Operation Goodwood order of battle

Operation Goodwood was an offensive operation by the British Army against the German Wehrmacht, which took place between 18 and 20 July 1944 as part of the larger battle for Caen in Normandy, France during the Second World War.

Opposing commanders

Lt.-Gen. Miles Dempsey

Gnl der PzTr Heinrich Eberbach

While Goodwood failed in its primary aim, it forced the Germans to keep powerful formations opposite the British and Canadians on the eastern flank of the Normandy beachhead and Operation Cobra, the First US Army attack which began on 25 July, caused the weaker German defences opposite to collapse.^[1]

British Order of Battle

Sherman Firefly awaiting orders to move forward Operation Goodwood July 1944

Second Army
Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey

Army troops

4th Army Group Royal Artillery

8th Army Group Royal Artillery

79th Armoured Division (elements)

Major-General Percy Hobart

5th Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers (Churchill AVRE)

22nd Dragoons (Sherman Crab mine flails)

141st Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps (Churchill Crocodile flamethrower tanks)

1st Lothians and Border Horse (Sherman Crabs)

I Corps Lieutenant-General John Crocker 3rd Infantry Division Major-General Lashmer Whistler Divisional troops 3rd (Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) Reconnaissance Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps 7th, 33rd, 76th Field Regiments, Royal Artillery 20th Anti Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery 20th Light Anti Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 2nd Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (machine gun battalion) 8th Infantry Brigade 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment 2nd Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment 1st Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Volunteers) 9th Infantry Brigade 2nd Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment 1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers 2nd Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles 185th Infantry Brigade 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment 2nd Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry 27th Armoured Brigade (attached) 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) 1st East Riding Yeomanry 51st (Highland) Infantry Division Major-General D.C. Bullen-Smith Divisional troops 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry (reconnaissance) 126th, 127th and 128th Field Regiments, Royal Artillery 61st Anti Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery 40th Light Anti Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 1st/7th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (machine gun battalion) 152nd (Highland) Infantry Brigade 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders 5th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders 5th Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders 153rd Highland Infantry Brigade 5th Battalion, Black Watch 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders 5th/7th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders 154th (Highland) Infantry Brigade 1st Battalion, Black Watch 7th Battalion, Black Watch 7th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

VIII Corps Lieutenant-General Richard O'Connor Guards Armoured Division Major-General Allan Henry Shafto Adair Divisional troops 55th and 153rd Field Regiments, Royal Artillery 21st Anti Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery 94th Light Anti Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 2nd Battalion, Welsh Guards (armoured reconnaissance) 5th Guards Armoured Brigade 2nd (Armoured) Battalion, Grenadier Guards 1st (Armoured) Battalion, Coldstream Guards 2nd (Armoured) Battalion, Irish Guards 1st (Motor) Battalion, Grenadier Guards 32nd Guards Infantry Brigade 5th Battalion, Coldstream Guards 3rd Battalion, Irish Guards 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards 7th Armoured Division Major-General George Erskine Divisional troops 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars (reconnaissance) 3rd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery 5th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery 65th Anti Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery 15th Light Anti Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 22nd Armoured Brigade 1st Royal Tank Regiment 5th Royal Tank Regiment 4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade 131st (Queens) Infantry Brigade 1st/5th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) 1st/6th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) 1st/7th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) 11th Armoured Division Major-General George "Pip" Roberts Divisional troops 2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry (reconnaissance) The Inns of Court Regiment (reconnaissance; attached) 13th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (Honourable Artillery Company) 151st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery 75th Anti Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery 58th Light Anti Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 29th Armoured Brigade 23rd Hussars 3rd Royal Tank Regiment 2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry 8th Battalion, Rifle Brigade 159th Infantry Brigade 4th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry 3rd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment 1st Battalion, Herefordshire Regiment

German Order of Battle

Panzer Group West
General der Panzertruppe Heinrich Eberbach

I SS Panzer Corps SS-Obergruppenführer Josef "Sepp" Dietrich Corps troops 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion 101st SS Artillery Battalion 7th Werfer Brigade 83rd and 84th Werfer Regiments 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler SS-Obergruppenführer Theodor Wisch 1st SS Panzer Regiment 1st SS Reconnaissance Battalion 1st SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 2nd SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 1st SS Artillery Regiment 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend SS-Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer 12th SS Panzer Regiment 12th SS Reconnaissance Battalion 25th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 26th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 12th SS Artillery Regiment 272nd Infantry Division Major General Friedrich Schack 980th Infantry Regiment 981st Infantry Regiment 982nd Infantry Regiment 272nd Reconnaissance Battalion 272nd Artillery Regiment 272nd Anti Tank Battalion

LXXXVI Corps General der Infanterie Hans von Obstfelder Corps troops 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion 9th Werfer Brigade 14th and 54th Werfer Regiments 555th, 763rd, 1151st and 1193rd Artillery Battalions 1255th Heavy Coastal Artillery Battalion 1039th and 1053rd Anti Tank Battalions 725th Railway Artillery Battalion 16th Luftwaffe Field Division Major General Karl Sievers 31st Rifle Regiment 32nd Rifle Regiment 46th Rifle Regiment 16th Luftwaffe Artillery Regiment 16th Luftwaffe Anti Tank Battalion 21st Panzer Division Brigadier General Edgar Feuchtinger 22nd Panzer Regiment 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment 192nd Panzergrenadier Regiment 21st Reconnaissance Battalion 155th Artillery Regiment 200th Assault Gun Battalion 346th Infantry Division Major General Erich Straube 857th Infantry Regiment 858th Infantry Regiment 346th Reconnaissance Battalion 346th Artillery Regiment 346th Anti Tank Battalion 711th Infantry Division Major General Josef Reichert 731st Infantry Regiment 744th Infantry Regiment 711th Anti Tank Company 1711th Artillery Regiment

See also

• List of orders of battle

Footnotes

1. Trew & Badsey 2004, p. 64.

Bibliography

• Trew, Simon; Badsey, Stephen (2004). Battle for Caen. Battle Zone Normandy. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-7509-3010-1.