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7th Army Plans of Attack
In it's on-again/off-again history, Dragoon had the benefit of many months of careful study and revisions before Allied Command finally approved the operation. Winston Churchill was famously against the plan, preferring instead to grind away in the "soft underbelly" of Nazi-held Italy through the high mountains and into Germany, a plan that seems both logistically and tactically questionable in retrospect given the difficulties presented by the rugged terrain in the campaign thus far. Churchill was relentless in his objections to the planned invasion of the Cote d'Azur, but Eisenhower was unmoved by his pleas. After weeks of revisions and fine-tuning to the invasion plan, the original "Operation Anvil" moniker was dropped for security concerns and renamed to "Dragoon". Apocryphally, Winston Churchill was given the concession of renaming the plan and his choice reflected the fact that he felt "dragooned" into going along with it. Allied troops were then pulled from their respective theaters (mostly from Italy) and reassigned to join the Seventh Army group, and commanders then dictated that VI Corps was to bear the brunt of the amphibious invasion. French and Canadian special operations forces would also have very important parts to play, as would the French Resistance, whose intelligence reporting and network of guerrilla fighters were essential to the success of the operation.
Preliminary Air Campaign
In the weeks preceding the landings, a bombing campaign would saturate the entire Mediterranean coast to reduce defenses. Critical railway lines and bridges would be considered prime targets, and industrial infrastructure complexes in the area offered choice targets of opportunity. This bombing would be wide-ranging in scope and area, as the Allied Planners didn't want to saturate the invasion areas in a concentrated manner during the early stages of the bombing: Doing so would potentially give away the principal invasion targets. This bombing was stepped up on August 10th, as Operation Yokum narrowed it's focus to hit key targets in the invasion areas themselves. Cleverly concealed blockhouses, fortified radar installations, and artillery guns were brought down in the vicinity of Marseilles, and in nearby Genoa, and targets in the vicinity of the Rhone were continuously pounded with air strikes. A total of 7,353 tons of ordinance was dropped on targets in the Dragoon area between the 10th and 15th of August, thoroughly destroying most of Saint Raphael's business and tourist districts.
Paratrooper Invasion
Only a few hours prior to the landings, an airborne task force comprised of the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team, 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, and the British 2nd Parachute Brigade were to drop well inland, kicking off Operation Rugby. This paradrop was to compliment the beach invasion by positioning troops in the steep hills near Le Muy, situated deep in the Argens River Valley. Once the town of Le Muy was seized, the Allies would hold a crucial network of roads that would allow the advance of troops deep into France with relative impunity. Paradrops of plastic "dummy" troops (some of these dummies being booby-trapped) would dilute an effective German reaction to the landings by diverting troops to deal with these “ghost” threats. The paratroopers would also be tasked with disruption of any German attempts to reinforce the beaches once the landings took place by ambushing convoys, booby-trapping roads, and destroying bridges. In concert, the Maquis guerrilla group (part of the French Forces of the Interior) would target railway lines, bridges and wire communications to further enhance the confusion and hinder German mobilization.
Amphibious Invasion Troops
Three American Divisions of Infantry would then secure key ports on the coast of Southern France, and then link up once the initial objectives were secured:
Kodak Force was the code-name given to the naval fleet and the three US Army Divisions (the 36th, the 3rd, and the 45th) and the French Armored Group (Armee B).
Romeo Force and Rosie Force were tasked with missions of diversion and misdirection: On the flanks of the "real" invasion beaches, Naval Task Group 80.4 and French Commando units would cleverly simulate an invasion landing in their respective zones, in hopes of further confusing, and somewhat diluting the defending army as they rushed to address threats on a much wider front than really existed.
Garbo Force, the four French Divisions in Armee B, were to flood the beaches and drive west once the American Divisions had secured the landing sites. The French Army would then assist Alpha Force in taking the crucial ports at Toulon and Marsellie.
Camel Beach Invasion Plan
The plan to assault the Camel Beaches involved a naval barrage that would rake up and down the coast and well inland in an attempt to destroy defensive emplacements to complement the sustained aerial bombardments. A heavy naval rocket barrage aimed at the landing sites themselves to further reduce German defenses would follow. At 08:00 on August 15th 1944 the 141st Infantry Regiment would then land and secure Camel Green, and Blue Beaches under cover of a naval smokescreen, then move to capture Agay and protect the right flank of the Division attack. The 143rd Infantry Regiment would follow the 141st landing at Green beach, driving West to assault the cities of Saint Raphael, and Frejus to secure Camel Red Beach. The 142nd Infantry Division was scheduled to land on Camel Red, the main "tourist beach" in the area later in the afternoon after the heavy defenses had been neutralized, and paths cleared through the thickets of underwater mines. Camel Red was expected to be very heavily defended against a sea-borne invasion, and the area was thoroughly infested with infantry, machinegun nests, underwater obstacles, mines, pillboxes, and artillery and flak batteries. In addition, aerial recon showed the presence of at least six Mark IV tanks and assorted self-propelled guns prowling about Frejus. Not to mention that virtually everything in the cities was ingeniously booby-trapped or mined.
Adding to the challenges facing the invaders, the 19th German Army had about equal strength in troop numbers as the 7th Army invasion force: Standard military doctrine suggests that attacking forces number at least three times that of the defending forces, presenting an obvious tactical disadvantage in raw numbers. The Allied Forces had excellent intelligence, the element of surprise, and they also had the French Maquis Resistance fighters on their side: The difference that these guerrillas would make in the attack simply cannot be overstated, as their knowledge of the area and troop dispositions coupled with their daring combat record would enable a surgical precision to the attack.
It was the job of the 143rd to clear out these defenses to prevent a disaster for the 142nd when they attempted to make their landings. As this resort beach lay at the mouth of the Argens River Valley, it was a very important piece of real estate for the Dragoon operation, as this valley cut through the hills north of both cities and offered an easy pathway for the allied drive inland.
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143rd Infantry Regiment Plan of Attack
The 143rd Infantry Command had no illusions about the resistance that they expected to face in their zone of action. Julius Caesar had landed in the very same site back in 50 B.C during his conquest of the territory, and had faced stiff opposition from tactically superior high ground overlooking the main landing beaches and port areas. They knew it would be well defended. Landing on Green Beach approximately one hour after the 141st, the 143rd Infantry Regiment was to employ it's 1st battalion to force it's way North-North West to take out German artillery and infantry positions, and to take high ground that offered a commanding view of the invasion objectives. The 2nd battalion would drive its way West closest to the shore, sweeping along the network of defensive emplacements to assault nearby Boulouris Sur-Mer, and then pummel Saint Raphael's Red Beach from the East. The 3rd Battalion in reserve would follow up on the 1st Battalion attack and take ownership of their outposts, allowing the 1st Battalion to then maneuver into position to attack Saint Raphael from the North West.
The 2nd battalion would deploy its Rifle Companies with Easy Company being sent West along seacoast Highway 98 (designated "D559" on maps today), taking out known defensive strong points and securing the road for the tanks that would follow. Slightly to their North, George and Fox Companies would force their way to the edge of Bouloris Sur-Mer and secure an initial high ground objective to serve as a 2nd Battalion Command Post. After securing this objective they would then fight their way through Bouloris towards the easternmost edge of Saint Raphael's main port, while overlapping Easy Company's zone of action. It was imperative that the 2nd battalion secure a handful of key bridges that would allow tanks and tank destroyers access to the interior of Saint Raphael across the sunken railway paralleling the main highway, otherwise the soldiers would not have proper armored support for the principal raid on Camel Red beach.
Enemy defenses were known to be exceptionally thick in this zone of action, especially around the coastal roads. The area that the 2nd Battalion was responsible for was well prepared with anti-tank roadblocks, poured concrete pillboxes and hidden strong points manned by infantry, machinegun crews, and mortar teams. It wasn't expected to be an easy fight, but this wasn't the first rodeo for the 36th Infantry. They had been mercilessly bloodied in the invasion of Italy at Salerno, and they weren’t going to make the same mistakes twice. They had also tasted bitter defeat in the ill-advised attempt to cross at the Rapido River, and seen first-hand at Anzio what would happen if they lost initiative and momentum. The 36th Infantry Division had learned some very hard lessons, and they fully intended to use that expertise to knock the defending Wehrmacht Army out of Southern France before they knew what hit them.
Dan Henry and Operation Dragoon
1 - Italy 2 - Operation Dragoon 3 - Invasion Plans 4 - German Defenses 5 - Cote D'Azur D-Day 6 - Aftermath 7 - Sources
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