page_title: Second Battle of the Odon
section_title: Operation Pomegranate, 16–17 July
hierarchical_section_title: Second Battle of the Odon / Battle / Operation Pomegranate, 16–17 July
caption_attribution_description: Map commune FR insee code 14734.png
context_page_description: The Second Battle of the Odon comprised operations fought by the Second Army during the Second World War Attacks took place in mid-July 1944 against Panzergruppe West as part of the Battle of Normandy. Operations Greenline and Pomegranate were intended to draw German attention away from Operation Goodwood, an attack from the Orne bridgehead on 18 July.
  The British also wanted to prevent the Germans from withdrawing Panzer divisions opposite the Second Army to create an armoured reserve which could oppose the First US Army during Operation Cobra. The operations in the Odon valley kept three German armoured divisions in the front line west of Caen, away from the Goodwood battlefield east of the Orne.
context_section_description: On 16 July, XXX Corps launched Operation Pomegranate. On the right of the corps, the 50th (Northumbrian) Division had held ground north of Hottot since the last week of June and kept the front line disturbed by frequent patrols and raids, which provoked several German counter-attacks supported by tanks. The 56th Independent Brigade had attacked Hottot on 8 July had captured its objective on the main road west of Hottot and then been driven back by a Panzer-Lehr Division counter-attack, by three infantry companies and c. 30 tanks, which pushed the brigade back across the road. On 11 July, the 231st Brigade attacked Hottot to capture the village. Supported by tanks and an elaborate artillery fire plan, two battalions were able to reach the northern fringe of the village.
  During the attack on 18 July the 50th Division captured Hottot for the last time, assisted by a German retirement caused by Operation Goodwood and Operation Cobra. The occupation of Hottot left the 50th Division poised to capture Villers Bocage and advance towards the River Noireau. On the right flank of the 50th Division, the 56th Independent Infantry Brigade faced the 2nd Panzer Division, which maintained constant attacks by mortars, self-propelled guns and snipers. The brigade patrolled extensively and by 20 July, it was realised that the enemy had withdrawn from the La Chapelle area. A patrol went forward and dug in and then a company advanced through Bois de Saint Germain and dug in on the southern fringe.
  In the centre of XXX Corps, the 49th (West Riding) Division attacked with the 146th Brigade at la Barbée Farm with the 1/4th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI), which advanced at 6:45 a.m. and reached the farm quickly from the east. At 5:00 p.m. the Germans counter-attacked the farm and surrounded it on three sides. The Hallamshire Battalion, York and Lancs attacked Vendes frontally, despite representations that an attack by night or from the east would be less costly. The attack began at 6:45 a.m. and was stopped quickly by machine-gun crossfire. An attempt at a flank attack was stopped at la Bijude Farm and an attack from the west through la Barbée Farm after it had been captured also failed. A box-barrage around the Hallamshires and KOYLI was fired for twenty minutes after which the battalions withdrew at 5:00 p.m. Next day it was discovered from deserters that the Germans had withdrawn from Vendes and the farms.
  In the 59th (Staffordshire) Division area, phase I of the attack began at 5:30 a.m. with the 197th Brigade on the right attacking with the 5th East Lancashires and 177th Brigade on the left with 5th and 1/6th South Staffords. The 5th East Lancashires fought their way to the first objective east of Vendes and captured part of the village by 8:00 a.m. but at 2:30 p.m. were counter-attacked by infantry and tanks, which overran one company and forced the rest of the battalion back to the start line. The 1/6th South Staffords captured Brettevillette in a costly attack by 6:45 a.m. in which many troops lost direction in the thick dawn mist and the British found that the area had been sown thickly with mines. The battalion pressed on and reached Queudeville by 8:45 a.m., despite most of the tanks in support of the battalion having already been knocked out in a British minefield.
  The 5th South Staffords took orchards west of Grainville sur Odon and captured Les Nouillons by noon, which left the 177th Brigade on the first phase objectives. At 1:30 p.m. flail tanks began to work through a German minefield at Queudeville. Phase II was delayed by the casualties incurred in Phase I but at 5:30 p.m. the 2/6th South Staffords attacked Noyers and at 6:15 p.m. the 6th North Staffords attacked Haut des Forges. The 2/6th South Staffords captured part of Noyers but were forced back to Point 126, north of the railway station. The 6th North Staffords took Haut des Forges against less determined opposition. The 59th Division had captured 369 prisoners. On the 197th Infantry Brigade front, the 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers attacked the phase I 
caption: Vendes area (Map commune FR insee code 14734)
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