The Battle of Bocage was a battle fought between the United States and Nazi Germany in the Normandy region of northern France on 13 June 1944 during World War II. The Americans held off a German armored counter-offensive on the outskirts of Bocage, inflicting heavy losses on the Germans; however, the US forces also suffered heavy losses in the defense of Bocage, with many of their tanks being disabled and a few being destroyed.
Background[]
The American forces pushed into the countryside of Normandy following the successful landings of 6 June 1944, and the US Army engaged in fighting with the German Wehrmacht on the outskirts of Caen and near the city of St. Lo. The American armored forces took up defensive positions on the outskirts of Bocage as the Germans prepared for an armored counter-offensive, and a sizeable force of M10 Wolverines, M26 Pershings, and M5 Stuarts gathered to defend the outskirts.
Battle[]
Several destroyed German tanks at Bocage
The Germans prepared eight waves of armored troops, including infantry. The first shots were fired when the Wehrmacht ambushed an Allied convoy as it headed to the outskirts, with an M26 Pershing tank being damaged in the attack. A group of American paratroopers were sent to assist the tank crew in repairing the damaged Pershing, and the American troops near the tank were attacked by German tanks heading to attack the village. Several Americans were killed by the German tanks, while the Americans succeeded in using anti-tank grenades to destroy a few of the German panzers.
The main German assaults were held back by the powerful American tanks and an anti-tank gun at the village near Bocage, with several German tanks being destroyed in their attacks. American tanks were positioned on the roads heading to the river ford, and they held off several German waves, although the Americans were often forced to exit their tanks and repair them before returning to action. This led to American tank crewmen being exposed, and they became targets for German tanks and troops.
After the seventh German wave, the Americans and Germans left burnt-out tanks scattered across the battlefield, and the German eighth wave led to heavy losses on both sides. The Americans called in reinforcements and marshalled up enough strength for an effective counterattack, striking back at the Germans and destroying the majority of their forces left on the battlefield. The battle left 130 Americans and 490 Germans dead, with the Americans losing 30 vehicles and the Germans losing 110.