At the end of July 1944, the Allies finally broke through the German lines in Normandy. Within a month, Allied forces liberated most of France and Belgium, but hopes of victory in the war in 1944 were dashed shortly afterwards.
On July 25, 1944, the U.S. First Army began to launch the "Cobra" program, starting with the bridgehead of Normandy. Over the next few days, the offensive made considerable progress and crossed the Afranche area southward. By 1 August, the German lines in the area had been destroyed, and a new Allied force, the U.S. Third Army under General George Patton, had begun to kill and enter the public eye. Part of the Third Army swept Brittany to the west, eventually capturing the ports of Saint-Malo and Brest, while the rest advanced southeast to the French region of Le Mans.
Hitler, believing that it was better to strike first, ordered an attack on the Allied forces and advanced through Motang to the Afranche area. On 7 and 8 August, the German offensive began to be hampered, and all German forces in Normandy were in even greater trouble.
Forres encircles the circle
About 20 German divisions were captured in the northern region surrounded by the British and Canadians. At this time, the German army had no choice but to retreat wildly to the east, and continued to resist the allied pursuit and fierce attack as it passed through the Frés area. Although many German troops did escape in the encirclement of Frés, they were no longer able to form an effective army formation, and their combat effectiveness declined sharply. Moreover, in order to win the victory in Normandy, the Allies had already crossed the Seine River west of Paris.
For the Germans, worse news awaits them. On 15 August, French and American forces landed in the Mediterranean between Cannes and Syllen. The German forces in the south of France were already very weak by this time, posing little threat to the Allies, but they were still heavily harassed by the French. By the end of August, the Allies had steadily advanced to the Rhône Valley, and on 12 September they were successfully joined by troops from Normandy.
After a long and difficult march in Normandy, the tide of battle was finally reversed. Paris was liberated on 25 August 1944. By the end of August, most of France had been liberated, and most of Belgium had been freed over the next few days. By this time, however, the Allied forces had run out of their supplies, and their generals were beginning to disagree on the next strategy. The port of Antwerp had the supplies needed to unload the army, but it was reverted to 4 September, and its entrance to the sea still fell into German hands. As a result, the Allies planned to immediately empty the mouth of the sea, but this plan was delayed until after October, and the first Allied supplies were not successfully transported here until late November.
Later, Montgomery persuaded Eisenhower that the plan had to cross all river barriers because they blocked the route into Germany. Therefore, a joint air and ground attack was to be launched here, and the plan was called the "Market Garden". The Allies did capture several major bridges, but the last bridge over the Rhine in Arnhem was never able to conquer. The Rhine also became the most difficult barrier for the Allies to cross since the Landings in Normandy, and the Allies were once again in trouble.