After the hard battle of Normandy and Operation Cobra, the Allies very quickly liberated the west of France during the first fortnight of August 1944 (Rennes on 6 August, Nantes on the 12th, Rezé on the 29th). Pockets of resistance formed as German troops withdrew to the Atlantic coastal ports of Brest, Lorient, Saint-Nazaire, La Rochelle and Royan .