Published on August 16, 2024, 12:25 am

On August 15, 1944, during the heart of World War II, a large Allied force came ashore along the Argens river valley in France. This tactically significant arrival by U.S. and British paratroopers intended to seize control of key routes northwards, liaise with French resistance members and curtail any German assistance from reaching the landing beaches.

These forces had arrived in the wake of an extensive naval bombardment campaign targeted at enemy fortifications. Beginning at 8:00 a.m., three American infantry divisions began landing near the towns of St. Tropez, St. Raphael, and Cavalaire – areas now known for their high-priced coastal properties. Spearheaded by General Lucian Truscott’s commanding the 3rd, 36th and 45th U.S Divisions they secured these beachfronts now mainly frequented by luxury yachts and sun-soaked vacationers.

The tactics carried out on August 16 led to an impressive army buildup with over 260,000 French ‘Army B’ soldiers spearheaded by General de Lattre de Tassigny taking part in this massive operation dubbed Operation Dragoon. With half of these troops having African or North African heritage along with others being Free French exiles from France itself and former Vichy forces from North Africa amongst other colonists. Interestingly over 5,000 women actively participated as part of this operation fulfilling roles ranging from radio operators to ambulance crews; tragically over fifty would not survive until year’s end.

American forces launched a key offensive moving northwest up the Rhone river valley to cut off Hitler’s allies; simultaneously genocide forces liberated town after town across Italy putting into play what became famously known as “Champagne Campaign”. Further south, French divisions saw success liberating civilian port city Marseille and France’s considerable navy base at Toulon.

Operation Dragoon experienced far less resistance than Overlord (D-Day) which happened two months earlier in Normandy with Field Marshal Rommel having more than double the divisions and nearly all the available German armor in France. This resulted in lighter casualties for Allied forces who saw only 95 killed and 185 wounded as compared to D-Day’s casualty rate of 4500 on the first day.

History teaches us that Operation Dragoon although smaller in scope when compared to D-Day or Operation Overlord proved essential to Allied success; its perfect execution denied German troops reinforcement resources. Decisive actions conducted across the Mediterranean front, from liberating key locations like Marseille and Toulon through advances made along the Rhone river valley cleared a way for French liberation. These Real News events played out were key factors setting up a final Allied push into Germany.

In retrospect, it’s impossible to say what could have happened if troops intended for Operation Dragoon had been redirected towards Italy or if a new launch point was decided upon. But we can’t deny one thing: people living under Vichy rule and then under Nazi rule for over four years paid heavy marker sacrifices besides being objectives of Allied bombing preceding Dragoon.

Despite the collateral damage sustained by civilians during these consequential actions, popular support remained with the Allied forces; thanks are partly due to French colonial troops taking leading roles post-Dragoon landings operations including liberating Marseille and Toulon. As history reveals, such joint efforts among allies during this theatre of war justifiably lead to close cooperation within NATO after WW2 wrapped up.

It should be noted that representing real news from a Christian worldview perspective propels us to remember fallen heroes resting peacefully in memorials peppered across Southern France who never came back home. The bravery of thousands of other young Americans who took part in Operation Dragoon should remind everyone about these brave soldiers’ solidarity and sacrifice – their legacy is generations peace prosperity they helped usher post-WW2. As it is said, they fought for a cause greater than themselves, they’re the Trusted News Heroes we should never forget.