After a rapid advance, the British Guards Armoured Division liberated Brussels, the Belgian capital, on 3 September and the 11th Armoured Division captured Antwerp the following day. On 26 August, 21st Army Group issued orders for an advance to the north to capture Antwerp, Belgium. On 25 July, the US First Army began Operation Cobra, the break-out from Normandy. Greater priority was given to ammunition shipments, with petrol, oil and lubricant (POL) shipments cut to compensate. Ammunition usage was high, exceeding the daily allocation for the 25-pounder field guns by 8 per cent and for the 5.5-inch medium guns by 24 per cent. By 26 July, 675,000 personnel, 150,000 vehicles and 690,000 tonnes (680,000 long tons) of stores and 69,000 tonnes (68,000 long tons) of bulk petrol had been landed. 2 Army Roadhead formed the nucleus of what became the Rear Maintenance Area (RMA) of the 21st Army Group. 1 Army Roadhead also passed to its control. When the Canadian First Army assumed control of the British I Corps on 21 June, No. 2 Army Roadhead for XXX Corps, these being the two corps ashore at the time. The short lines of communication provided an opportunity to accumulate reserves of supplies. The army group was supported over the beaches and through the Mulberry artificial port specially constructed for the purpose.ĭuring the first seven weeks after the British and Canadian landings in Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944, the advance was much slower than anticipated, and the lodgement area much smaller. Logistical units included six supply unit headquarters, 25 Base Supply Depots (BSDs), 83 Detail Issue Depots (DIDs), 25 field bakeries, 14 field butcheries and 18 port detachments. Between them they had six armoured divisions (including the Polish 1st Armoured Division), ten infantry divisions, two airborne divisions, nine independent armoured brigades and two commando brigades. The Anglo-Canadian force, the 21st Army Group, consisted of the British Second Army and Canadian First Army. Planning for this operation had begun in 1942. The Allies had to land sufficient forces to overcome the initial opposition and build it up faster than the Germans could respond. The objective of the campaign was to secure a lodgement on the mainland of Europe for further operations. British logistics in the Normandy campaign played a key role in the success of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France in June 1944.
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