| Original caption: “The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, views a map with the Twenty-First Army Group commander, General Sir Bernard Montgomery (right), Lieutenant General G. G. Symonds (left), commanding Second Canadian Corps, and Lieutenant General Sir Miles Dempsey (center), commanding British Second Army, Normandy.” General Sir Bernard Montgomery (November 17, 1887 – March 24, 1976) shows United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) the battle situation on a map held by the Commander of the 2nd Canadian Division, General Guy G. Symonds (April 23, 1903 – May 15, 1974), during the Prime Minister’s visit to Normandy. The United Kingdom Royal 2nd Army Commander, Lieutenant General Sir Miles Dempsey (December 15, 1896 – June 5, 1969), looks on. Operation Goodwood was a British offensive during the 2nd World War, which took place July 18-20, 1944 as part of the larger battle for Caen in Normandy, France. The objective of the operation was a limited attack to the south, from the Orne bridgehead, to capture the rest of Caen and the Bourguébus Ridge beyond. Goodwood was preceded by Operations Greenline and Pomegranate in the 2nd Battle of the Odon west of Caen, to divert German attention from the area east of Caen. Goodwood began when the British VIII Corps, with 3 armored divisions, attacked to seize the German-held Bourguébus Ridge, the area between Bretteville-sur-Laize and Vimont and to inflict maximum casualties on the Germans. On July 18, the British I Corps conducted an attack to secure a series of villages to the east of VIII Corps; to the west, the II Canadian Corps launched Operation Atlantic, synchronized with Goodwood, to capture the Caen suburbs south of the Orne River. When the operation ended on July 20, the armored divisions had broken through the outer German defences and advanced 7 miles (11 kilometers) but had been stopped short of Bourguébus Ridge, only armored cars having penetrated further south and beyond the ridge. While Goodwood failed in its primary aim, it forced the Germans to keep powerful formations opposite the British and Canadians on the eastern flank of the Normandy beachhead and Operation Cobra, the 1st United States Army attack which began on July 25, caused the weaker German defenses opposite to collapse. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1985.jpg |
| Image Size | 400.18 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2480 x 1655 |
| Photographer | Edward G. Malindine |
| Photographer Title | Number Five Army Film and Photography Unit |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 22, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Normandy |
| Country | France |
| Archive | Imperial War Museum |
| Record Number | TR 2047 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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