#0613_02: Caumont-l'Eventé - An Opportunity Lost - Battles of Normandy

Caumont-l'Eventé, south of Bayeux: June 13th, 1944 (Scenario Size: Division. Head to Head or Human vs AI for either side) The small town of Caumont-l'Eventé represented a major junction for the armies fighting in Normandy. Not only was it the boundary between the American V and British XXX Corps but it was also the boundary between the German LXXXIV and XLVII Pz Corps. For almost a week the British and American forces had slowly expanded their bridgehead, stretching the defenders to the point of breaking and with the tactical withdrawal of the German 352nd Division on 10 June the break finally came at Caumont-l'Eventé. But due to the nature of the Corps boundaries, both sides failed to immediately grasp the seriousness of the situation. On the Allied side, it was not until the morning of 12 June that LG B. Bucknall, commander of the British XXX Corps, was informed that the American left flank (the depleted 1st US Infantry Division) was advancing against almost no opposition. He immediately halted the 7th British Armoured Division's frontal attack against Panzer Lehr at Tilly-sur-Seulles and ordered it into the Caumont-l'Eventé Gap. The British spearhead was intercepted by the Tigers of 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion at Villers-Bocage and they provided just the delay necessary for Panzer Lehr to redeploy to meet the threat to their flank.