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Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France, on 15 August 1944, as part of World War II. In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Events 778 - The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The invasion took place between Toulon and Cannes. Toulon ( Provençal Occitan: Tolon in classical norm or Touloun in Mistralian norm is a city in southern France and a large Cannes (kan in Occitan Canas) is a city in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
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Planning
During the planning stages, the operation was known as Anvil, to complement Operation Hammer, which was at that time the codename for the invasion of Normandy. Normandy (Normandie Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. Subsequently both plans were renamed, the latter becoming Operation Overlord, the former becoming Operation Dragoon; a name many thought was picked by Winston Churchill, who was opposed to the plan, and claimed to having been "dragooned" into accepting it. Operation Overlord was the code name for the invasion of northwest Europe during World War II by Allied forces Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 (This legend about Churchill later turned out to be false. )[2]
Churchill argued that Operation Dragoon diverted resources that would have been put to better use in an invasion of the oil producing regions of the Balkans and then possibly to other Eastern European countries. In addition to further limiting Germany's access to much needed oil, it would also have better positioned the West for the peace following World War II by liberating these areas from the German occupation and forestalling the Red Army. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya
The plan originally envisaged a mixture of Free French and American troops taking Toulon and later Marseille, with subsequent revisions encompassing Saint Tropez. The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres FFL) were French fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces Toulon ( Provençal Occitan: Tolon in classical norm or Touloun in Mistralian norm is a city in southern France and a large Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ San Tropez redirects here For other uses see Saint-Tropez (disambiguation Saint-Tropez ( Sant Tropetz in Occitan language The plan was revised throughout 1944, however, with conflict developing between British military staff — who were opposed to the landings, arguing that the troops and equipment should be either retained in Italy or sent there — and American military staff, who were in favour of the assault. This was part of a larger Anglo-American strategic disagreement.
The balance was tipped in favour of Dragoon by two events: the eventual fall of Rome in early June, plus the success of Operation Cobra, the breakout from the Normandy pocket, at the end of the month. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Operation Cobra was the codename for the World War II operation planned by United States Army General Omar Bradley to break out from the Operation Dragoon's D-day was set for 15 August 1944. D-Day may also refer to Decimal Day in the United Kingdom. D-Day is a term often used in Military parlance to denote Events 778 - The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The final go-ahead was given at short notice.
The U.S. 6th Army Group, also known as the Southern Group of Armies and as Dragoon Force, commanded by Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers was created in Corsica and activated on August 1, 1944 to consolidate the combined French and American forces that were planning to invade southern France in Operation Dragoon. The Sixth United States Army Group was an Army Group of the Allies during World War II, and as contained armies from both the United States Army General Jacob "Jake" Loucks Devers ( September 8, 1887 - October 15, 1979) who is best remembered for his command of the Corsica (Corse Corsican and Italian: Corsica) is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. At first it was subordinate to AFHQ (Allied Forces Headquarters) under the command of General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson who was the supreme commander of the Mediterranean Theater. Allied Forces Headquarters was the headquarters that controlled all Allied operational forces in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II from late Field Marshal Henry Maitland Wilson 1st Baron Wilson, GCB, GBE, DSO ( 5 September 1881 &ndash 31 December The African Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre of World War II encompasses naval land and air campaigns between Allied and Axis forces One month after the invasion, command was handed over to SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces) under U. Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (abbreviated as SHAEF, pronounced "shāf" was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme commander of Allied forces on the Western Front. Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Task Force 88 was also activated in August to support the landing. Task Force 88 (TF88 was the escort carrier force commanded by Rear-Admiral T H Troubridge that supported Operation Dragoon, the allied invasion of southern France
The landings
The assault troops were formed of three American divisions of the VI Corps, reinforced with the French 5th Armoured Division, all under the command of Lieutenant General Lucian K. Truscott, Jr.. The 3rd Infantry Division &mdashnicknamed the Rock of the Marne &mdash is a United States Army infantry division based at Fort Stewart, The VI Corps took part in some of the most high profile operations in World War II. Lucian King Truscott Jr ( January 9, 1895 &ndash September 12, 1965) was a US Army General, who successively commanded The 3rd Infantry Division landed on the left at Alpha Beach (Cavalaire-sur-Mer), the 45th Infantry Division landed in the center at Delta Beach (Saint-Tropez), and the 36th Infantry Division landed on the right at Camel Beach (Saint-Raphaël). The 3rd Infantry Division &mdashnicknamed the Rock of the Marne &mdash is a United States Army infantry division based at Fort Stewart, Cavalaire-sur-Mer is a commune in the Var département, in southeastern France, part of the French Riviera. The 45th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War II and the Korean War. San Tropez redirects here For other uses see Saint-Tropez (disambiguation Saint-Tropez ( Sant Tropetz in Occitan language The 36th Infantry Division —also known as the Fighting 36th, the Panther Division, or the Texas Division —is a modular division of the Saint-Raphaël is a commune of the Var département and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France The 93rd Evac landed at Sainte-Maxime at H-6. The 93rd Evacuation Hospital was a make-over of the 61st Surgical Hospital and operated through World War II, Vietnam and the Gulf War Sainte-Maxime is a commune of the Var département located on the French Riviera in the south of France, 90 km from At Cap Nègre, on the western flank of the main invasion, a large group of French commandos landed to destroy German artillery emplacements (Operation Romeo). Operation Romeo was a French Commando operation to disable German artillery atop the cliffs of Cap Nègre. These were supported by other French commando groups landing on both flanks, and by Rugby Force, a parachute assault in the LeMuy-Le Luc area by the 1st Airborne Task Force: British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade, the U. The 1st Airborne Task Force was an ad-hoc United States Army airborne force activated for Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France during World War World War II History Brigade HQ formed 17th July 1942 in the UK. S. 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team, and a composite U. The 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (517th PRCT one of the U S. parachute/glider regimental combat team formed from the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, the glider-deployed 550th Airborne Infantry Battalion, and the 1st Battalion, 551st Parachute Infantry Regiment(Operation Dove). During World War II, the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion ( 509th PIB) was the first combat Paratrooper unit of the United States Army. The 550th Airborne Infantry Battalion was an independent formation of the United States Army formed on 1 July 1941 at Fort Kobbe Panama In World War II, Operation Dove ( Allies, 1944) was the Glider -borne assault conducted as part of the invasion of southern France ( The 1st Special Service Force took two offshore islands to protect the beachhead (Operation Sitka). Properly designated as the 1st Special Service Force, The Devil's Brigade was a joint World War II American - Canadian Operation Span, a deception plan, was carried out to shield the main invasion. During World War II, Operation Span was a Deception operation in support of the 1944 invasion of southern France ( Operation Dragoon Included in the invasion was the glider-carried 887th Airborne Engineer Aviation Company, which holds the distinction of being the only Airborne Engineer Aviation unit in the European Theater to carry out the mission for which it was trained – conducting a combat glider landing with engineer equipment.
Naval gunfire from Allied ships, including the French battleship Lorraine, British battleship HMS Ramillies, and the American capital ships USS Texas, Nevada and Arkansas and a fleet of over 50 cruisers and destroyers supported the landings. Construction The Lorraine was built by Ateliers & Chantiers de la Loire at St Construction and launch Ramillies was built by William Beardmore and Company at Dailmuir in Scotland. Construction Texas was the second of two s authorized on 24 June 1910 Design The Nevada class marked "another graduated step in the rapidly evolving American battleship" First overseas cruise Following this assignment Arkansas joined the Atlantic Fleet for maneuvers along the east coast Seven Allied escort carriers provided air cover. The escort aircraft carrier or escort carrier (popularly known as the jeep carrier) was a small Aircraft carrier utilized by the Royal Navy
Over ninety-four thousand troops and eleven thousand vehicles were landed on the first day. A number of German troops had been diverted to fight the Allied forces in Northern France after Operation Overlord and a major attack by French resistance fighters, coordinated by Captain Aaron Bank of the OSS, helped drive the remaining German forces back from the beachhead in advance of the landing. Operation Overlord was the code name for the invasion of northwest Europe during World War II by Allied forces The French Resistance is the collective name used for the French Resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German Colonel Aaron Bank ( November 23, 1902 &ndash April 1, 2004) was the founder of the US Army Special Forces, commonly called The Office of Strategic Services ( OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. As a result, the Allied forces met little resistance as they moved inland. The quick success of this invasion, with a twenty-mile penetration in twenty-four hours, sparked a major uprising by resistance fighters in Paris. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city
Follow-up formations included U.S. VI Corps HQ, U.S. Seventh Army HQ, French Army B (later redesignated the French First Army) and French I and II Corps, as well as the 51st Evacuation Hospital.
After the landings
The rapid retreat of the German Nineteenth Army resulted in swift gains for the Allied forces. The 19th Army (German 19 Armee) was a World War II Field army. The plans had envisaged greater resistance near the landing areas and under-estimated transport needs. The consequent need for vehicle fuel outstripped supply and this shortage proved to be a greater impediment to the advance than German resistance. As a result, several German formations escaped into the Vosges and Germany.
The Dragoon force met up with southern thrusts from Overlord in mid-September, near Dijon. Dijon ( diʒɔ̃ is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or departement and of the Bourgogne region
A planned benefit of Dragoon was the usefulness of the port of Marseilles. Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ The rapid Allied advance after Operation Cobra and Dragoon slowed almost to a halt in September 1944 due to a critical lack of supplies, as thousands of tons of supplies were shunted to NW France to compensate for the inadequacies of port facilities and land transport in northern Europe. Operation Cobra was the codename for the World War II operation planned by United States Army General Omar Bradley to break out from the Marseilles and the southern French railways were brought back into service despite heavy damage to the Port of Marseilles and its railroad trunk lines. They became a significant supply route for the Allied advance into Germany, providing about a third of the Allied needs.
Notes
- ^ A significant number of Canadians also took part, both afloat and in the battles in southern France as members of the bi-national US-Canadian First Special Service Force (a. Properly designated as the 1st Special Service Force, The Devil's Brigade was a joint World War II American - Canadian k. a. The Devil's Brigade).
- ^ E. M. Flanagan Jr. , Airborne, Ballantine Books, 2003 ISBN 0891416889 ISBN 9780891416883 OCLC: 49327051
External links
- US Army Campaigns of World War II - Southern France
- A detailed history of the campaign
- US historical article of the campaign