Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the
landing operation
A landing operation is a military
action during which a landing force, usually utilizing landing craft, is transferred to land with the purpose of power projection ashore. With the proliferation of aircraft, a landing may refer to amphibious force ...
of the
Allied invasion of
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
(
Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with
Operation Overlord, the
Allied landing in Normandy, the lack of available resources led to a cancellation of the second landing. By July 1944 the landing was reconsidered, as the clogged-up ports in Normandy did not have the capacity to adequately supply the Allied forces. Concurrently, the French High Command pushed for a revival of the operation that would include large numbers of French troops. As a result, the operation was finally approved in July to be executed in August.
The invasion sought to secure the vital ports on the French Mediterranean coast and increase pressure on the German forces by opening another front. After preliminary commando operations, the US
VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to:
France
* VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars
* VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army du ...
landed on the beaches of the
Côte d'Azur under the shield of a large naval task force, followed by several divisions of the
French Army B. They were opposed by the scattered forces of the German
Army Group G
Army Group G (''Heeresgruppe G'') fought on the Western Front of World War II and was a component of OB West.
History
When the Allied invasion of Southern France took place, Army Group G had eleven divisions with which to hold France south of ...
, which had been weakened by the relocation of its divisions to other fronts and the replacement of its soldiers with third-rate ''
Ostlegionen
''Ostlegionen'' ("eastern legions"), ''Ost-Bataillone'' ("eastern battalions"), ''Osttruppen'' ("eastern troops"), and ''Osteinheiten'' ("eastern units") were units in the Army of Nazi Germany during World War II made up of personnel from the ...
'' outfitted with obsolete equipment.
Hindered by Allied
air supremacy
Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of comm ...
and a large-scale uprising by the
French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
, the weak German forces were swiftly defeated. The Germans withdrew to the north through the
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
valley, to establish a stable defense line at
Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...
. Allied mobile units were able to overtake the Germans and partially block their route at the town of
Montélimar
Montélimar (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Montelaimar'' ; la, Acumum) is a town in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in north Provence, Southeastern France. It is the second-largest city in the department after Valence. In 2018 ...
. The ensuing battle led to a stalemate, with neither side able to achieve a decisive breakthrough, until the Germans were finally able to complete their withdrawal and retreat from the town. While the Germans were retreating, the French managed to capture the important ports of
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
and
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
, soon putting them into operation.
The Germans were not able to hold Dijon and ordered a complete withdrawal from Southern France. Army GroupG retreated further north, pursued by Allied forces. The fighting ultimately came to a stop at the
Vosges mountains
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
, where Army GroupG was finally able to establish a stable defense line. After meeting with the Allied units from the
Third Army, the Allied forces were in need of reorganizing and, facing stiffened German resistance, the offensive was halted on 14September.
The Americans considered operation Dragoon a success. It enabled them to liberate most of Southern France in just four weeks while inflicting heavy casualties on the German forces, although a substantial part of the best German units were able to escape. The captured French ports were put into operation, allowing the Allies to solve their supply problems quickly. The British disagreed with the American stance due to the weak political impact and lack of movement in Italy.
Background
Prelude
During planning stages, the operation was known as "Anvil", to complement
Operation Sledgehammer
Operation Sledgehammer was an Allied plan for a cross- Channel invasion of Europe during World War II, as the first step in helping to reduce pressure on the Soviet Red Army by establishing a Second Front. It was to be executed in 1942 and acted ...
, at that time the code name for the
invasion of Normandy. Subsequently, both plans were renamed. Sledgehammer became
Operation Overlord, and Anvil became Operation Dragoon. The original idea of invading southern France had come in 1942 from
General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...
, the
U.S. Army Chief of Staff. It was supported by
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
at the
Tehran Conference
The Tehran Conference ( codenamed Eureka) was a strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill from 28 November to 1 December 1943, after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. It was held in the Soviet Union's embass ...
in late 1943. In discussions with
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, Stalin advocated for the operation as an inherent part of Overlord, preferring to have the Allies in the far west instead of at an alternative landing in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, which he considered to be in his zone of influence. Marshall insisted that the operation be included in the strategic planning, and Roosevelt found cancelling the operation to be unpalatable.
Operation Dragoon was controversial from the time it was first proposed. The American military leadership and its British counterparts disagreed on the operation.
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
argued against it on the grounds that it diverted military resources that were better deployed for Allied
operations in Italy. Instead, he favored an invasion of the oil-producing regions of the Balkans. Churchill reasoned that by attacking the Balkans, the Allies could deny Germany petroleum, forestall the advance of the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
, and achieve a superior negotiating position in postwar Europe, all at a stroke.
When first planned, the landings were to take place simultaneouslyOverlord in Normandy and Anvil in the south of France. A dual landing was soon recognized as impossible to conduct with the forces available. The expansion of Overlord from a three- to a five-division front required many additional
LSTs, which would have been needed for Anvil. Another Allied amphibious landing, in Italy at
Anzio
Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.
Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands ...
, had gone badly. All of these resulted in the postponing of Anvil by the Allies.
After the landing at Normandy, a revival of Anvil became increasingly attractive to Allied planners. The Normandy ports had insufficient capacity to handle Allied supply needs and French generals under
Charles de Gaulle pressed for a direct attack on southern France with participation of French troops. These factors led to a reconsideration of the plan. Despite Churchill's objections, the operation was authorized by the Allied
Combined Chiefs of Staff on 14July, then renamed Dragoon on 1August. The landing was scheduled for 15August.
Churchill and his chiefs of staff had opposed Dragoon in favour of reinforcing the campaign in Italy, by capturing
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...
, landing on the
Istria peninsula, and moving through the
Ljubljana Gap The Ljubljana Gap, less often the Ljubljana Gate ( sl, Ljubljanska vrata), is a geographical term for
the transition area between the Alps and Dinaric Alps that passes from southwest to northeast between Trieste and Ljubljana.
A strategically-vita ...
into Austria and Hungary. Then on 4 August, Churchill proposed that Dragoon (less than two weeks away) should be switched to the coast of
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
. Eisenhower, supported by Roosevelt, who (with his 1944 election campaign four months away) opposed diverting large forces to the Balkans, stood firm on the agreed plan despite long harangues from Churchill on 5 and 9 August.
Planning
![Operation Dragoon - map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Operation_Dragoon_-_map.jpg)
The chief objectives of Operation Dragoon were the important French ports of Marseille and Toulon, considered essential to supply the growing Allied forces in France. The Allied planners were cautious, taking heed of lessons learned from the Anzio and Normandy landings. They chose a location with no high ground controlled by the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
, conditions that had led to heavy casualties after the initial landings on
Omaha Beach at Normandy. The choice for the disembarkation site was an area on the
Var
Var or VAR may refer to:
Places
* Var (department), a department of France
* Var (river), France
* Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran
* Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...
coast east of Toulon. A preliminary air campaign was planned to isolate the battlefield and cut the Germans off from reinforcement by destroying several key bridges. A large airborne landing was also planned in the center of the landing zone to quickly seize the high ground overlooking the beaches. Parallel to the invasion, several commando units were to take control of the islands off the coast.
The Allied plan consisted of a three-division landing of US forces led by
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Lucian Truscott
General Lucian King Truscott Jr. (January 9, 1895 – September 12, 1965) was a highly decorated senior United States Army officer, who saw distinguished active service during World War II. Between 1943–1945, he successively commanded the 3rd ...
to secure a beachhead on the first day. Their flanks were to be protected by French, American and Canadian commando units. Within 24 hours, 50,000–60,000 troops and 6,500 vehicles were to be disembarked. The airborne landings would concentrate in an area near
Draguignan
Draguignan (; oc, Draguinhan) is a commune in the Var department in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (formerly Provence), southeastern France.
It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of ...
and
Le Muy
Le Muy (; oc, Lo Muei) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 9,288.
Le Muy was one of the first places to be liberated in the Allied invasion of ...
, with the aim of taking these towns to prevent German counterattacks against the beaches. The bulk of the American force then had to advance quickly to the north along the Rhône, to take
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
and
Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...
and make contact with the Allied forces in northern France. After a successful initial landing, units of the
French ArmyB were to land, given the task of taking the French ports of Toulon and Marseille.
Although the Germans expected another Allied landing in the Mediterranean, the advancing Red Army and the Allied landings in Normandy placed great strains on German resources, so little was done to improve the condition of Army Group G, occupying southern France. Given the advancing Allied forces in northern France, the Germans deemed a realistic defense in the south impossible.
Johannes Blaskowitz
Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz (10 July 1883 – 5 February 1948) was a German ''Generaloberst'' during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. After joining the Imperial German Army in ...
's Army GroupG headquarters discussed a general withdrawal from southern France in July and August with the
German High Command, but the
20 July plot led to an atmosphere in which any withdrawal was out of the question. Blaskowitz was quite aware that with his scattered forces, any serious Allied landing attempt would be impossible to ward off. He planned to withdraw in secret, to include demolishing the ports, and to proceed in an orderly manner, covered by the
11th Panzer Division
The 11th Panzer Division ( en, 11th Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army during World War II, established in 1940.
The division saw action on the Eastern and Western Fronts during the Second World War. The 11th Panzer Di ...
. He intended to establish a new defense line at Dijon in central France. German intelligence was aware of the impending Allied landing, and on 13August, Blaskowitz ordered the 11th Panzer Division to move east of the Rhône, where the landing was expected.
Opposing forces
![Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-258-1324-18, Südfrankreich, Flak-Stellung an Küste](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-258-1324-18%2C_S%C3%BCdfrankreich%2C_Flak-Stellung_an_K%C3%BCste.jpg)
The Western Naval Task Force was formed under the command of Vice Admiral
Henry Kent Hewitt
Henry Kent Hewitt (February 11, 1887 – September 15, 1972) was the United States Navy commander of amphibious operations in north Africa and southern Europe through World War II. He was born in Hackensack, New Jersey and graduated from the Unit ...
to carry the
U.S. 6th Army Group, also known as the ''Southern Group'' or ''Dragoon Force'', onto the shore. The 6th Army Group was formed in
Corsica and activated on 1August, to consolidate the French and American forces slated to invade southern France. Admiral Hewitt's naval support for the operation included the American battleships ''
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
'', ''
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
'', and ''
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
'', the British battleship ''
Ramillies'', and the French battleship , with 20
cruisers for
gunfire support
Naval gunfire support (NGFS) (also known as shore bombardment) is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of a number of disciplines encompassed by the ...
and naval aircraft from 9
escort carriers assembled as
Task Force88.
The main ground force for the operation was the
US Seventh Army commanded by
Alexander Patch
General Alexander McCarrell Patch (November 23, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in both world wars, rising to rank of general. During World War II, he commanded U.S. Army and Marine Corps ...
. The US Army's
VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to:
France
* VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars
* VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army du ...
, commanded by Major General Lucian Truscott, would carry out the initial landing and be followed by the French Army B under command of
Général
is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level office ...
Jean de Lattre de Tassigny. Accompanying the operation was a fully
mobilized separate detachment called "Task Force Butler", consisting of the bulk of the Allied tanks, tank destroyers, and mechanized infantry.
The
French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
played a major role in the fighting. As the Allies advanced into France, the Resistance evolved from a guerilla fighting force to a semiorganized army called
French Forces of the Interior
The French Forces of the Interior (french: Forces françaises de l'Intérieur) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation ...
(FFI). The FFI would tie down German troops by sabotaging bridges and communication lines, seizing important traffic hubs and directly attacking isolated German forces. They were aided by Allied special forces from the
Office of Strategic Services (OSS), who would supply the Allies with vital intelligence.
The Allied ground and naval forces were supported by a large aerial fleet of 3470 planes. The majority of them were stationed on Corsica and
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
. The tactical bombers and fighters had to support the landings directly, while the strategic element had to bomb German targets deep into France. The strategic bombing started well before the landing, and targeted airports, traffic hubs, railroads, coastal defenses, and communication lines.
Opposing the Allies was the German Army Group G (''HeeresgruppeG''). Although nominally an army group, Army Group G had at the time of the invasion only one army under its command: the
19th Army, led by
Friedrich Wiese. As southern France had never been important to German planning, their forces there had been stripped of nearly all their valuable units and equipment over the course of the war. Due to the Allied threat in Normandy, Army Group G's units were continuously sent north until the Dragoon landings. The remaining 11 divisions were understrength and only one panzer division was left, the 11th. In early August, the 11th Panzer Division had sent one of its two panzer battalions to Normandy shortly before the landing.
The troops were positioned thinly along the French coast, with an average of per division. Generally, the troops of the German divisions were only second- and third-rate. This meant that over the course of the war, the divisions were thinned out and soldiers were replaced with wounded old veterans and ''
Volksdeutsche
In Nazi German terminology, ''Volksdeutsche'' () were "people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship". The term is the nominalised plural of '' volksdeutsch'', with ''Volksdeutsche'' denoting a sin ...
'' from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
. Numerous units were also replaced by ''
Ostlegionen
''Ostlegionen'' ("eastern legions"), ''Ost-Bataillone'' ("eastern battalions"), ''Osttruppen'' ("eastern troops"), and ''Osteinheiten'' ("eastern units") were units in the Army of Nazi Germany during World War II made up of personnel from the ...
'' and ''Ostbataillone''. These units were volunteers from Eastern Europe, mainly the Soviet Union, and had a generally low fighting morale. The equipment of those troops was in poor shape, consisting of old weapons from various nations, with French, Polish, Soviet, Italian and Czech guns, artillery, and mortars. Four of the German divisions were designated as "static", which meant that they were stripped of all of their mobile capabilities and unable to move from their positions. The only potent unit inside Army Group G was the 11th Panzer Division, which was commanded by
Wend von Wietersheim
Wend von Wietersheim (18 April 1900 – 19 September 1975) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany.
Career
Wietersheim was bo ...
.
The German chain of command was overly complex, with parallel chains for the occupation forces, the land forces, the
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
and the
Kriegsmarine. The Luftwaffe, with 200 aircraft, and the Kriegsmarine, with 45 small ships, played a negligible role in the operation. The German defense was aided by extensive coastal artillery placements which had been constructed in the years before the landing. After the
Fall of France, the
Vichy French
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
regime greatly improved the coastal defenses to appease the Germans. Along the coast, about 75 coastal guns of heavy and medium caliber were placed. Toulon was protected by a complex of heavy gun artillery batteries in mounted turrets. After their military
take-over in November 1942, the Germans improved the coastal defense further by repairing damaged and outdated turrets, as well as moving in additional guns. This included the guns taken from the dismantled French battleship''
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
''.
Operation
Preliminary operations
To ensure the success of Dragoon and support the initial landings, preliminary
commando
Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured
A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
operations had to be carried out. The first target was the
Hyères Islands, specifically
Port-Cros
Port-Cros () is a French island in the Mediterranean island group known as the Îles d'Hyères. It is part of the commune of Hyères, in the department of Var in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The island was donated to the French go ...
and
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...
. The guns of the German garrisons on both islands could reach the proposed Allied landing area and the sea lanes that the troops would follow. The
First Special Service Force
The 1st Special Service Force was an elite American–Canadian commando unit in World War II, under the command of the United States Fifth Army. The unit was organized in 1942 and trained at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana i ...
, a joint U.S.-Canadian special-forces unit trained in amphibious assault and mountaineering and consisting of three regiments, received the order to take the islands as part of Operation Sitka.
The landings on Port-Cros and Levant started simultaneously on 14August. On Levant, the 2nd and 3rd Regiments of the First Special Service Force faced sporadic resistance that became more intense when the German garrison forces came together in the area of the port. The men of the First Special Service Force gained the upper hand and discovered that the "coastal defense
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
" the Allied naval forces were worried about was actually several well-camouflaged dummy weapons.
On Port-Cros, the 1st Regiment drove the German garrison to the western side of the island to an old fort. Fighting continued through 16August. When darkness fell, German guns on the French mainland at
Cap Benat shelled Port-Cros. HMS ''Ramillies'' took aim at the fort where the Germans were barricaded. The German garrison surrendered on the morning of 17August. With both islands in Allied hands, the men of the First Special Service Force transferred to the mainland, where they were attached to the
First Airborne Task Force.
Meanwhile, at
Cap Nègre to the west of the main invasion, a large group of French commandos destroyed German artillery emplacements as part of
Operation Romeo. Their main effort was supported by diversionary flank landings by other commando teams. While the main mission succeeded, 67 French commandos were taken prisoner after they ran into a minefield. In addition to the commando operations, another operation was carried out, named
Operation Span. This was a deception plan, aimed to confuse the German defenders with fake landings and paratroopers, to disperse them from the actual landing zones.
Airborne landings
The first to land in the early hours were the airborne and glider troops. The
1st Airborne Task Force
The 1st Airborne Task Force was a short-lived Allied airborne unit that was active during World War II created for Operation Dragoon–the invasion of Southern France. Formed in July 1944, under the command of Major General Robert T. Frederick ...
force landed in the
River Argens valley around the area of
Le Muy
Le Muy (; oc, Lo Muei) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 9,288.
Le Muy was one of the first places to be liberated in the Allied invasion of ...
with the objective of preventing German reinforcements from reaching the landing beaches. The American component being the largest, consisted of Mission Albatross followed by
Mission Dove
In World War II, Mission Dove ( Allies, 1944) was the glider-borne assault conducted as part of the invasion of southern France ( Operation Dragoon) on 15 August 1944. The original parachute landing, Mission Albatross comprising 396 aircraft carr ...
the Glider born landings, Mission Bluebird, and Mission Canary the latter being the reinforcements. The British landing codenamed
Operation Rugby
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
consisted of
2nd Parachute Brigade. Fog and low cloud resulted in many paratroopers landing ten miles away, others were closer, but some ended up fifteen miles away. The British took the villages of Le Mitan,
La Motte, Clastron and Les Serres and then assaulted and captured the bridge over the River Naturby, which carried the road to Le Muy. Soon after they secured the high ground to the east and north of Le Muy, while the Americans did the same in the west and south. The Americans then attempted to seize the town that evening but were repelled. Only in the afternoon of the following day after reinforcements did they succeed in capturing Le Muy along with 700 prisoners. The 1st Airborne Task Force then awaited for the arrival of ground troops whilst holding off a number of counterattacks. Overall the landings were successful, with only 104 dead, 24 of which were caused by glider accidents and 18 by parachute accidents.
Main invasion force landings
![Anvildragoon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Anvildragoon.png)
The preceding bombing missions, together with resistance sabotage acts, hit the Germans heavily, interrupting railroads, damaging bridges, and disrupting the communication network. The landing started on the morning of 15August. Ships of the Western Naval Task Force approached under cover of darkness and were in position at dawn. The first of 1,300 Allied bombers from Italy, Sardinia, and Corsica began aerial bombardment shortly before 06:00. Bombing was nearly continuous until 07:30, when battleships and cruisers launched spotting aircraft and began firing on specific targets detected by aerial surveillance. Naval gunfire ceased as the landing craft headed ashore at 08:00. The relatively steep beach gradients with small tidal range discouraged Axis placement of underwater obstacles, but landing beaches had been defensively mined.
LCIs leading the first wave of landing craft fired rockets to explode
land mine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s on the beaches to be used by following troops.
The main landing force consisted of three divisions of the VI Corps. The
3rd Infantry Division landed on the left at Alpha Beach (
Cavalaire-sur-Mer), the
45th Infantry Division landed in the centre at Delta Beach (Le Muy,
Saint-Tropez) and the
36th Infantry Division landed on the right at Camel Beach (
Saint-Raphaël).
The landings were overwhelmingly successful. On Delta and Alpha beaches, German resistance was low. The Osttruppen surrendered quickly, and the biggest threats to the Allies were the mines. A single German gun and a mortar position were silenced by destroyer fire. The Allied units in this sector were able to secure a beachhead and quickly linked up with the paratroopers, capturing Saint-Tropez and LeMuy. The most serious fighting was on Camel Beach near the town of Saint-Raphaël. This beach was defended by several well-emplaced coastal guns, as well as flak batteries. Through heavy German fire, the Allies attempted to land at the shore. However, at sector Red of the Camel Beach landing zone, the Allies were not able to succeed. A bombing run of 90Allied
B-24 bombers was called in against a German strongpoint here. Even with the assistance of naval fire, the Allies were not able to bring the landing ships close to the shore. They decided to avoid Camel Red and land only at the sectors of Camel Blue and Camel Green, which was successful.
The Allied casualties at the landings were very light, with only 95killed and 385 wounded; 40 of those casualties were caused by a rocket-boosted
Henschel Hs 293 guided gliding bomb launched from a
Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German '' Luftwaffe'' during World War II as a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomb ...
bomber aircraft by a rare appearance of the bomber wing
KG 100
''Kampfgeschwader'' 100 (KG 100) was a ''Luftwaffe'' medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II and the first military aviation unit to use a precision-guided munition (the Fritz X anti-ship glide bomb) in combat to sink a warship (the Ital ...
, which sank the tank landing ship .
German counterattacks
French sabotage by the FFI, together with the Allied bombing, severed German communication lines, causing initial confusion among the troops. German field commanders were not able to communicate with Army GroupG's headquarters. Despite the hampered communications, German commanders acted independently to put measures in effect to counter the Allied invasion. Directly facing the brunt of the Allied landings was the German
LXII Corps
The LXII Army Corps (german: LXII. Armeekorps), initially known as the LXII Reserve Corps (german: LXII. Reservekorps, link=no), was an army corps of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. The formation was active between 1942 and 1944.
Histor ...
at Draguignan, commanded by
Ferdinand Neuling
Ferdinand Neuling (22 August 1885 – 20 February 1960) was a general of the Heer during World War II. In September 1939, German troops under his command occupied the Polish part of Upper Silesia and cities of Katowice, Mikołów, Chorzów, co ...
. Allied paratroopers interrupted his communication lines and trapped his headquarters in the city. He, therefore, ordered the nearby
148th Infantry Division
The German 148th Reserve Division (German: ''148. Reserve-Division'') was a German reserve infantry formation during the Second World War. It was made up of three infantry regiments (the 281st, 285th, and 286th) and an artillery regiment. Initi ...
to counterattack against the beaches at LeMuy, just before the Allied paratroopers cut him off completely. Wiese, as commander of the 19th Army, was also unable to contact Blaskowitz's Army GroupG headquarters, but implemented a plan to push the Allied forces in the LeMuySaint-Raphaël region back into the sea unilaterally. With almost no mobile reserves to react against the beach landings, he ordered the commander of the
189th Infantry Division,
Richard von Schwerin
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
, to establish an ''ad hoc'' battle group (''Kampfgruppe'') from all nearby units to counterattack the Allied beachheads in this area. While vonSchwerin assembled all the men he could find, the 148th Infantry Division near Draguignan encountered heavy resistance from the FFI, which had been reinforced by British paratroopers, upsetting the plan for a swift counterattack toward the beaches.
While the Germans were unable to mount a counterattack against the Allied beachheads on 15August, by the morning of 16August, vonSchwerin had finally assembled a force about the size of four infantry battalions. With this force, he launched a two-pronged assault towards LeMuy and the Allied beachhead, as well as toward Draguignan to relieve the LXIICorps headquarters there. By that time, the Allies had already landed a significant number of troops, vehicles, and tanks. The Allied mobile forces of the 45thDivision went out against the German forces themselves. The division surrounded the town of
LesArcs, recently reoccupied by vonSchwerin's troops, and attempted to isolate the German forces there. After heavy fighting throughout the day, vonSchwerin ordered his troops to retreat under cover of night. At the same time, heavy fighting occurred at Saint-Raphaël. Mobile units of the 148th Infantry Division finally had arrived there and encountered the U.S. 3rd Division, which was trying to take Saint-Raphaël. This attack, however, was fruitless. By 17August, the German counter-attacks had been largely defeated, Saint-Raphaël was secured together with a large beachhead along the coastline, and mobile forces had linked up with the airborne troops in LeMuy. French troops had been pouring ashore since 16August, passing to the left of the American troops with the objective of Toulon and Marseille.
By the night of 16/17 August, Army Group G headquarters realized that it could not drive the Allies back into the sea. Simultaneously in northern France, the encirclement of the
Falaise pocket threatened the loss of large numbers of German forces. Given the precarious situation,
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
moved away from his "no step backwards" agenda and agreed to an OKW plan for the complete withdrawal of Army GroupsG and B. The OKW plan was for all German forces (except the stationary fortress troops) in southern France to move north to link up with Army GroupB to form a new defensive line from
Sens through Dijon to the Swiss frontier. Two German divisions (the 148th and
157th) were to retreat into the French-Italian
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
. The Allies were privy to the German plan through
Ultra
adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. ' ...
interception.
The German Navy's response was minimal. The Kriegsmarine had some 25 surface ships (mostly
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
s and smaller) though the main anti-invasion force, 10th Torpedo Boat Flotilla based at
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
, had just four torpedo boats fit for service during ''Dragoon'' and this force took no action against the invasion fleet. There were two actions against the Allied naval forces taken by other units. On 15 August, off
Port-Cros
Port-Cros () is a French island in the Mediterranean island group known as the Îles d'Hyères. It is part of the commune of Hyères, in the department of Var in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The island was donated to the French go ...
, the US destroyer encountered two German warships and
in a short action sank both. On 17 August, off
La Ciotat
La Ciotat (; oc, label= Provençal Occitan, La Ciutat ; in Mistralian spelling ''La Ciéutat''; 'the City') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France. It is the southeasternmost ...
, a force of two German warships encountered a force of
PT boat
A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the war ...
s and gunboats staging a diversionary attack. Their destroyer escort engaged both vessels, and after
an hour-long gun battle both German vessels were sunk. The Kriegsmarine also had a
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
force based at
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
operating in the Western Mediterranean; By the summer of 1944 this had been reduced to eight U-boats, and in air-raids prior to ''Dragoon'' five were destroyed. On the night of 17 August one boat attempted to sortie; she ran aground leaving harbour and was scuttled by her crew. The other two U-boats took no action, and were scuttled to avoid capture before the
fall of Toulon.
German withdrawal
The Germans started the withdrawal, while the motorized Allied forces broke out from their beachheads and pursued the German units from behind. The rapid Allied advance posed a major threat for the Germans, who could not retreat fast enough. The Germans tried to establish a defense line at the Rhône to shield the withdrawal of several valuable units there. The US 45th and 3rd Divisions were pressing to the north-west with uncontested speed, undermining Wiese's plan for a new defense line.
Barjols and
Brignoles
Brignoles (; oc, Brinhòla) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Alongside Draguignan, it is one of two subprefectures in Var.
It was the summer residence of the counts of Pro ...
were taken by the two American divisions on 19August, which also were about to envelop Toulon, as well as Marseille from the north, cutting off the German units there.
In the northeast, the German problems loomed as large. Taskforce Butlerthe Allied mechanized component of the landingswas pushing north of Draguignan. On 18August Neuling's surrounded LXII Corps headquarters attempted an unsuccessful breakout and was finally captured with the rest of the city after some fighting. The German troops in this area were exhausted and demoralized from the fighting against the FFI, so Taskforce Butler was also able to advance at high speed.
Digne
Digne-les-Bains (; Occitan: ''Dinha dei Banhs''), or simply and historically Digne (''Dinha'' in the classical norm or ''Digno'' in the Mistralian norm), is the prefecture of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Cô ...
was liberated on 18August. At
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
, the 157th Reserve Infantry Division faced the Allied advance, and its commander decided to retreat on 21August toward the Alps. This decision would prove to be fatal for the Germans, as it left a large gap in the eastern flank of the retreating Army GroupG. Blaskowitz now decided to sacrifice the
242nd Infantry Division in Toulon, as well as the
244th Infantry Division in Marseille, to buy time for the rest of Army GroupG to retreat through the Rhône Valley, while the 11th Panzer Division and the
198th Infantry Division would shield the retreat in several defense lines.
Liberation of Marseille and Toulon
![Liberation of Marseille, August 1944](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Liberation_of_Marseille%2C_August_1944.jpg)
Meanwhile, the disembarked French units started to head for Marseille and Toulon. The initial plan was to capture the ports in succession, but the unexpected Allied advance allowed the French commander de Lattre de Tassigny to attack both ports almost simultaneously. He split his forces into two units, with
Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert given the task to take Toulon from the east while
Edgard de Larminat
Edgard de Larminat (29 November 1895 – 1 July 1962) was a French general, who fought in two World Wars. He was one of the most important military figures who rejoined the renegade Free French forces under the British in 1940. He was awarded ...
drove north to encircle the city at the flanks. The Germans had a significant force stationed in both cities, but they lacked the time to prepare for a determined defense. After heavy fighting around
Hyères
Hyères (), Provençal Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.
The old town lies from the sea clustered arou ...
, which temporarily stopped the advance, French forces approached Toulon on 19August. At the same time, Monsabert swung around the city, enveloped it, and cut off the highway between Toulon and Marseille. On 21August, the French pressed into Toulon, and heavy fighting ensued. The heavy German resistance led to an argument between Larminat and deTassigny, after which deTassigny took over direct command of the operation, dismissing Larminat. By 26August, the remaining German units had surrendered. The battle for Toulon cost the French 2,700 casualties, but they captured all remaining German forces, which lost their entire garrison of 18,000 men.
At the same time, Monsabert's attempt to liberate Marseille commenced. At first, a German force at
Aubagne
Aubagne (, ''Aubanha'' in Occitan according to the classic norm or ''Aubagno'' according to the Mistralian norm) is a commune in the southern French department of Bouches-du-Rhône. In 2018, it had a population of 47,208. Its inhabitants are k ...
was defeated before French troops attacked the city directly. Unlike Toulon, the German commander at Marseille did not evacuate the civilian population, which became increasingly hostile. The resulting fighting with FFI troops further weakened the German units, which were exhausted from partisan fighting. The Wehrmacht was not able to defend on a broad front and soon crumbled into numerous isolated strongpoints. On 27August, most of the city was liberated, with only a few small strongpoints remaining, and on 28August, German troops issued the official surrender. The battle caused 1,825 French casualties, but 11,000 German troops were captured. In both harbours, German engineers had demolished port facilities to deny their use to the Allies.
The French Allied forces that helped liberate Toulon and Marseille consisted of large numbers of men from the Free French Colonial Infantry Division - Algerians, Malians, Mauritanians, and the Senegalese Tirailleurs, under General Charles de Gaulle.
Battle at Montélimar
![Advance S France](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Advance_S_France.jpg)
While Marseille and Toulon were liberated, the German retreat continued. The 11th Panzer Division started several feint attacks toward
Aix-en-Provence to discourage any further Allied advance. By doing so, LXXXVCorps, as well as IVLuftwaffe Field Corps, were able to successfully retreat from the Allied advance at the Rhône. The Allies were unsure of German intentions, and Truscott decided to try to trap the Germans with a right flank movement whilst pursuing them with his three divisions from VICorps. However, uncertainty at the Allied headquarters led to indecisiveness, and the Allies missed several opportunities to cut off the retreating LXXXVCorps.
Through the decryption of German radio communications, the Allied headquarters became aware of the German withdrawal plan. They recognized the open German flank to the east of the Rhône at Grenoble due to the retreat of the 157th Infantry Division towards the Alps. To seize this opportunity, Taskforce Butler was ordered to advance in this direction, paralleling the German evacuation effort and ultimately cutting them off further north. While doing so, it fought some scattered German resistance, and finally, after turning left, found itself near
Montélimar
Montélimar (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Montelaimar'' ; la, Acumum) is a town in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in north Provence, Southeastern France. It is the second-largest city in the department after Valence. In 2018 ...
, a small city on the east bank of the Rhône River. This town lay directly on the German escape route. Following Taskforce Butler was the 36th Infantry Division. Together, they were tasked on 20August to block the German force at Montélimar and continue the northward advance to Grenoble, while VICorps was pursuing the Germans from behind. However, after this speedy advance, the forward Allied forces suffered now from a serious lack of fuel and supplies, which made this task difficult.
On 21 August, Taskforce Butler occupied the hills north of the town of Montélimar, according to revised orders from Truscott, as he considered it too weak to block the entire German force marching north. From this position, Taskforce Butler fired on the evacuating German troops, while waiting for further reinforcements. Troops from the FFI supported the Americans, harassing German troops through the entire battle. The sudden appearance of this new threat shocked Wiese and the German command. As a first countermeasure, Wietersheim's 11thPanzer Division was called in. The first of its units to arrive, together with several ''ad hoc'' Luftwaffe battle groups, were asked to deal with this new threat. This hastily assembled force mounted an attack against Puy the same day, and the Germans were able to isolate Taskforce Butler from supplies. This success was, however, short-lived, and the Germans were soon pushed back.
The next day, the first units of the 36th Division arrived, reinforcing Taskforce Butler. However, the Allied troops were still short of supplies and lacked enough men to directly attack the German escape route. During the next few days, more Allied men and supplies trickled in. At the same time, the US 45thDivision took over positions at Grenoble, leaving the 36thDivision free to fully commit its forces at Montélimar. Taskforce Butler was officially dissolved on 23August, and
John E. Dahlquist, commander of the now fully arrived 36thInfantry Division, assumed direct control of its units. For the rest of the day, only small skirmishes occurred between German and Allied forces. Meanwhile, the Germans also struggled to bring the 11thPanzer Division through the chaos of the evacuation into position in the town. By 24August, a substantial number of the 11thPanzer Division had finally reached the battle area.
With his newly reorganised units, Dahlquist attempted a direct attack against Montélimar, which failed against the newly arrived German tank units. The subsequent German counter-attack gained some ground against the hills occupied by the Allies. Its aim was to push the Americans from the hills north of Montélimar and to force the American artillery to move back out of range. After the fighting, the Germans captured a copy of Dahlquist's operational plans, giving them a better picture of the Allied forces. As a result, Wiese planned a major attack for 25August by the 11thPanzer Division and the 198th Infantry Division, together with some ''ad hoc'' Luftwaffe battlegroups. This attack was, however, also a big failure. The Allies struck back and retook the hills north of Montélimar, and were able to establish a temporary roadblock on the German escape route. Again, this Allied success also did not last long, as another attack led by Wietersheim reopened the passage at midnight.
After the repeated German counterattacks prevented any lasting roadblock, Truscott finally allowed reinforcements from the 45thDivision to support Dahlquist at Montélimar, as he felt the successful operations further south at the French ports allowed him to refocus to the north. At the same time, the Germans also reinforced their fighting force. Over the next few days, a stalemate emerged, with the Allies unable to block the retreat route and the Germans unable to clear the area of the Allied forces. Both sides became increasingly frustrated during the fighting, with attack, counterattack, and spoiling attacks, which made launching a decisive offensive hard for the 36thDivision. Whilst the 36thDivision had surrounded the 19thArmy, they themselves were almost surrounded, too, during the chaotic fighting, with only a thin supply route to the east open, resulting in their having to fight to the front and the rear. As the 36thDivision was seemingly making no progress, an angry Truscott arrived at Dahlquist's headquarters on 26August to relieve him of command. However, on seeing the heavy terrain and shattered forces, he refrained and left the headquarters again. Finally, during 26–28August, the majority of the German forces were able to escape, leaving behind 4,000 burnt-out vehicles and 1,500 dead horses. On 29August, the Allies captured Montélimar, and the final German troops trying to break out surrendered. The Germans suffered 2,100 battle casualties plus 8,000 POWs, while the Americans had 1,575 casualties. Total POW losses of the 19thArmy now amounted to 57,000.
Final German retreat
The VI Corps, together with units from the
French IICorps at its flank, pursued and tried to cut off the German forces on their way toward the town of Dijon, while the Germans planned to prevent another Montélimar with a defensive shield by the 11thPanzer Division. The Allied 45th and 3rdDivisions, as well as the 11thPanzer Division, were racing north to fulfill their objectives. In the meantime, the Germans tried to continue with the evacuation through Lyon. Behind their flight, the Germans destroyed bridges, hoping this would slow down the Allied advance. However, the 45thDivision was able to bypass the German forces, taking the town of
Meximieux on 1September. This again posed a threat to the German evacuation. After some initial skirmishes, the 11thPanzer Division launched a heavy attack into the city, causing 215 American casualties and destroying a number of tanks and vehicles.
At the same time, the main German units retreated through Lyon. On 2September, the 36thInfantry Division arrived at Lyon to find the
Maquis fighting the
Milice
The ''Milice française'' (French Militia), generally called ''la Milice'' (literally ''the militia'') (), was a political paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy regime (with German aid) to help fight against the Fre ...
with much of the factory areas on fire. The next day, Lyon was liberated and 2,000 Germans were captured, but the rest had already continued their retreat north. Lyon celebrated for two days with the Americans. The Allies made a last-ditch attempt to cut off the Germans with an offensive towards
Bourg-en-Bresse
Bourg-en-Bresse (; frp, Bôrg) is the prefecture of the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Located northeast of Lyon, it is the capital of the ancient province of Bresse ( frp, Brêsse, links=no). In 2018, ...
by the 45thDivision and the 117thCavalry
Squadron
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
from the original Taskforce Butler. However, the 45thDivision was not able to overcome the German defenses near the town. The 117thCavalry Squadron had more success, bypassing Bourg-en-Bresse and taking
Montreval and
Marboz north of Bourg-en-Bresse, instead. By 3September, Montreval was secure, but the squadron soon found itself trapped by units from the 11thPanzer Division, which surrounded the town. As a result, the squadron was almost annihilated, and the German escape route was again open. The American units then retired to Marboz.
Over the next two weeks, more skirmishes occurred and the Allies were not able to cut off a major portion of the German forces, but the Germans were also not able to maintain any stable defense line as planned. On 10September, forward units of the VI Corps were able to establish contact with units from
Patton's Third Army. Truscott hoped to be able to push through the
Belfort Gap, but on 14September, he received orders from the
Allied High Command to halt the offensive. Army GroupG was finally able to establish a stable defense line at the
Vosges Mountains
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
, thwarting further Allied advances. This, combined with the Allied need to reorganise their command structure as the forces from northern and southern France linked up, forced the Allies to stop their pursuit of the Germans, ending the offensive here.
During their fighting retreat up the Rhône, the Germans also withdrew their remaining forces from their garrisons in southwestern France. These divisions raced north along the Atlantic coast and then swung towards the east at the
Loire
The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...
to link up with the rest of Army GroupG at
Burgundy. While they did not have to fight the Western Allies as much as the Germans had done at the Rhône, they still had to advance through French partisan-dominated terrain. About 88,000 men moved north, leaving 20,000 in southwestern France behind. During the retreat, about 19,000 men were captured by the Allies and 60,000 men reached Army GroupG's line, where they were integrated into the defense of the Vosges Mountains.
War crimes
French resistance against the Nazi German occupation and the Vichy French puppet government increased drastically in the weeks leading up to the Dragoon landings. To fight the uprising, German units committed numerous atrocities and war crimes against French fighters, as well as civilians, in retaliatory acts. On 9June, after an attack on the German garrison at
Tulle
Tulle (; ) is a commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the department of Corrèze, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Tulle is also the episcopal see of the Roman Cat ...
, the
2nd SS Panzer Division hanged about 99 civilians while moving towards northern France during the
Tulle massacre
The Tulle massacre was the roundup and summary execution of civilians in the French town of Tulle by the 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'' in June 1944, three days after the D-Day landings in World War II.
After a successful offensive ...
. The next day, that division murdered 642 civilians in
Oradour-sur-Glane
Oradour-sur-Glane (; oc, Orador de Glana) was a commune in the Haute-Vienne department, New Aquitaine, west central France, as well as the name of the main village within the commune.
History
The original village was destroyed on 10 June 194 ...
during the
Oradour-sur-Glane massacre
On 10 June 1944, four days after D-Day, the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in Haute-Vienne in Nazi-occupied France was destroyed when 643 civilians, including non-combatant women and children, were massacred by a German Waffen-SS company.
A n ...
and then proceeded to plunder and burn the town. German units also worked together with French collaborators to subdue partisans, for example against the
partisan base at the Vercors massif, but with little lasting result.
Atrocities continued during the German retreat from southern France as German soldiers plundered and burned down towns. French civilians were brought before military courts and sentenced to death because of alleged partisan activities. These atrocities did not help to subdue the French uprising. Instead, the
German reprisals had the opposite effect and encouraged the French population to engage in partisan fighting.
Aftermath
![StTropezMonument LandingOfGeneralPatch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/StTropezMonument_LandingOfGeneralPatch.jpg)
Operation Dragoon was considered a success by the Allied forces. It enabled them to liberate most of southern France in only four weeks, while inflicting heavy casualties on the German forces. However, the Allies failed to cut off the most valuable units of the retreating Army Group G, which retreated over a distance of in good order, into the Vosges Mountains on the German border, with the capability of continuing the fight. The main reason for the failure to capture or destroy Army GroupG was the Allied shortage of fuel, which began soon after the landing. The Allies had not anticipated the speed of their own advance, so could not adequately provide supplies and logistics to the leading Allied units.
A significant benefit of Operation Dragoon was the use of the port facilities in southern France, especially the large ports at Marseille and Toulon. After
Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the United States First Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy campaign of World War II. The intention was to take adv ...
and Operation Dragoon, the Allied advance slowed almost to a halt in September due to a critical lack of supplies. The ports were quickly brought back into service, together with the railroad system in southern France. Thereafter, large quantities of supplies could be moved north to ease the supply situation. In October, 524,894 tons of supplies were unloaded, which was more than one-third of the Allied cargo shipped to the Western front.
Operation Dragoon also had political implications. Two days after the landing, the Germans proceeded to dismantle the French State. Members of the ''
Sicherheitsdienst
' (, ''Security Service''), full title ' (Security Service of the '' Reichsführer-SS''), or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Established in 1931, the SD was the first Nazi intelligence organization ...
'' stormed French government institutions and moved French officials, including
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...
, to
Belfort
Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Terri ...
in Eastern France. Later, they were moved to
Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district.
Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen ...
in Germany, where they acted as a government in exile. With the collapse of the Vichy regime, troops of the
Provisional Government of the French Republic re-established control of the French political institutions.
Antony Beevor
Sir Antony James Beevor, (born 14 December 1946) is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works on the Second World War and the Spanish Civil War.
Early life
Born in Kensington, Beevor was educated at tw ...
comments, "The landings in the south of France prompted a rapid German withdrawal and thus reduced the damage and suffering done to France."
Despite these successes, criticism of Dragoon was made by some Allied generals and contemporary commentators such as
Bernard Montgomery,
Arthur R. Wilson
Major General Arthur Riehl Wilson CBE (July 18, 1894 – August 11, 1956) was a highly decorated United States Army officer who served during World War I and World War II. He wrote an account of U.S. Army operations in North Africa titled ''Repor ...
and
Chester Wilmot in the aftermath, mostly because of its geostrategic implications. Dragoon was argued to have diverted highly experienced men and much-needed materiel away from the continuing fighting at the Western front that could have been used, instead, to bolster the Italian front or to hasten the advance towards the Rhine by the Overlord forces. The resulting loss of momentum gave Stalin on the
Eastern Front a free hand to pursue his offensive efforts with more determination, allowing him to win the race towards Berlin and occupy the Balkans. Dragoon, therefore, had consequences reaching into the
Cold War.
See also
*
Battle of Port Cros
The Battle of Port Cros was a battle of World War II fought off the French Riviera in the Mediterranean Sea on the island of Port-Cros. The battle began when a United States Navy warship encountered two German warships in August 1944 while suppo ...
*
Battle of La Ciotat
*
Liberation of France
The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance.
Nazi Germany inv ...
Notes
* A significant number of Canadians also took part, both afloat and in the battles in southern France as members of the binational US-Canadian
First Special Service Force
The 1st Special Service Force was an elite American–Canadian commando unit in World War II, under the command of the United States Fifth Army. The unit was organized in 1942 and trained at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana i ...
.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
US Army Campaigns of World War II – Southern France at the
United States Army Center of Military History
The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Ar ...
*
* Short Film
The Unknown Soldier: Operation Dragoon'
* Short Film
The Unknown Soldier: The Children of the Resistance'
* Contemporary US documentar
''Allied Invasion of Southern France – Operation Dragoon, the Other D-Day''Video showing the recovery of several German soldiers killed shortly after Operation Dragoon in 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragoon
Conflicts in 1944
1944 in France
Battles of World War II involving France
Naval battles of World War II involving France
World War II invasions
Naval battles and operations of the European theatre of World War II
Western European Campaign (1944–1945)
Invasions of France
Invasions by the United States
Invasions by the United Kingdom
Battles of World War II involving Canada
Military history of Canada during World War II
Invasions by Canada
Naval battles and operations of World War II involving the United Kingdom
Amphibious operations of World War II
Amphibious operations involving the United States
August 1944 events