Having finally reached the city of St. Lo in late July 1944 , the US 1st Army was poised to
smash the German 7th Armee between Coutances - St.Lo - Vire - Avranches , and turn the corner towards Paris (east) and Brest (west).
Bradley positioned 3 Corps ( VII , VIII , XIX including 4 Armored Divisions and 10 Infantry Divisions , 13 Independent Tank Btns , 13 Independent AAA AW Btns ) of 1st US Army north of the St.Lo - Periers Road ( what the Norman French and the Germans referred to as the "Roman" Road - Der Romische Weg ).
The Germans by this time had accrued a defense including 3 Panzer Divisions ( 2nd SS DR , 2nd Panzer , and 130 Panzer Lehr ) , 1 Panzer Grenadier Division ( 17SS Gotz von Berlichingen ) , and 10 Infanterie Divisions , though every unit had been reduced well below strength in the preceding 7 weeks combat in the bocage.
To the East , complementary attacks by the newly designated 1st Canadian Army and British 2nd Army would serve to fix German Units in the Caen area , and prevent them being moved as reinforcements to resist Cobra.
This Campaign will reflect the attack of Operation Cobra , and the subsequent desperate German effort to extract the 7th Armee from the Roncey Pocket - "Der Hexenkessel" ( The Witches' Cauldron ) , created by fast moving prongs of 2nd and 3rd US Armored Divisions piercing the German line and plunging southwards towards the line Avranches - Villedieu - Vire.
The Campaign will feature an Allied superiority in Tactical Air Support provided by the US 9th Tactical Air Force and the RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force. Both these organizations had begun the transition to bases in France from England.
The Luftwaffe , though outnumbered , has had time to bring reinforcements within range of the beachhead , and the soon to be created Hexenkessel.
OC for SEOW will take place over 4 Days and 3 Nights on the Channel Circus Map.
Thunderbolts , Typhoons and Spitfires are the preponderant aircraft types of the forward squadrons in France , though
reserves and reinforcements are available in England.
Allied Objectives are about reaching critical road junctions and destroying German forces in the pocket.
The German objectives are to extricate as many units as possible by the campaign end.
The ground forces component of the Campaign will be contained in the Western half of the Map ,
and the British and Canadian components will only be represented by CandC , Anti-Aircraft , and Transport units.
Detailed OOB to follow.
Kopfdorfer