The Surrender of Elsters column

With the landing of the Allied forces in Provence (Operation Dragoon), German occupation troops have been issued a general retreat order; As early as August 17, 1944, garrisons in the South-West of France evacuate en masse; their occupants, a long …

1944-08-20

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With the landing of the Allied forces in Provence (Operation Dragoon), German occupation troops have been issued a general retreat order; As early as August 17, 1944, garrisons in the South-West of France evacuate en masse; their occupants, a long way from home, now begin their long haul back North. While motorized units are able to breakthrough and escape quickly, the same cannot be said for those on foot. Marschgruppe Süd, under the command General Elster, is the last one to depart; its soldiers find themselves constantly harassed by French Resistance fighters and the relentless strafing and bombardments of Allied warplanes that dominate the air. The Germans put up a good fight for survival but finally find themselves blocked against the Loire River, unable to cross the entrenched bridge in Resistance hands at Decize. Left with no attractive option, Gal Elster surrenders on September 16, at Beaugency, along with 20,000 of his men.

Decize, 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

French

Game Type: Breakthrough

Board Type: Countryside

Website Access: Classified