Retreat through the Rhone Valley: Defensive battles of the Nineteenth Army, August–September 1944

“Staiger’s classic work, with the assistance of two capable scholars, Strohn and Lyons, has found itself in a position suitable for military scholars of the English-speaking world to consider as both foundational and essential to the historiography of Operation Dragoon and the defeat of Nazi Germany’s Nineteenth Army in the Mediterranean theater of operations.”
- H-Net Reviews

The Dragoon offensive in August 1944 was preceded by bombings and sabotage that hit hard the German forces located in the South of France—damaging communications, railroads and bridges. The landings were then overwhelmingly successful, despite localized German resistance.

The following morning a German force the size of around four infantry battalions was able to launch a counterattack, but by the end of the day von Schwerin ordered a retreat under cover of night. What ensued was a race to retreat to the Burgundian Gate, or Belfort Gap, before they were cut off by the advancing Allied troops. The Allies had all the means for a successful pursuit, while most of the German troops, with the notable exception of the 11th Panzer Division, were largely incapable of undertaking an orderly retreat. Some units, including the LXII Corps headquarters, were surrounded and captured.

This account, by Jörg Staiger, recounts the German retreat and explains how the 19th Army sacrificed divisions to enable its retreat through the Rhone Valley.

Table of Contents

Table of contents
Preface
Introduction

1. The Anvil/Dragoon landings and German defence on the southern French coast
2. The Retreat of 19th Army in the Rhone Valley
3. The Race to the Burgundian Gate

Appendices
Index