Operation Dragoon 1944 France’s other D-Day

by Zaloga, Steven J.; White, John

• ISBN13: 9781846033674
• ISBN10: 1846033675
• Edition: Original
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-06-23
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

OperationDragoon, the Allied landings in southern France on August 15, 1944, was one of the most controversial operations of 1944, leading to deep divides between United States and British planners. The US objective was to threaten the rear of the German armies occupying France by a landing on the eastern French coast and to push rapidly northward towards Lorraine to meet up with Allied forces bursting out of Normandy. Dragoonwas a complex operation very similar to the Normandy landings, complete with a US and British airborne assault followed by a naval assault landing. The landings led to a precipitous German retreat from France, authorized by Hitler himself. In September 1944, the US Seventh Army and French First Army reached Lorraine, sealing off any remaining German troops and completing the liberation of the majority of French territory. Popular Osprey author Steve Zaloga tells the story of this operation, from the derisive debates between the Allied commanders to the men who hit the beaches and charged ashore to help liberate occupied France.

Author Biography

Steven J. Zaloga received his BA in history from Union College and his MA from Columbia University. He has worked as an analyst in the aerospace industry for over two decades, covering missile systems and the international arms trade, and has served with the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federal think-tank. He is the author of numerous books on military technology and military history, with an accent on the US Army in World War II as well as Russia and the former Soviet Union.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 5
The strategic situation
Chronology	p. 9
Opposing Commanders	p. 11
German commanders
Allied commanders
Opposing Forces	p. 16
Wehrmacht
The Allies
Opposing Plans	p. 32
German plans
Allied plans
The Campaign	p. 36
Opening moves
Special Forces missions
Storming Alpha
In the center: Delta Beach Disaster averted: Camel Beach
The German reaction
Plans reassessed
Liberation of the ports The liberation of Toulon
The liberation of Marseille
The Montélimar battle square The race to Dijon
Aftermath	p. 89
The Battlefields Today	p. 92
Further Reading	p. 93
Index	p. 95
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