The importance of Caen

Montgomery intended to hinge his left flank on the important port, road, and rail centre of Caen. He hoped to seize it in the first day or two and then push southeastwards, threatening to break out towards Falaise and eastwards towards the Seine...That would provoke the phase of German counterattacks ... in comparatively open farmland interspersed with stone villages and inflict heavy casualties on the attacking Germans with his dominant artillery and tactical air force. That did not occur because Caen did not fall until July.

Montgomery's failure to take Caen in the first rush changed the tactical nature of the campaign. At the very beginning there was a possibility that the Germans might turn the tables by holding the hinge against the British and switching their reserves to the American front before the Americans had taken Cherbourg, the essential port the Allies needed and which lay behind the American front. Consequently it was the British and Canadians who had to attack all through July to hold the elite German panzer grenadier and panzer divisions on their front...

When the Allies were unable to take Caen in the first rush of D-Day, the tactical shape of the battle changed. It was necessary to hold the German divisions off balance and keep them committed to holding the front. This extended the length of the German defence line, and prevented them from concentrating their attack on the American attempt on Cherbourg. But it also made the Allied advance slow, which in turn led Eisenhower and other senior commanders to question Montgomery's performance.

The price for retaining the initiative was paid by his infantry divisions. They, not the Germans, had to attack an enemy armed with superior weapons in country that favoured the defence. They suffered heavy losses.

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