John Currin
15 years in Royal New Zealand Navy
Dragoon: Why the op you’ve never heard of was the worst day of Hitler’s life. Have a read – really interesting
Laura Skitt – 15th August 2024 at 2:35pm
Watch: Dr Peter Caddick-Adams, a military historian and defence analyst, speaks about Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon began on 15 August 1944 – which was described by Adolf Hitler as the worst day of his life.
Often referred to as “the other D-Day”, Op Dragoon ran until 14 September 1944 and was a pivotal turning point in the Second World War.
Op Dragoon was a huge and complex operation by land, sea and air that liberated nearly two-thirds of France by linking up with troops from the Normandy invasion on 11 September and pushing the German forces right back to their frontier.
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It also secured the ports of Marseilles and Toulon so Allied troops could flood into France.
This was a bitter blow for Hitler, who during conversations with his generals that were discovered in records written in shorthand, said: “The 15th of August was the worst day of my life.”
Dr Peter Caddick-Adams, a military historian and defence analyst, spoke to BFBS Forces News about Operation Dragoon, a largely French/American operation with support from countries including the UK and Canada.
He said: “It set the victory over Germany firmly on its way – and the end of the Second World War couldn’t really have been achieved without Operation Dragoon.
“This is the D-Day that you’ve never heard of.
“Originally there was planned to be two invasions of France on the same day – in Normandy and on the south coast of France along the Riviera.
“It was found that we didn’t have enough landing craft to do both at the same time simultaneously.”
It also didn’t help that Winston Churchill was against the idea and tried to cancel the operation.
The Prime Minister wanted the Italian campaign to remain dominant and was worried Dragoon would take troops and other resources away from Italy.
However, despite his best efforts, the Americans and French prevailed and Operation Dragoon went ahead.
Initially, the operation was given the codename Anvil, because Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, was originally going to be called Sledgehammer.
The plan was for Germany’s armed forces to be smashed between the hammer and the anvil.
Churchill never changed his opinion about the operation despite its eventual success, as Dr Caddick-Adams explained: “At the last minute Churchill had the name changed to Dragoon and, legend has it, because he felt he was being dragooned into an operation that he didn’t want to undertake.
“But he battled against it… and it does underline the fact that Winston was brilliant in many ways in terms of strategic insight and decision-making, but sometimes he got his strategy disastrously wrong.
“And Churchill never, ever really reconciled himself to the fact that it had been as successful as it was.
“He continued to denigrate it even in his memoirs… and therefore British history is sort of taking its lead from the great man and we don’t give [Op Dragoon] the attention that we should do.”
But that also had something to do with the numbers involved.
Historians often focus their attention on the battles and campaigns where Britain dominates and wins.
The ground troops of Op Dragoon were mainly French and American – with about 250,000 soldiers from each country.
And so due to the UK’s smaller contribution of about 10,000 ground troops, the British involvement often gets overlooked in historical accounts.
However, Britain’s naval contribution was a vital part of the operation’s success.
He said: “Our contribution to the fleet of 250 warships and the merchant fleets and landing craft of another 1,500 ships is absolutely a game changer, and those have already done Normandy.
“So we dominate the fleet.
“We play a much smaller role on land, but we provide an awful lot in the air, the 2,000 aircraft that are involved.
“And we field seven small aircraft carriers.
“We have two today, which are much, much larger admittedly, but that’s just a fraction of our capability.
“So it should be much better known because our contribution in terms of capability is probably as great as the UK Armed Forces today, although not in numerical terms.
“We achieved great, great things with a tiny amount of people.”
By 11 September, the south of France had been liberated.
This success was achieved well ahead of the anticipated deadlines by the Allied planners.
Plus, there was an unexpected bonus Dr Caddick-Adams says no one expected, saying: “We cleared the ports of Marseilles and Toulon – which are enormous ports – at a time when we didn’t have any large ports working for us.
“Places like Cherbourg and Le Havre had been sabotaged, so effectively we couldn’t use them and we were using one artificial harbour at Arromanches and the beaches.
“So all of a sudden, we gained logistic heft that we desperately needed.”
Dr Caddick-Adams believes Op Dragoon and its crucial role in bringing about the end of the Second World War in May 1945 deserves more attention.
Just 10 weeks after D-Day and with fewer resources, Op Dragoon achieved the liberation of the south of France and put pressure on Hitler by inflicting heavy casualties on the German forces, forcing them to retreat.
Singapore Navy Leads Multinational Group Sail
BySeaWaves Magazine
Jun 26, 2024 #Hawaii, #HNLMS Tromp, #JS Kunisaki, #KD Lekiu, #KDB Darulaman, #KDB Darussalam, #KRI Raden Eddy Martadinata, #RIMPAC 2024, #ROKS Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin, #RSS Stalwart, #USNS Pecos
The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN)’s Formidable-class frigate RSS Stalwart successfully led a Multinational Group Sail (MNGS) from Guam to Hawaii for the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise. Held from 14 to 25 June 2024 (Singapore time) in the Pacific Ocean, this MNGS included eight other warships from Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, and the United States.
RSS Stalwart exercised alongside two Royal Brunei Navy (RBN) Darussalam-class offshore patrol vessels KDB Darussalam and KDB Darulaman, an Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) Martadinata-class frigate KRI Raden Eddy Martadinata, a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Osumi-class amphibious landing ship JS Kunisaki, a Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class destroyer ROKS Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin, a Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Lekiu-class frigate KD Lekiu, and a Royal Netherlands Navy (KM) De Zeven Provincien-class frigate HNLMS Tromp, and a United States Navy (USN) replenishment oiler, USNS Pecos.
The ships conducted a series of drills while transiting from Guam to Hawaii, including maneuvering and communication exercises, gunnery firings, underway replenishments, anti-submarine warfare training, air medical evacuation and air defense simulations.
Hosted by the USN, the biennial Exercise RIMPAC will be conducted in the waters off Hawaii from 28 Jun 2024 to 2 Aug 2024 (Singapore time). This will be the RSN’s ninth participation in the world’s largest international maritime exercise. The multilateral Exercise RIMPAC and the MNGS are important avenues for the RSN to hone its competencies, strengthen interoperability, and deepen professional relationships with other navies.
USS Preble to Forward Deploy to Japan
The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Preble (DDG 88) will move to Yokosuka, Japan, as part of a scheduled rotation of forces in the Pacific, the U.S. Navy announced August 3. This move will be a permanent change of station for the crew and family members.
Preble will replace USS Benfold (DDG 65), which will depart Yokosuka and move to Everett, Washington.
The forward presence of Preble supports the United States’ commitment to the defense of Japan, enhances the national security of the United States and improves its ability to protect strategic interests. Preble will directly support the Defense Strategic Guidance to posture the most capable units forward in the Indo-Pacific Region.
The United States values Japan’s contributions to the peace, security and stability of the Indo-Pacific and its long-term commitment and hospitality in hosting U.S. forces forward deployed there. These forces, along with their counterparts in the Japan Self-Defense Forces, make up the core capabilities needed by the alliance to meet our common strategic objectives.
The security environment in the Indo-Pacific requires that the U.S. Navy positions the most capable ships forward. This posture allows the most rapid response times for maritime and joint forces and brings our most capable ships with the greatest amount of striking power and operational capability to bear in the timeliest manner.
Maintaining a forward-deployed naval force capability with the most advanced ships supports the United States’ commitment to the defense of Japan and the security and stability of the vital Indo-Pacific region.
Everett, Yokosuka, USS Preble, USS Benfold, FDNF-J
UPDATED: USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Now in the Med, USS Theodore Roosevelt Heads to the Middle East
HEATHER MONGILIO AND SAM LAGRONE JUNE 21, 2024 4:29 PM – UPDATED: JUNE 22, 2024 2:47 PM
Components of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Group, Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Laboon (DDG-58) and USS Gravely (DDG-107), steam in formation with the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (CVH 550), the Carlo Bergamini-class frigate ITS Alpino (F 594), and the Horizon-class frigate FS Forbin (D 620) in the Red Sea, June 7, 2024. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated with a June 22 statement from Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.
THE PENTAGON – Aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) has departed the Red Sea while USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), currently in the Pacific, will leave for the Middle East to continue a U.S. presence mission in the region, USNI News has learned.
“[The] Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group departed the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility today and will remain briefly in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility before returning home after more than seven months deployed in support of U.S. regional deterrence and force protection efforts, reads a Saturday statement from Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.
“Next week, the TR CSG will depart the Indo-Pacific for the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The United States will continue to maintain a robust presence in the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen peace, stability, and deterrence alongside allies and partners.”
Ryder said TR would leave the Pacific following the completion of a planned exercise.
While Ike and its cruiser escort are now in the Mediterranean Sea, the destroyer escorts assigned to the strike group will stay in U.S. 5th Fleet, a U.S. official told USNI News on Friday.
The decision comes as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin elected not to extend the Navy’s second-oldest carrier for a third time, the official confirmed. As of Friday, the carrier had been deployed for more than eight months. USNI News reported earlier this month Ike has deployed for more days than any other U.S.-based carrier for the last five years.
“Time to bring them home,” the official said.
It’s unclear how long Roosevelt, which deployed in January, will need to stay on station before it’s relieved by the next carrier slated to operate in the region. The next carrier on the East Coast preparing to leave is USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), which is still early in its workups ahead of a deployment later this summer, USNI News understands.
The last time a Pacific carrier deployed to the Middle East was in 2021 when the U.S. evacuated troops from Afghanistan. Then Japan-based USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) moved to the North Arabian Sea to provide air cover for the departure of U.S. forces, USNI News reported at the time.
Roosevelt is the second busiest aircraft carrier in the past five years, USNI News previously reported.
Ike deployed on Oct. 13 and headed to the Red Sea, where it has been part of the U.S. response to the Houthi attacks on commercial ships and posture in light of the war between Israel and Hamas. Ike’s departure comes as tensions between Lebanon-based group Hezbollah and Israel have escalated over the past couple of days. The official told USNI News Ike’s move was not related to the recent escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.
Austin ordered the second extension for the ship in late May. Carriers sent to the Med or the Red Sea have seen multiple extensions since February 2021 when Russia invaded Ukraine to maintain a U.S. presence in the region.
USS Harry S. Truman, which went to the Med as part of the U.S. response, deployed for 285 days. It was replaced by USS George H.W. Bush, which deployed for 257 days.
USS Gerald R. Ford was the next carrier to enter the Med, which then moved over to the Eastern Mediterranean following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza. It spent 257 days on deployment, some of which crossed over with Ike.
Ike is the Navy’s busiest aircraft carrier in the past five years, with the ship deploying in 2020 for 171 days, as well.
While in the Red Sea, Ike and the other ships that made up the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group were part of Operation Prosperity Guardian. They were involved in several Central Command activities that saw them shoot down Houthi drones and weapons. Most recently, aircraft from Ike and cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) helped evacuate crews from commercial ships struck by Houthi weaponry.
USS Mason (DDG-87), one of the destroyers assigned to the Ike Carrier Strike Group transited the Strait of Gibraltar on June 14 and pulled into port at Rota, Spain, and has since left.
Royal Australian Navy Down Two Replenishment Oilers As Ships Go In For Repairs
DZIRHAN MAHADZIR JUNE 21, 2024 5:26 PM
Crew of HMAS Stalwart line the ship’s upper decks during its commissioning ceremony at Fleet Base West, Rockingham on Nov. 13, 2021. Royal Australian Navy Photo
The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) two Supply-class fleet replenishment oilers are now out of service, with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles confirming on Friday that HMAS Stalwart (A304) is now nonoperational following engine defects, joining sister ship HMAS Supply (A195) ,which has been nonoperational since March 2023.
Meanwhile, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin wrapped up drills with an RAN amphibious ship on Thursday.
In a press conference on Friday at Osborne Shipyard, Adelaide, Marles said that Supply has had issues that are well known and that his ministry was now aware of issues emerging from Stalwart. “
And my advice on this day, is that HMAS Stalwart [is] not operational. Now, obviously, that does then raise questions, given [that] both ships in the class are not able to operate at this moment,” Marles said, according to a transcript.
Marles said that he had already sought advice from RAN Chief Adm. Mark Hammond, who was also at the press conference, as to when Stalwart and Supply can be expected to be operational again and what needs to be done in the meantime to make sure the functions that were being performed by the ships still met. Marles did not elaborate further as to when the two ships would be back in service and what measures would be taken.
Both Supply and Stalwart provide fuel but also are designed to provide water, spare parts, provisions and ammunition. Each ship’s capacity is 383,050 gallons of JP5 jet fuel, 2,162,611 gallons of marine diesel fuel, 369,840 gallons of fresh water, 297 tons of ammunition and 518 tons of cargo.
Australia’s ABC News broke the news on Tuesday that Stalwart had extended a port visit to Darwin to address engine defects. The Australia Department of Defence had posted on social media channel X on May 23 that Stalwart had docked in Darwin that day, though not the reason for the ship’s docking.
Hammond stated that Stalwart had completed a period of operational assignment and border protection duties, and that the current issue arose during the transit to Darwin for a scheduled port visit. He also said RAN would carry out a technical investigation while also repairing the defect so the ship can sail safely to its home port at RAN Fleet Base West, Garden Island, and undergo a maintenance period in Perth.
The RAN chief said he was unhappy with the situation.
“As I stated at senate estimates about two weeks ago, I’m not happy with the availability of HMAS Supply, in particular. I’m tempering that with an understanding it is a first-of-class vessel, it was built during the pandemic over in Spain. And I’m comfortable that Navantia are working with us on understanding the issues and rectifying [them],” Hammond said.
Both Marles and Hammond spoke after a steel-cutting ceremony for the lead ship of the Hunter-class frigate, which is expected to be operational in 2034.
Supply has been nonoperational since March 2023 undergoing mechanical defect repairs and is expected to be out of service until 2025 because of a defective shaft that was discovered during the initial repair work. During a Senate Estimates hearing on June 6, Hammond said that the issues were caused by a complex defect but Navantia had accepted liability and that Supply would be repaired under warranty.
In the hearing, Radm. Steven Tiffen, head Maritime Sustainment, said that repairs undertaken on Supply over the last year revealed another issue with an element in the intermediate shaft, a 49-foot-long, 21-ton, 1.5-foot diameter shaft located between the gearbox and the propeller shaft. The worse-case scenario for a replacement part to arrive would be 40 weeks, he added.
Hammond said what went wrong was the shaft alignment process while Supply was being constructed in Spain, despite a certification authority verifying the process. Australia was unable to fly people to Spain to conduct their own verification because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is unclear how the nonoperational status of both ships will impact RAN operations as the RAN could reasonably expect to draw on replenishment from partner-nation fleet oilers from the U.S. and Japan in the Indo-Pacific, as well as docking into Singapore while operating in the South China Sea. At the same time, the RAN currently only has one ship, destroyer HMAS Sydney (DDG-42), on a regional presence deployment, though future deployments and sustained presence operations may be affected. The RAN has yet to deploy a naval task group this year for the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF’s) annual Indo-Pacific Endeavour (IPE24) presence and engagement deployment, which also usually involves one of the Supply-class ships. Plans for IPE24 may have to be revised in light of the current situation.
Sydney left its homeport at RAN Fleet Base East in its namesake city on June 10. An Australian Defence Department release on Thursday said the destroyer will participate in the Rim of the Pacific 2024 exercise that runs from June 27 to Aug. 1 in and around the Hawaiian Islands, Exercise Pacific Dragon and Operation Argos—the ADF’s contribution to international efforts to enforce United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea. Pacific Dragon is a biennial multinational air and missile defense exercise held in Hawaii, usually following after RIMPAC.
In Australia on Thursday, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) 24.3 concluded the Wet and Dry Exercise Rehearsal (WADER) aboard RAN amphibious assault ship HMAS Adelaide (L01), which began on June 2.
A Marine Corps release said that the exercise aimed to enhance amphibious capabilities and strengthen the partnership between the U.S. and ADF and that 47 Marines and four Sailors with MRF-D 24.3 were embarked on Adelaide alongside the Australian Amphibious Force (AAF) to participate in a comprehensive training mission designed to enhance joint operational capabilities.
The release also ssaid that the early stages of WADER included MV-22B Osprey deck-landing qualifications executed by Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 268 (Reinforced).
“What a great opportunity it is to have our pilots conduct landings on the HMAS Adelaide, further strengthening our professional relationship with the Australian Defence Force,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Brandon Pope, the commanding officer of VMM-268, MRF-D 24.3, in the release. “The return to flight for the squadron has been a methodical approach to re-establish the aircrew proficiency required to execute training events such as this one safely.”
One of the key components of WADER was the integration of fires capabilities, which involved coordination between MRF-D’s littoral fires cell and the AAF’s Supporting Arms Coordination Center, according to the release. Medical training involving U.S. Navy medical subject matter expert exchanges with ADF medical personnel aboard Adelaide were also carried out. The culmination of the exercise included a significant ship-to-shore movement, which tested and demonstrated the practical aspects of amphibious ship-to-shore operations, stated the release