While they did not have to fight the Western Allies as much as the Germans had done at the Rhne, they still had to advance through French partisan-dominated terrain. Barjols and Brignoles 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. The American units then retired to Marboz. Eisenhower, for his part, claimed that There was no development of that period which added more decisively to our advantagesthan did this secondary attack coming up the Rhone Valley. Due to the new Cold War era, Churchills interpretation of events involving Operation Dragoon won out, and as a result generations of historians have designated the operation as a sideshow. However, uncertainty at the Allied headquarters led to indecisiveness, and the Allies missed several opportunities to cut off the retreating LXXXVCorps. The first of 1,300 Allied bombers from Italy, Sardinia, and Corsica began aerial bombardment shortly before 06:00. Main article: Operation Dragoon order of battle The Western Naval Task Force was formed under the command of Vice Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt to carry the U.S. 6th Army Group, also known as the Southern Group and as Dragoon Force, and created to carry out the Operation under the command of Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers. History Page, Engagements and campaigns page, Units Page, Main, Site Map Listed Order of Battle are: Late 1939 , June 1940, November 1940 , May-June 1941, (Battleaxe), November 1941 (Crusader), April 1942 (Gazala), October 1942 (El Alamein) , February 1943 (Tunisia), September 1943 (Italy), June 1944 (Normandy) and January 1945 (Germany). Over the ensuing days, a series of running battles occurred as both sides moved north. 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. This was put on hold following the July 20 Plot against Hitler. The second would be an "anvil" on which the Overlord "hammer" would resound, in the south of France, trapping the German war machine between the two massive invasions. 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. [49][50], In the northeast, the German problems loomed as large. World War, 1939-1945. Numbering four regiments, this force attacked from Les Arcs towards Le Muy on the morning of August 16. Britain and France declared war in response but could do little to help the Poles. Operation Anvil first appeared on the Allied docket after the Allied conference at Tehran in December 1943. This again posed a threat to the German evacuation. By 3September, Montreval was secure, but the squadron soon found itself trapped by units from the 11thPanzer Division, which surrounded the town. Concurrently, the High Command of the French Liberation Army pushed for a revival of the operation that would include large numbers of French troops. [23][31] The German defense was aided by extensive coastal artillery placements which had been constructed in the years before the landing. 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. Operation Dragoon order of battle. Devers and the Dragoon planning staff prepared well. Invasion of the South of France: Operation "Dragoon," 15th August, 1944 (B.R. The French Expeditionary Corps and the US VI Corps began to be withdrawn from the front lines in Italy to prepare for the invasion of Southern France. Short on troops, Blaskowitz's command found itself stretched thin with each division along the coast responsible for 56 miles of shoreline. Unlike Toulon, the German commander at Marseille did not evacuate the civilian population, which became increasingly hostile. However, the 45thDivision was not able to overcome the German defenses near the town. Churchill worked to cancel the operation. [33][34], The preceding bombing missions, together with resistance sabotage acts, hit the Germans heavily, interrupting railroads, damaging bridges, and disrupting the communication network. [18], 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. To further aid the troops coming ashore, plans called for a large airborne force to land inland to secure the high ground behind the beaches. Each thread of the story about Anvil/Dragoon unravels the neat, straightforward narrative that the Allies advanced harmoniously straight from the beaches of Normandy into the heart of Germany in nine months. This attack was, however, also a big failure. The British landings, codenamed Operation Rugby consisted of 2nd Parachute Brigade. They were aided by Allied special forces from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), who would supply the Allies with vital intelligence. [55], Through the decryption of German radio communications, the Allied headquarters became aware of the German withdrawal plan. From this position, Taskforce Butler fired on the evacuating German troops, while waiting for further reinforcements. Digne was liberated on 18August. In anticipation of Anvil/Dragoon, amphibious training of units potentially slated as landing forces had been conducted near Salerno, Italy, since February. [46][47] On the night of 17 August one boat attempted to sortie; she ran aground leaving harbour and was scuttled by her crew. (2023, April 5). [50][56][57], On 21 August, Taskforce Butler occupied the hills north of the town of Montlimar, according to revised orders from Truscott, as he considered it too weak to block the entire German force marching north. Seeing it as a waste of resources, he favored renewing the offensive in Italy or landing in the Balkans. To delay the Allies, he pulled together a mobile battle group. It is an operation that almost did not happen. The FFI would tie down German troops by sabotaging bridges and communication lines, seizing important traffic hubs and directly attacking isolated German forces. Introduction On August 15, 1944, Allied forces in the European Theater during World War II invaded southern France, following the June 6 Invasion of Normandy, France, commonly referred to as "D-Day." That invasion, Operation Anvil, later renamed "Dragoon," occurred at the Gulf of Leon east of Marseilles. Anvil was linked both to successful execution of Overlord and to Allied progress in Italythe attainment of the PisaRimini line. On 15 August 1944, Allied forces carried out Operation Dragoon, a set of simultaneous amphibious landings by three US infantry divisions followed by four Free French divisions along the Mediterranean coast of France. On 21August, the French pressed into Toulon, and heavy fighting ensued. Then on 4 August, Churchill proposed that Dragoon (less than two weeks away) should be switched to the coast of Brittany. French civilians were brought before military courts and sentenced to death because of alleged partisan activities. Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. [48], The Germans started the withdrawal, while the motorized Allied forces broke out from their beachheads and pursued the German units from behind. Lacking the manpower to reinforce Army Group G, the German high command openly discussed ordering it to pull back to a new line near Dijon. The Cavalaire-Agay area, extending southwest from Antibes to Cap Benat along the French Cte dAzur, was chosen for the landings. [67][68], During their fighting retreat up the Rhne, the Germans also withdrew their remaining forces from their garrisons in southwestern France. A U.S. Navy F6F Hellcat fighter is waved off during a landing attempt on USS Tulagi (CVE-72) after a closeair support mission over southern Franceduring Operation Dragoon, D-day, 15 August 1944 (80-G-K-15370). The French Resistance played a major role in the fighting. They failed to encircle the retreating Germans, but the ensuing battle left the 19th Army badly damaged and in full flight towards the Franco-German border. The OB for the Invasion of Southern France at a couple of sites. "[77], Despite these successes, criticism of Dragoon was made by some Allied generals and contemporary commentators such as Bernard Montgomery, Arthur R. Wilson and Chester Wilmot in the aftermath, mostly because of its geostrategic implications. [5], In the Alpha and Delta areas, Allied air assault and naval bombardment had either destroyed the German gun emplacements or driven their crews to abandon them. At the same time, the US 45thDivision took over positions at Grenoble, leaving the 36thDivision free to fully commit its forces at Montlimar. 504-528-1944, Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, Two Moments of Remorse for Nazi Crimes: Willy Brandt, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and the Memory of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Operation FLAX, April 1943: Severing the German, General William H. Simpsons Ninth US Army and the Crossing of the Rhine, Black Volunteer Infantry Platoons in World War II, Kasserine Pass: German Offensive, American Victory. [38][40][41], The German Navy's response was minimal. Following Taskforce Butler was the 36th Infantry Division. "If Tinian in the Pacific was the 'perfect amphibious operation' on a small scale, Dragoon was the nearly faultless one on a large scale.". Posts: 0 Threads: 0 Joined: Mar 2007 #1. [21], 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. (Torch, the 1942 invasion of French North Africa, with Dragoon were the only two operations in the European and Mediterranean theaters that included the employment of U.S. Navy carrier forces.) The commanding officers on August 15, 1944 are mentioned below their unit. Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. The US 45th and 3rd Divisions were pressing to the north-west with uncontested speed, undermining Wiese's plan for a new defense line. Numerous units were also replaced by Ostlegionen and Ostbataillone. The Americans then attempted to seize the town that evening but were repelled. [13] Churchill reasoned that by attacking the Balkans, the Allies could deny Germany petroleum, forestall the advance of the Red Army, and achieve a superior negotiating position in postwar Europe, all at a stroke. Stalin backed Roosevelt, much to Churchills chagrin. Learning from experiences in Normandy, planners selected landing areas that were devoid of enemy-controlled high ground. The main reason for the failure to capture or destroy Army GroupG was the Allied shortage of fuel, which began soon after the landing. Fighting continued through 16August. Order of Battle for Operation Veritable. Many historians have written about the famous Buffalo Soldiers of the all-Black 92nd Infantry Division, who fought with distinction during World War II. French Army B, soon renamed the First Free French Army, under the command of General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny landed shortly after the American divisions. 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. [43][44] On 17 August, off La Ciotat, a force of two German warships encountered a force of PT boats and gunboats staging a diversionary attack. The other two U-boats took no action, and were scuttled to avoid capture before the fall of Toulon. However, fewer accounts exist of Operation Flashpoint, Ninth US Armys assault crossing of the Rhine, which began on March 24.
Lisa Harris Allen Ex Husband,
Jazz Chisholm Parents,
Zinc Metal And Acetic Acid Net Ionic Equation,
Articles O
