Despite the immediate success of the allies, it was not long until the Germans finally got their act together and slowed the British forces progression rapidly. A few miles from the beaches the first obstacles were encountered. The bocage, a layer if hedging, making a wall like structure was built in the countryside to prevent the tanks from advancing any further, which is a great help to the Germans, as they were one of the most influential piece of equipment. Because of the bocage neither Allied nor German forces could see through it so they fired through it, hoping that they would it would hit a target on the other side. The Allies were also slowed down by bad luck as bad weather rolled in, which as well good German resistance caused the failure of Operation Epsom. Operation Goodwood also failed, with 5,000 casualties and 400 tanks lost, however the allies could afford these losses, but the Germans would have trouble trying to fill the gaps of the fatalities.
The British progress continued to be slow because of a storm that hit Mulberry at Omaha Beach which totally destroyed it and also damaged the British one at Arramanches. Further inland the British forces came face to face with superior German forces, as they had Tiger Tanks and SS troops. The British would have to find a way around these problems. The American progress was no better, the bocage had completely brought their attack to a halt. Eight weeks into D-Day on 25th July, Operation Cobra was launched, however this was postponed several times because of bad weather, which gave the Germans time to regroup and bring in more supplies. Eventually there was a break in the weather and of the Americans luck was about to pick up, the supreme airpower of the Allies sent 600 bombers to destroy the German Forces holding them back. This awaited attack by the Allies stopped the German forces from holding the American forces off and finally they fought through the remaining German forces, to carry on the attack.
This slow progress was about to pick up in pace as the final breakthrough was imminent. Although it was Hitler and his new officers, after there was an assassination attempt to kill him, who managed to trap the Allied forces, known as the Falaise pocket. In this were Allies and also some German defences, Hitler’s right hand man, Von Kluge, realised that the allies were trapped and they had to retreat if they wanted to get out of the pocket. However, Hitler ignored him totally and decided to call an attack in the Falaise pocket. This was an inappropriate manoeuvre by Hitler, killing many of his men, there were 80,000 men in the pocket, many tried to retreat but didn’t get far being heavily bombed by the strong British air force. The Allies also had a secret that the Germans didn’t know about, and that was that they had figured out the Enigma code and new everything the Germans were planning. The July plot also had a large significance, this was a plot to assassinate Hitler, although it didn’t work. However it weakened the Germans as Hitler lost four of his best generals, which lead to ineffective German high command, Hitler lost confidence and the Germans collapsed under the pressure from the Allied forces.
The Allied forces had resources throughout D-Day which when needed they could be relied on for quick and easy operation. At the beginning of D-Day roughly 600,000 of Allied troops and 90,000 vehicles landed on the beaches of Normandy. With this number of resources they were sure they would not run out. Later on in D-Day another 36 divisions and 300,000 vehicles including Rhinoceros tanks, for the bocage, had landed as backup, giving each man 1 tonne of supplies. This was not only good for the allies generally but good for each and every soldier who were fed and supplied as they should be. The soldiers were kept in good condition which would keep their moral up. These reasons are very important when analysing why the British were successful in the Battle of Normandy, as the Allies simply had better resources and supplies.
The Germans lack of resources and general bad military decisions did not give them any favours at all, firstly Hitler made a mistake in attacking the Falaise pocket and killing 10,000 of his own men and loosing 50,000 as prisoners. The Germans could only replace minimal amounts of tanks and men, which meant that the Allies would easily overpower them. The allies also had supreme airpower than the Germans, as the Luftwaffe were easily defeatable. Finally, they were low on many supplies such as ammunition, food and fuel, which meant they couldn't make any last minute attacks as they didn’t have anything to attack with, but that still depended on if they could fire ammunition, as every artillery shot had to be authorised.
To conclude there are many reason that support why the British were successful in the Battle of Normandy, June-August 1944. However if it weren’t for these reasons, for example, the huge Allied resources, the numerous amount of artillery, soldiers and supplies, the battle could have easily gone either way and it was very close to doing so.