Striking the South: From D-Day in Provence to Germany's defeat (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798262703746)

The D-Day that history forgot.

Two months after the beaches of Normandy, a second Allied armada struck the coast of France. On 15 August 1944, American and French forces stormed ashore on the Riviera in Operation Dragoon - an invasion every bit as daring as Overlord, yet almost unknown today.

Striking the South tells the full story: from the bitter strategic arguments between Churchill and Eisenhower, through the night drop at Le Muy and the beach assaults at Saint-Raphaël, to the liberation of Toulon and Marseille, the savage battle of Montélimar, and the triumphant entry into Strasbourg. It follows the campaign north through the Rhône valley, across the frozen Vosges, over the Rhine at Remagen, and into the ruins of the Third Reich.

This is history told through human voices. Paratroopers scattered in fog. Moroccan goumiers climbing cliffs at dusk. Resistance fighters cutting demolition wires with household scissors. Dockworkers saving the port of Marseille under fire. Colonial soldiers fighting for a country that was not their birthplace but had claimed their loyalty. A chaplain and a grieving soldier finding grace amid the wire.

Written by the author of Storming the Shores and drawing on unit records, war diaries, letters and memoirs, Striking the South restores Operation Dragoon to its rightful place in the story of 1944. It is a companion volume to Storming the Shores but stands entirely on its own.

Inside you will find:

• The full campaign from the Mediterranean beaches to the heart of Germany
• The strategic debate that nearly killed the operation before it began
• The crucial role of French colonial troops from North Africa
• The Resistance uprising that saved the port of Marseille
• The battle of Montélimar - the bloodiest engagement of the campaign
• The liberation of Strasbourg and the winter crisis that nearly lost it
• The Rhine crossings and the march into Germany
• A detailed timeline of key events
• Suggested further reading for those who want to go deeper

For readers of Rick Atkinson, Antony Beevor, and Alex Kershaw. For anyone who has walked the beaches of Normandy and wondered what happened next. For those who believe the forgotten battles deserve to be remembered.

"The second D-Day matters because victory was not won in one great stroke, but in many."