Operation Dragoon was the
Allied invasion of southern France on 15 August 1944, during
World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the
1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the
United States Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up primarily of the
French First Army. The landing caused the German
Army Group G to abandon southern France and to retreat under constant Allied attacks to the
Vosges Mountains. Despite being a large and complex military operation with a well-executed amphibious and airborne component, Operation Dragoon is not well known as it was overshadowed by the larger
Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy (D-Day) two months earlier.