No matter how tenacious the defense was, the 12th Ss Armored Division had exhausted their strength, and the survivors were very tired. Most of the German troops around Caen were in a terrible despair. On June 25, a news arrived at the German Western Front Supreme Command, that is, Li Mo had decided that the 12th Ss Armored Division could be replaced for rest, and all German troops defending Caen began to retreat to northern Italy.

But the division commander Meyer did not receive the order in time, and the soldiers of the Youth League Division had arrived at the new front. There they reorganized the final defense of Caen to welcome the arrival of the most difficult moment.

The final attack of the Allied forces on Caen began. The operation was named "Telford". Operation "Telford" began on June 28, but the firepower preparations for Caen began from the first day. The first shot was the famous "Rodney" battleship, which bombarded the northern part of Caen with 406mm heavy artillery, and the Royal Air Force also continuously and violently bombarded the city and its surrounding areas.

In the early morning of June 28, the Allied forces finally launched a fierce attack on Caen. Accompanied by dense artillery fire, the troops participating in the attack were the 3rd and 59th Infantry Divisions, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, the 105th Artillery Brigade, the 4th and 107th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiments, the 6th North Stafford United and the 2nd South Stafford United, accompanied by a large number of tanks and armored vehicles.

Faced with the superior strength and fierce attack of the Allied forces, Mayer's grenades still stood firm in the core of defense and continued to fight in the ruins around Caen. As the battle continued, the German defensive positions had been gradually divided, and the combat had gradually lost its organization. Tanks and anti-tank guns became scrap iron because of exhaustion of ammunition.

The soldiers continued to fight with the instinct of survival. The 12ths Armored Division's almost self-destructive battle once again dragged the fierce offensive momentum of the British and Canadian troops. In the two-day arduous battle, the British army lost nearly 45% of the infantry power, (poor child. The soldiers of the 12ths Armored Division were children of 14-16! So tenacious and so as to be a hundred, it can only be described as incredible.) But all the battles around Caen continued. The fires caused by artillery and bombing were also spreading everywhere, and the "cry" sounds made by German machine guns can be heard everywhere on the battlefield.

The soldiers fought ruthlessly in the ruins. The battle evolved into a war of human attrition that the Allies could not bear, and both sides suffered heavy casualties. The battle near Bronn Village was particularly fierce, and the remaining troops of the 3rd Battalion of the 25th Armored Grenadier Regiment defending here were finally surrounded by the Allies.

Meier realized that the situation was already very critical and his Youth League division would be wiped out soon. There was no reserve team in the division, and the ammunition was going to be exhausted, and it was an unrealized luxury to get reinforcements and supplies. The only way out now is to retreat quickly before the Allies surrounded them and establish a new line of defense in the rear.

But at this time, Meier finally received Li Mo's order - to immediately organize a retreat and go to northern Italy to make up for rest. I am very proud of having subordinates like you.

The exhausted 12ss armored division finally retreated and gave up the city of Caen, which had been holding on to 33 days. During the retreat, they still failed to escape the Allied powerful air firepower, and recharged the retreating troops of Caen, and once again withstood the test of blood and fire. Canadian troops broke through the defense line and advanced to the rear of Caen. They used every available weapon in their hands to fire fiercely at the German army, driving these stubborn enemies out of the city.

Sporadic resistance around Caen still continued in the north and west of Caen, but by the evening of July 9, the battle was all over. Mayer wrote in his memoir:

"The soldiers of the 12th Ss Armored Division have reached their physical limits. They fought on the front for 4 weeks without any reinforcements, while enduring huge losses in the battle... They entered the battle with their childish faces, but today they can only see mud-stained steel helmets cast black shadows on their frustrated faces, and their eyes often stared at the distance in absent mind."

The Youth League Division lost another 595 men in the final city defense war. On July 15, 1941, the remaining troops of the 12th Ss Armored Division arrived in northern Italy to rest and replenish. It was only after the Allied forces occupied Caen that the Allied forces truly gained their foothold in France.

...

The Allies were dragged in the Normandy area for a month. This undoubtedly gave Li Mo more opportunities. First of all, German aircraft were supplemented. Li Mo's planes had increased to 6,000. This month, 1,500 were added, and the rest were added to the Eastern Front battlefield. More than 1,200 tanks were added, and the other 500 were added to the Eastern Front. The hoarding of other strategic materials was also very large and smooth.

Since the Allies had gained a foothold in the Normandy area, Li Mo began to retreat all the troops deployed in France in a planned manner. Before retreating, Li Mo blew up all the large ports. Even if the foundation was blown up, it would be impossible for the Allies to repair these ports without more than half a year.

The bridges and airports that had not been blown up by the Allies were ordered to be blown up again by Li Mo. This time it was completely blown up, which would increase the difficulty of repairing the Allies.

Although the Allied forces successfully landed in Normandy, they paid a heavy price of 250,000 casualties. There were also many in Germany, with a total of 120,000 casualties. This was mainly caused by the Allied Air Force. Only less than 50,000 were killed in the field, which shows the importance of air supremacy.

After the Allies gained a foothold in Normandy, they immediately organized troops to attack several nearby ports, including Sebao.

Although Cherbourg was occupied, it was already in ruins. As early as June 7, the day after the Allied landed, the German army expected that the Allied forces would seize Cherbourg, and immediately began to plan to destroy Cherbourg, docks, breakwaters, cranes and other port equipment were all blown up one by one. The waters of the port were covered with mines and shipwrecks were also blocked by shipwreck. A US engineer expert looked at the destruction of Cherbourg and believed that it was "the most meticulous and thorough destruction in history."

As soon as the Allied forces occupied Cherbourg, they sent a large number of engineers, salvage teams and minesweepers to clear the work. It took two months to recover, clear 133 mines and salvaged 20 wrecks. Only then did the throughput capacity of Cherbourg port barely restore the Cherbourg port. Because there was no breakwater and the storm was strong, the Port of Sebao could not load and unload the cargo.

All ports along the coast of France are like this, and they are completely blown up. On the contrary, the Allied artificial ports in the Normandy region have the best throughput capacity, and it would be good that other ports can have 20% of the same as before. Fortunately, the Allied forces have sufficient material and manpower, and they are also spared no effort to repair these ports, so the Allied's logistics is getting better and better, but this undoubtedly delayed the speed of all material replenishment of the Allied forces, and there is no impact yet. When the decisive battle is over, these effects will be completely exposed and become the most troublesome problem.

…(To be continued)

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Chapter completed!