 Fighting in the Caen area versus the 21st Panzer , the 12th SS Panzer Division <unk> , and other units soon reached a stalemate . Operation <unk> ( 7 – 14 June ) failed to take Caen , and the British were forced to withdraw to <unk> @-@ sur @-@ <unk> . After a delay because of storms during 17 – 23 June , Operation Epsom was launched on 26 June , an attempt by VIII Corps to swing around and attack Caen from the south @-@ west and establish a bridgehead south of the <unk> . Although the operation failed to take Caen , the Germans suffered heavy tank losses and had committed every available Panzer unit to the operation . Caen was severely bombed on the night of 7 July and then occupied north of the River Orne in Operation <unk> on 8 – 9 July . Two offensives during 18 – 21 July , Operation Atlantic and Operation Goodwood , captured the rest of Caen and the high ground to the south , but by then the city was nearly destroyed . 
