Description
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 localised 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 Joerg Staiger, recounts the German retreat and explains how the 19th Army sacrificed divisions to enable its retreat through the Rhone Valley.
About the Author
Major Joerg Staiger is the author of Retreat through the Rhone Valley in the Die Wehrmacht im Kampf series (Casemate, 2023). Linden Lyons holds a master's degree in history from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He studied German at the University of Freiburg and librarianship at the University of Canberra. He is the translator of several titles in the Die Wehrmacht im Kampf series, most recently Counter-Strike Operations, Normandy, and Rome to the Po River. Matthias Strohn, MSt (Oxon), DPhil (Oxon), FRHistS, is head of historical analysis at the Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research and the British Army's strategic think tank, visiting professor of military studies at the University of Buckingham, and a member of the academic faculty at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Matthias was educated at the universities of Munster (Germany) and Oxford. He holds a commission in the German Army and is a member of the military attache reserve. He deployed to Iraq (with the British Army) and Afghanistan (with both the British Army and the German Bundeswehr). Matthias was awarded the highest German military decoration, the 'Ehrenkreuz der Bundeswehr in Gold,' and has published widely on 20th-century German and European military history; he has authored and edited over 20 books and numerous articles.
Book Information
ISBN 9781636242309
Author Joerg Staiger
Format Hardback
Page Count 168
Imprint Casemate Publishers
Publisher Casemate Publishers
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 Joerg Staiger, recounts the German retreat and explains how the 19th Army sacrificed divisions to enable its retreat through the Rhone Valley.
About the Author
Major Joerg Staiger is the author of Retreat through the Rhone Valley in the Die Wehrmacht im Kampf series (Casemate, 2023). Linden Lyons holds a master's degree in history from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He studied German at the University of Freiburg and librarianship at the University of Canberra. He is the translator of several titles in the Die Wehrmacht im Kampf series, most recently Counter-Strike Operations, Normandy, and Rome to the Po River. Matthias Strohn, MSt (Oxon), DPhil (Oxon), FRHistS, is head of historical analysis at the Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research and the British Army's strategic think tank, visiting professor of military studies at the University of Buckingham, and a member of the academic faculty at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Matthias was educated at the universities of Munster (Germany) and Oxford. He holds a commission in the German Army and is a member of the military attache reserve. He deployed to Iraq (with the British Army) and Afghanistan (with both the British Army and the German Bundeswehr). Matthias was awarded the highest German military decoration, the 'Ehrenkreuz der Bundeswehr in Gold,' and has published widely on 20th-century German and European military history; he has authored and edited over 20 books and numerous articles.
Book Information
ISBN 9781636242309
Author Joerg Staiger
Format Hardback
Page Count 168
Imprint Casemate Publishers
Publisher Casemate Publishers
