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
USS Abraham Lincoln Sails with Italian Carrier Cavour in Western Pacific
Dzirhan Mahadzir – August 9, 2024 3:44 PM
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and Italian Navy carrier ITS Cavour (550) in the Philippine Sea. Italian Navy Photo
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and Italian Navy carrier ITS Cavour (550) drilled together in the Philippine Sea according to an Italian Navy social media post on Friday. Meanwhile amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD-4) arrived in Busan, South Korea on Friday.
The Italian Navy did not release a date as to when the two carriers sailed together but it is likely after the Abraham Lincoln CSG’s departure from Guam on Thursday.
Lincoln along with destroyers USS O’Kane (DDG-77), and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) departed Guam on while destroyer USS Spruance (DDG-111), also part of the Abraham Lincoln CSG departed Saipan the same day, after conducting a four day port call to the island, according to a Navy release.
Images released by the Italian Navy showed Lincoln sailing together with U.S. two destroyers, Cavour and frigate ITS Alpino (F594), while a combined flight group from the two carriers’ airwings flew overhead.
The Italian Navy stated that event was a “demonstration of interoperability between allies around the world and consolidation of the ability to integrate our forces wherever necessary.”
USNI News earlier reported that the Abraham Lincoln CSG would be deployed to the Middle East, relieving the Theodore Roosevelt CSG, though the timing of the handover has not been announced. The Abraham Lincoln CSG deployed without a cruiser, which will be more the norm in future as the Navy decommissions its cruiser fleet. USNI News understands Petersen is serving in the cruiser role. Three destroyers currently are part of the CSG though the number may increase if the Navy assigns additional destroyers already operating in the Asia-Pacific or in the Middle East to join the CSG.
The Cavour CSG is currently on a deployment to the Indo-Pacific, with an embarked air wing of F-35Bs Lightning IIs Joint Strike Fighters and AVB-8B Harrier IIs. The Cavour CSG recently took part in the Royal Australian Air Force’s multinational Pitch Black exercise that took place around Darwin, Australia from July 12 to Aug. 2 with its airwing augmented with an additional 8 F-35As and Bs flying into Australia as part of the Italian air group flying out from Italy to the exercise.
An Italian Navy release stated that the airwing of the Cavour CSG carried out 22 days of training totalling more than 180 hours of flight time and 110 missions including ground attack, in-flight refueling, take-offs and landings, air-to-air interactions, escort, Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) and command and control.
The Cavour CSG’s deployment is part of meeting the Italian Navy’s target of Initial Operational Capability (IOC) of the F-35B in carrier operations. Capt. Dario Castelli, the carrier air wing commander said in the release that the IOC of the F-35B component will allow it to operate with allies, ensuring complete interoperability and interchangeability.
“Our participation in the Pitch Black 2024 exercise has allowed us to increase and strengthen the ability to project air and naval power from the sea,” said Castelli in the release.
The Cavour CSG is now headed to Japan to carry out drills before moving on to the Philippines, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Oman and Saudi Arabia before heading home to Taranto, Italy.
On Friday, amphibious assault ship Boxer pulled into Busan, South Korea for replenishment and crew rest, according to a report by South Korean media agency Yonhap, citing a Republic of Korea Navy statement. Boxer deployed on Jul.16 after completing rudder repairs that pushed back its planned April deployment to the Indo-Pacific. The big deck then operated around the 3rd Fleet while waiting for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) elements that were to embark on it to wrap up their participation in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC 2024) exercise with the 15th MEU embarking on the ship at sea on Jul. 23 according to DVIDS images.
In other developments, Japan’s Joint Staff Office issued reports on the activities on two PLAN destroyers and a Chinese UAV around its southwest island. In a Thursday release, the JSO stated that at 11 a.m. on Aug. 2, destroyers CNS Nanjing (155) and CNS Lishui (157) were sighted sailing south in an area 49 miles northwest of Uotsuri Island and subsequently sailed south in an area 43 miles west of Uotsuri Island and eventually sailed south in the waters between Yonaguni Island and Taiwan. The release added that on Wednesday, the two PLAN destroyers sailed southwest in the waters between Amami Oshima Island and Yokoate Island to enter the East China Sea. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) destroyer escort JS Oyodo (DE-231) a JMSDF P-1 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) of Fleet Air Wing 1 based at JMSDF Kanoya Air Base on the main island of Kyushu and a JMSDF P-3C Orion MPA of Fleet Air 5 based at Naha Air Base, Okinawa, shadowed the PLAN ships, according to the release.
On Friday, the JSO issued a release stating that in the morning and afternoon of that day, a Chinese BZK-005 military reconnaissance drone flew in from the East China Sea, then passed through between Okinawa and Miyako Island to reach the Philippine Sea, where it carried out a circuit flight then flew back the same way to return to the East China Sea. In response fighter aircraft of the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) Southwest Air District were scrambled, stated the release.
