Tanks in Southern France 1944: Operation Dragoon to the German border (New Vanguard, 355)

Two months after D-Day, the Allies began the liberation of southern France. Fully illustrated, this study explores the Allies' unique US/Free French tank force, and the Panzers they faced.Much less known than the Normandy landings and the campaign in northern France, the second part of Operation Overlord began on August 15, 1944 with the Operation Dragoon landings in southern France. It involved a substantial Allied tank force that took part in the amphibious landings and the subsequent campaign via the Rhone valley to the German frontier in the summer and autumn of 1944.In this book, world-leading armour expert Steven Zaloga examines the unique Allied tank force that fought this campaign, and the single Panzer division that the Germans could field against them. The Allied force consisted of two main elements: US army tank battalions and tank destroyer battalions of the Seventh US Army, and French tank divisions of the 1st French Army. The US Army units were battle-hardened veterans of the campaigns in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. The French tank units were raised with US aid and training in North Africa in 1943 and saw their combat debut during Operation Dragoon. With rarely seen photos and meticulously detailed original illustrations, this book provides a fresh look at this largely-ignored subject. It also details the particularly colorful markings of the tank units involved in these campaigns. Read more