1st Ss Panzer Corps at Villers-Bocage: 13th July 1944

In the days following the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, the Germans rapidly established strong defences in front of the city of Caen. On 9 June a British attempt to surround and capture the city was defeated, but on the British forces' right flank, neighbouring American units had forced open a wide gap in the German front line.