Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by
the First United States Army eight weeks after the D-Day landings,
during the Normandy Campaign of World War II.
What do you know about Operation Cobra? Try
this U.S. World War II History Made Easy Trivia quiz. You'll find
the answers at the bottom of the page.
 1)
Following the successful Allied Invasion of Normandy on 6 June
1944, progress inland was slow. To facilitate the Allied build-up
in France and to secure room for further expansion, the deep water
port of Cherbourg on the western flank of the American sector and
the historic town of Caen in the British and Canadian sector to
the east represented early objectives. The original plan for the
Normandy campaign envisioned strong offensive efforts in both
sectors, in which Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey's British
Second Army would secure Caen and the area south of it, and
General Omar Bradley's United States First Army would "wheel
round" to the Loire.
2) To gain good terrain for Operation Cobra, Generals Omar
Bradley and J. Lawton Collins conceived a plan to push forward to
the Saint-Lô–Periers road, along which VII and VIII Corps were
securing jumping-off positions. On July 18, the American 29th and
35th Infantry Divisions managed to gain the vital heights of
Saint-Lô, driving back General der Fallschirmtruppen Eugen
Meindl's II Parachute Corps. Meindl's paratroopers, together with
the 352nd Infantry Division (which had been in action since its
D-Day defense of Omaha Beach) were now in ruins, and the stage for
the main offensive was set. What was the cost in casualties?
- 500 casualties
- 2500 casualties
- 5000 casualties
3) Due to poor weather conditions that had also been hampering
Goodwood and Atlantic, Bradley decided to postpone Cobra for a few
days—a decision that worried Montgomery, as the British and
Canadian operations had been launched to support a break-out
attempt that was failing to materialize. By 24 July the skies had
cleared enough for the start order to be given, and 1,600 Allied
aircraft took off for Normandy. However, the weather closed in
again over the battlefield, and under poor visibility conditions,
more than 25 Americans were killed and 130 wounded in the bombing
- some enraged soldiers opened fire on their own aircraft, a not
uncommon practice in Normandy when suffering from friendly fire.
4) Cobra got underway at 09:38, when around 600 Allied
fighter-bombers attacked strong-points and enemy artillery along a
300-yard wide strip of ground located in the St. Lô area. When
did Cobra get underway?
5) Approximately 3,000 US aircraft had carpet-bombed a narrow
section of the front, with the Panzer-Lehr Division taking the
brunt of the attack. However, once again not all the casualties
were German; Bradley had specifically requested that the bombers
approach the target from the east, out of the sun and parallel to
the Saint-Lô–Periers road, in order to minimize the risk of
friendly losses, but most of the airmen instead came in from the
north, perpendicular to the front line. Despite efforts by US
units to identify their positions, inaccurate bombing by the
Eighth Air Force killed 111 men, including the highest-ranking US
soldier to be killed in action in the European Theater of
Operations, and wounded 490. Who was the highest-ranking US
soldier to be killed in action in the European Theater of
Operations?
- Lieutenant-General Theodore Roosevelt IV
- Lieutenant-General Lesley McNair
- Lieutenant-General Charles R. Carson
6) The US 2nd Armored Division and the veteran 1st Infantry
Division joined the attack as planned, reaching one of Cobra's
first objectives. What was the objectives
- A road junction north of Le Mesnil-Herman
- A road junction north of Morgan
- A road junction north of Hoptoen
7) By July 28, the German defenses across the US front had
largely collapsed under the full weight of U.S. Army Corps'
advance, and resistance was disorganized and patchy. What was NOT
one of the Corps?
- VII Corps
- VIII Corps
- XXX Corps
8) During the night of July 29 near Saint-Denis-le-Gast,
elements of the US 2nd Armored Division found themselves fighting
for their lives against a German column from the 2nd SS Panzer and
17th SS Panzergrenadier Divisions, which passed through the
American lines in the darkness.
9) At noon on August 1, the US Third Army was activated under
the command of General George S. Patton. Who assumed command of
the First Army, and Bradley was promoted to overall command of
both armies, designated 12th Army Group.
- Lieutenant-General Wayne Rogers
- Lieutenant-General Courtney Hodges
- Lieutenant-General Mark Reynolds
10) The US advance following Cobra was rapid. By August 8, the
city that was the former headquarters of the German 7th Army, had
fallen to the Americans, and Patton's VIII Corps had swept through
Avranches and over the bridge at Pontaubault into Brittany. What
city of the German 7th Army headquartered?
- Le Mans
- Le Porte
- Le Porsche
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