted advance.
The breakthrough into a war of open maneuver had at last occurred.
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.