The GI's suffered a lot during the battle of the hedges (what german troops also called "the bush war"). In fact, the so numerous hedges that were present in the countryside made it impossible for the tanks to progress. Cannons were hidden in sunken roads and many soldiers were killed : the american progress, between La Haye-du-Puits and Lessay cost the allied troops 1000 men per km and the taking of the Mount Castre 5000 men (M. Boivin). The soldiers were exhausted and soaked to the skin because of the endless rain that also delayed the offensive. General Bradley was completely discouraged. The americans really hated that country. In a way, Normandy gave them a taste of the Vietnam war to come.

The United States were impatient ; they wanted to win as rapidly as possible. In order to win, they needed their hero. Georges Patton came incognito with his army in this part of the country. He was waiting for the ideal hour to come. As it is the case for many generals, Patton was fascinated by Avranches and all the plans this city enabled him to elaborate. Patton already knew Avranches because he had spent his honeymoon in Mount‑Saint‑ Michel. When he came back a few years later, it wasn't with his wife but with 250 000 soldiers ! They were all ready. Each tank commander had a radio contact with the air-force pilots. Patton had a secret arm to his disposal : the Rhinos. As a matter of fact, a clever soldier had resolved the problem with the hedges : a tank with iron bars on it was used as a rhinoceros and... Sergeant Curtis had just invented the regrouping of land ! Three tanks out of five were equipped with this system. This way, a million men were able to progress. Now they had to progress rapidly !

The british troops attacked Caen and its surroundings to block the german troops. Rommel fell into the trap. He gathered his panzers in Calvados. Then the way towards the South of the Manche was wide open. The german defense was reduced to nothing in the Chapelle-en-Juger. The 2.200 men of the Panzer-Lehr division were killed. On the 25th of July, 2246 fortresses and Liberators dropped 60.000 bombs on a six kilometre area. That was terrible and the ground kept shaking. That was the largest carpet bombing of the second World War. Once again, the german troops were totally routed. Some german soldiers became mad after this bombing. The americans didn't waste any time and continued their progress. Coutances was liberated on the 28th of July. The german troops tried to recover and launch a final offensive but nothing could be done anymore. The german troops had lost yet no one seemed to be aware of it.

Four american divisions made their way towards Avranches in a great confusion. The german army that was in the west part of the Cotentin and that hadn't been routed yet could only have contacts with the germent troops in Caen via the telephone exchange of Avranches. When Von Kluge was informed of the arrival of the first americans in town, he realized that everything was lost. Hans the wise (that was his nickname) was about to get in a rage. From this moment on, the situation of the german troops became a real "Reisensauerei", wich means "a fine bloody mess" (Blumenson).

COBRA OPERATION

The real breakthrough of the front took place in the Chapelle-en-Juger. It was made possible thanks to the Cobra operation elaborated by Bradley. That action was a real success thanks to the audacious General Patton. The french army had been completely routed in 1940 during the breakthrough of Sedan. This time, it was the turn of the german army who didn't recover from the breakthrough of Avranches.