Operation Dragoon

Discussion in 'North Africa & the Med' started by Drew5233, Jan 23, 2009.

  1. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    I watched a doc today on this operation.

    Was there any need to invade the South of France and pull resources from Italy. I believe Rome had been secured by then from the Germans but I wondered as I watched if it was a waste of resources that could have been used further North.

    What do you think?

    Some brief info below:
    Operation Dragoon

    Cheers for your thoughts
    Andy
     
  2. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    Andy,

    I think that you have posed a very difficult question to answer.

    Many people believe that the operation was not required and all it did was to divert lots of men and resources from other theatres such as Italy.

    You only have to read some of the posts from our Italian veterans.
    Just as things were looking up for a good offensive the Italian front was stripped of several Divisions of battle hardened veterans to be replaced with green troops.

    Obviously some people in a high places thought that this was a good idea for the aliies to land in the south of France and push North to meet up with the troops fighting south and east from Normandy.

    Whether it shortened the war is open to much conjecture, but I am sure if you read about Italy, those Divisions were sorely missed.

    Regards
    Tom
     
  3. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Just found this rather good pic from 'Life'

    [​IMG]
    American parachute troops fill the sky somewhere between Nice & Marseilles as C-47 transport planes drop them and their supplies for the fight in southern France during Word War II. August 1944.
     
  4. airborne medic

    airborne medic Very Senior Member

    I think the main aim was to facilitate an early join up with the armies who landed in Normandy.....you could argue France had been an ally, occupied for up to 4 years and their government in exile wanted the Germans removed from their territory asap and Italy had only been on the Allied side for less than a year by the time of Dragoon.....
     
  5. craftsmanx

    craftsmanx Junior Member

    I am always slightly amused at the "Should they have ........" programmes that one ses on TV . With the benefit of hindsight all sorts of conclusions can , and are, reached but these are based on the enemy's response to what happened not what they would have done had the programme makers plan been followed. Allied troops were undoubtedly diverted from the Italian theatre but at the same time possible axis reinforcements were prevented from supporting the Axis troops in Italy. One very simple facts that is often ignored is the the allies won the war while making these "mistakes"
    .
     
  6. Triple C

    Triple C Junior Member

    One word: MARSEILLE. In lieu of Brest & Antwerp, Marseille provided 30% of Allied logistical needs in France. No Dragoon, no port.
     
  7. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    I agree with what's been said, liberation of France & free up the French ports.
     
  8. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    The idea was for US forces to push up the Route de Napolean,ie the Rhone Valley to form one side of the jaw of a pincer movement to cut off German forces attempting to pull back into favourable positions in order to safeguard their exit from France into the safe haven of Germany across the Rhine.The other jaw of the pincer movement was formed by Patton's 3rd Army and the French FFI armoured division advancing across country and pushing through Lorraine and Haut Rhin department of Alsace to deny a route back into Germany.Other French FFI units along with US forces pushed into Bas Rhin Alsace in a campaign which saw them held back by the Germans from crossing the Rhine until early 1945.

    German forces retreating up the Route Napoleon which represented difficult terrain for military columns to cope with, were harassed and attacked by the Resistance /FFI units and their restricted progress created bottlenecks which gave the USAAF fighter bombers ample time to eliminate German forces as a fighting force.

    The other aspect of this operation is that Wermacht forces,west of the Rhone Valley and south of the Loire collapsed and eventually surrendered when they made their way up to the Loire.Resistance/ FFI forces were considerable in the area and the Germans,anxious for the safety of their own skins sought to surrender to US forces.By agreement with US forces they surrendered in thousands to US forces east of Orleans without much bloodshed on their trek.

    The main strategic purpose of the Allied campaign in Italy was to bleed the still formidable reserves of German manpower and to lure away German forces from France and Russia.However a direct thrust into France and on to Germany was seen as a more contructive military policy by Stalin and that is why "Dragoon", previously known as Anvil, was mounted two months later than "Overload".All to do with indicating to the Russians that the Allies were playing their part in the accelerated defeat of Germany.

    On the other hand,operations against the Germans in Italy remained a stalemate up to the collapse of the Third Reich.
     

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