Blue Beach

After pursuing the retreating Germans as far up the Italian peninsula as Piombino, the 36th were withdrawn to prepare for a special mission. They were to lead the amphibious invasion of Southern France codenamed ’Operation Dragoon’, under their new commander …

1944-08-15

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After pursuing the retreating Germans as far up the Italian peninsula as Piombino, the 36th were withdrawn to prepare for a special mission. They were to lead the amphibious invasion of Southern France codenamed ’Operation Dragoon’, under their new commander General John E Dahlquist. The plan called for the 141 st to assault Green Beach, near Cape Drammont, with the 2nd and 3rd battalions, while the 1st battalion went ashore at Blue Beach, a small cove that could only take two landing craft at a time. The 143rd would follow behind at Green Beach and drive westwards to assist a later landing by the 142nd at Red Beach near St Raphael. Despite the heavy air and naval bombardment surprise was achieved at Green Beach and the Germans started to respond too late. Stiffer Resistance was encountered at Blue Beach where anti-tank guns opened fire on the landing craft, and the 1st battalion won a Presidential Citation for its alacrity in clearing the rocky heights beyond the beach.

St Raphael, France

Operation Dragoon was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence on 15 August 1944. The operation was initially planned to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, the Allied landing in Normandy, but the lack of available resources led to a cancellation of the second landing. By July 1944 the landing was reconsidered, as the clogged-up ports in Normandy did not have the capacity to adequately supply the Allied forces. Concurrently, the French High Command pushed for a revival of the operation that would include large numbers of French troops. As a result, the operation was finally approved in July to be executed in August.

Wikipedia: Operation Dragoon

German

American