8 Infantry Division (USA) to the outskirts of Coutances

On 26 July the 8th Infantry Division attacked through the thick hedgerow country separating the Ay and Seves Rivers.
German resistance was stiff at first, but eroded quickly.
By the evening of 28 July the division had pushed over seven miles to the outskirts of Coutances.
As the Germans attempted to withdraw, the numerous minefields and booby traps they left behind became a greater danger to the Americans than direct fire itself.
The division cleared routes for the passage of armored divisions exploiting the breakthrough, and mopped up residual enemy resistance in the area it had fought its way across.
The division motorized one of its regiments on borrowed Quartermaster trucks so that it could accompany and assist the swiftly moving tankers.
The German retreat turned into a rout as armored spearheads raced ahead.
Avranches fell during the night of 30 July.
The 8th Infantry Division pressed forward, mopping up German units bypassed by the armored spearheads and securing the terrain they had passed through.