British Forces End Operation Epsom in the Face of German Counterattacks

Having been obliged to commit his last available strategic reserves to bring the British offensive to a halt, on 29 June Rommel requested permission from Hitler to allow the Seventh Army to begin a fighting withdrawal towards the River Seine; a move which would be mirrored by German forces in southern France to form a new front line along the Seine towards the Swiss border. This was partially endorsed by Hausser, who on 30 June proposed pulling back from Caen. However, encouraged by the outcome of the fighting in the Odon valley, Hitler stated that "we must not allow mobile warfare to develop", committing his troops in Normandy to "a policy of aggressive and unyielding defence". On 2 July, Scottish patrols produced the first evidence of this, reporting that south of the Odon the Germans were digging in. Aerial photographs taken two days later provided confirmation, showing large numbers of newly dug weapon positions, and by 8 July the German forces facing VIII Corps had fully entrenched themselves. Some local adjustments occurred as both sides sought to improve their tactical positions, with the 12th SS Panzer Division launching a successful attack to capture Fontaine-Étoupefour on 2 July.

The serious losses sustained in maintaining an increasingly costly static defence led to fractures in the German high command. On the evening of 1 July, in a conversation with Wilhelm Keitel, von Rundstedt advised; "Make peace, you fools." Shortly afterwards, Günther von Kluge replaced him as Commander in Chief West, and due to disagreements with Hitler over how the campaign should be conducted, Heinrich Eberbach replaced von Schweppenburg as commander of Panzer Group West.
During the lull in fighting both sides made several changes to the disposition of their forces. The 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division relieved the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division in the west of the British salient, while the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division relieved the infantry of the 11th Armoured Divisi...

Operation Epsom had its main objective. The 2nd SS Panzer Corps, a large, well equipped, experienced unit, had been drawn into the fighting around Caen, and was not longer available to take part in any German counterattack or to reinforce the American front. O'Connor's men had proved that the new British army was just as capable as the experienced troops of the 8th Army, and if anything were more flexible and able to adapt to conditions in Normandy, although they did tend to be too ponderous, operating 'by the book'. Epsom saw some of the most intense fighting of the entire Normandy campaign – the 15th (Scottish) Division, which was in action for almost the entire campaign between Epsom and VE day, suffered 25% of their total casualties during the four days of fighting on the Odon.