On the 24th of July 1944, the German forces around St Lo, in Normandy, did not have a clue about the hell that was about to be unleashed upon them. Their dispositions looked like this:

Source; http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/web03/atlases/AtlasesTableOfContents.html

To the west of St Lo, you can see the area that the Americans chose to breakout from the close hedgerow fighting that had so favoured the Germans for the months of June and July 1944.

Source; http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/web03/atlases/AtlasesTableOfContents.html

The Allies delivered a devastating aerial bombardment on the German front lines in the area on 25 July 1944. The line did not immediately give way. This was due to the American infantry not pushing quickly at first. Who could blame them? They had just spent 2 months fighting in the hedgerows and had learned to be cautious. Additionally, the lingering shock of the bombardment, which also killed and wounded several hundred Americans was still wearing off.
However, the American Commander on the ground, General J. Lawton Collins, saw no need to delay and committed his exploitation forces on the morning of the 26th. This was risky, because if the Germans had managed to slow down the attack further, it would have meant an American traffic jam right on the front lines. Luckily, they couldn't and the Americans pushed right through and found the German line disintegrating like it had not done for the Americans before in Normandy.
Thus began the great race from the beachheads to the German frontier that occurred over the next 2 months, including the liberation of Paris and most of the rest of France.

I rode through the breakout zone recently and below is some video of a wonderfully twisty ride I took from Gavray towards Avranches. This area was liberated around 28-30 July.

Normandy Breakout from TJ on Vimeo.

Ride Recommendation

Check out the Terre Liberte' route of Cobra- La Percee (the Breakout). The video above is from this route and starts in Gavray which is about half way in between Coutances and Avranches. Here's a Google map of the stretch of road on the video.

Book and Map Recommendations

Cool video of the song by the band Contrarian about the D-Day invasions of Normandy.

Sorry for the lack of posts in the last few days. I've had a lot of work going, but also I've been preparing for a 2 day trip to the Normandy coast to visit the D-Day beaches again. My first trip to Normandy was what inspired me to start Battlefield Biker.

I've been re-reading Overlord by Max Hastings to get the units and sectors fresh in my head. I am going to try to spend more time in the British and Canadian sector this time, specifically around Caen and Villers Bocage. It will be hard for me to avoid a quick run to Omaha, Pont du Hoc and St Lo, but I'll try to stay focussed on the Juno, Sword and Gold area.

I'm also going to look into the "Suisse Normande" and Orne River valley area for some great bike rides. The area is plastered with scenic routes on the map, so I want to see what they look like on the ground.

I'm taking the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Caen tonight. I'll spend Wednesday and Thursday in the area, then take the ferry back overnight Thursday and Friday. I used H-C Travel for the ferry booking and booked my hotel through Accor hotels, which I often recommend on this site.

People sometimes ask me how I book my travel and why I recommend certain things. I used H-C Travel for this trip, because they have been able to get me cheaper ferry prices than I can get on my own, but also because they are excellent for motorcycle travel. David Grist and his team at H-C Travel know what bikers need and the documentation and instructions are always clear. I use and have used for years Accor hotels for business and leisure. What I like about Accor is that their website seems to work for me every time. Nothing drives me up the wall more than going through a long booking process and then finding that I cannot complete the reservation for one reason or another. Additionally, Accor has a great stable of hotels from the super cheap to the higher class. I can pick and choose depending on my riding style planned. i.e. If I am riding long and hard and will arrive late, I choose Formule 1 or Motel 6 just for a clean bed. If I am looking for a place to be comfortable and read with a couple of beers in the evening (like this time), I may book a Mercure or Ibis to get a bar and a restaurant. If I've got the wife and/or kids in tow, I may go for the Sofitel or Novotel for a pool and nicer room. You get the picture.

I'm really looking forward to this trip and look forward to sharing some rides, pictures and stories from the trip.