The Battle for Brittany took place between August and October 1944. After the Allies broke out of Normandy in June 1944, Brittany became targeted for its well developed ports which the Allies intended to use, whilst also stopping their continued use by German U-boats.
Patton's VIII Corps crossed the Pontaubault bridge on August 1, 1944, into Brittany following the success of Operation Cobra
Allied advance into Brittany early August 1944
The Battle for Brest was fought in August and September 1944 on the Western Front during World War II. Part of the overall Battle for Brittany and the Allied plan for the invasion of mainland Europe called for the capture of port facilities, in order to ensure the timely delivery of the enormous amount of war materiel required to supply the invading Allied forces. It was estimated that the 37 Allied divisions to be on the continent by September 1944 would need 26,000 tons of supplies each day. The main port the Allied forces hoped to seize and put into their service was Brest, in northwestern France.
A US M18 Hellcat of the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion in the streets of Brest in September 1944
Troops of the 2nd Infantry Division advance under machine gun fire into the outskirts of Brest
Commemorative plaque of General Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke's surrender, 19 September 1944 (ammunition bay near the fort des Capucins)
Fort Montbary today with a Churchill "Crocodile"