Battle for Brest

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Battle for Brest
Part of Operation Overlord, Battle of Normandy
A US M18 Hellcat of the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion in the streets of Brest in September 1944
Date 7 August – 20 September 1944 Location Brest, Brittany, France 48°23′27″N 4°29′08″E / 48.39083°N 4.48556°E / 48.39083; 4.48556 Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United States  United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Troy H. Middleton Walter M. Robertson William H. Simpson Charles H. Gerhardt	Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke  Hans Kroh  Erwin Rauch
Units involved
VIII Corps 2nd Infantry Division 8th Infantry Division 29th Infantry Division 35th Engineer Combat Battalion 2nd Ranger Battalion 35th Engineer Combat Battalion 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion 5th Ranger Battalion 23rd Headquarters Special Troops 79th Armoured Division (elements) 6th Armored Division (elements)	2nd Fallschirmjäger-Division 266. Infanterie-Division 343. Infanterie-Division
Strength
75,000 men	45,000 men
Casualties and losses
9,831 killed or wounded[1]	38,000 captured[1]

The Battle for Brest was fought in August and September 1944 on the Western Front during World War II. Part of the overall Battle for Brittany and the Allied plan for the invasion of mainland Europe called for the capture of port facilities, in order to ensure the timely delivery of the enormous amount of war materiel required to supply the invading Allied forces. It was estimated that the 37 Allied divisions to be on the continent by September 1944 would need 26,000 tons of supplies each day.^[2] The main port the Allied forces hoped to seize and put into their service was Brest, in northwestern France.