Filed under: Operation Dragoon | Tags: 117th Cavalry, Combat Command Sudre, Fred Butler, Lucian Truscott, Task Force Butler, ULTRA, VI Corps
At 9:40am on the 17th of August 1944, the German High Command had authorized Army Group G to retreat northward to better defensive positions. Due to an ULTRA intercept, VI Corps commander, Major General Lucian Truscott, actually received the order 5 hours later, well before the German commander, General Blaskowitz. Truscott, a cavalryman by training, was ready for this.
Since the beginning of August, he’d planned on using the town of Montelimar as a choke point to trap German troops in the southern Rhone valley. In order to accomplish, Truscott knew his best tool would be a Combat Command from an Armored Division (about a third of such a division). He’d requested the allocation of a Combat Command in the planning process, but no American Combat Command was readily available. Combat Command Sudre’, part of the French Army supplied by Americans and part of the invasion plan, would be available to Truscott for just three days to hold off an expected German armored counter-attack at the landing beaches. Truscott knew that the 250-mile route to Montelimar was not an option for that unit (even given the wildly successful reality of the landings, CC Sudre’ would never have ventured far north in the few days it was allocated to VI Corps).
Knowing he wouldn’t have a true Combat Command available, Truscott went about creating his own. First, he assigned his Assistant Corps Commander, BG Fred Butler, to command the ad hoc unit. Butler had no separate command staff to draw upon, so he was allocated staff officers (generally, the deputy in each role) from the Corps command. Those officers then were combined with the command staff of his main unit, the 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron. The combination of units that they designated as Task Force Butler provided similar force to an armored Combat Command, though lighter in tanks and half-tracks, but heavier in armored cars and jeeps.
So, on 17 August, Truscott ordered Task Force Butler to become operational and the units began gathering at Le Muy for the rapid advance to Montelimar.
For a detailed analysis of Task Force Butler, see MAJ Mike Volpe’s Master’s Thesis, Task Force Butler: A Case Study In The Employment Of An Ad Hoc Unit In Combat Operations, During Operation Dragoon, 1-30 August 1944.
Filed under: Magazines, Operation Dragoon, WWII | Tags: America in WWII, Commemoration, Operation Dragoon, Seminar
I just received my August copy of America in WWII and our event is listed this time! I had been able to get in contact with them via Facebook and was able to email them the critical info before press time. This bodes well for the Colmar Pocket, Anzio and Iwo Jima events coming up this year.
For details on the Operation Dragoon event, see the schedule.
8-11 August 2013 (Thursday-Sunday)
Sheraton National Hotel, 900 South Orme Street, Arlington, VA 22204
Veterans, families of veterans, historians, friends, and any interested in WWII history are welcome!
Open to the General Public
You can use the form below to submit questions or start the reservation process. The information will not be posted here, but will be emailed to the organizers.
You will still need to contact the hotel for room reservations.
Filed under: 101st, 506th, Band of Brothers, Gettysburg, Normandy, Operation Dragoon, Veterans | Tags: C.C. Sprinkle, Farnsworth, Mario Patruno
I really enjoyed the scene in Band of Brothers when a paratrooper rides up to Easy Company on a white horse. If memory serves, the soldier’s name is Farnsworth, linking in my mind with Brigadier General Elon J. Farnsworth who died at Gettysburg. Turns out that they may have been channeling Mario Patruno of F Company, 3/506th. Patruno visited the Military Museum of North Florida in February to pose with his own mounted likeness. There’s another, more extensive article on Patruno that was published in 2011 in the Mayport Mirror, which starts, “Army Pfc. Mario Patruno was 23, tough and fit. He’d fought in the ring as a youth boxer, and in the streets of Holyoke, Mass., with a brawling gang called the Bond Street Rovers.” Those paratroopers are an interesting bunch!
Of note, one of the other attendees was “C.C. Sprinkle, 91, who was the co-pilot of a B-26 Marauder during World War II and took part in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of South France in August 1944.” Hopefully, we’ll be able to get C.C. up to Washington for the Operation Dragoon Commemoration and Seminar in August.
Filed under: 36th, 3rd, 45th, 509th, 517th, 551st, Medal of Honor, Officers, Operation Dragoon, Veterans | Tags: Bill Davis, Darryl Egner, David Grange, Henry Bodson, Lloyd Ramsey, Morton Katz, Operation Dragoon, Richard Seitz, Robert D. Maxwell, Wilburn K. Ross
For information on the 2014 event, see our 6th Army Group website.
For the last few years, the Society of the 3rd Infantry Division, Outpost Europe, has hosted an Operation Dragoon commemoration and seminar. It’s always a fantastic event. We are honored that many veterans attend and provide their insights and remembrances. There will be a few veterans I’ve never met as well as others I will be overjoyed to see again. It’s truly an event not to be missed.
THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Operation Dragoon – The “Forgotten D-Day”
The Allied Landings in Southern France and the Southern France Campaign
15 August 1944-14 September 1944
Outpost Europe, Society of the 3rd Infantry Division
The Army Historical Foundation
The Embassy of France to the United States
When: 8-11 August 2013 (Thursday-Sunday)
8 August: 1 to 3 PM – registration; 5 to 8 PM – historical seminar
9 August: 9 AM to 5 PM – historical seminars and veterans’ remembrances
10 August: 8:30 to 1200 AM – ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery; 5 to 9:30 PM – Banquet
11 August: 8:30 to 11 AM – historical seminars
Where: Sheraton National Hotel, 900 South Orme Street, Arlington, VA 22204
Who: Veterans of the 6th Army Group; 7th Army; 6th Corps; 3rd, 36th, and 45th Infantry Divisions; 1st Allied Airborne Task Force – 517th Parachute Infantry Regimental Combat Team (including Anti-Tank Company/442nd Infantry Regiment, 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, 4463rd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, 550th Airborne Infantry Battalion, 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion, and the 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade (UK)); 1st Special Service Force; US Army Air Corps; US Navy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine; the OSS; and veterans from the participant allied nations of France, Poland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Greece, and Canada who served in the supporting Air Forces and Navy; and their friends and families, as well as anyone interested in World War II history.
Why: To honor the veterans of the Forgotten D-Day, to preserve history, to educate the public, and to pass on the torch of their proud legacy.
Room Reservations: Price – $95 per night, one day prior to event and one day after. Reservations: 1-888-627-8210
Reservation Group Name: Operation Dragoon
Cut off date for reservations: Friday, 21 July 2013
Point of Contact: Monika Stoy, President, Outpost Europe, Society of the 3rd Infantry Division, timmoni15@yahoo.com, RSVP by 30 June 2013
REGISTRATION: Event registration – $30. Banquet – $40. (Free for Dragoon Vets)
Shuttle to/from airport provided by hotel, so no rental car required.
THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Filed under: 36th, 3rd, 45th, 509th, 517th, 551st, Operation Dragoon | Tags: Audie Murphy, Operation Dragoon, WWII
On a foggy August morning, paratroopers dropped literally through the clouds and into France. The liberation of southern France had begun and the rapid back-pedaling of German forces was just days away. With bold and heroic efforts, American and British soldiers teamed up with not only French and colonial soldiers, but also ordinary French men and women to set about the freeing of their country from Fascism.
Operation Dragoon is often derided as some sort of ‘Champagne Campaign’, in which the only threat was of being hung over in the morning. Audie Murphy stormed well-defended beaches and never understood the impression. In some places and at some times, the Germans were in such a hurry to save their own hides that it was more of a chase than a battle, but all too often, the deeply hardened old veterans stood and fought. They knew how to use the terrain and how to make the Allies pay for every inch of ground. The veterans of the 3rd, 36th and 45th Infantry Divisions and among the paratroopers knew to expect nothing less.
It was a hard fight and one for which the French are grateful. Let us pause this morning and give thanks for what they did so long ago.
Filed under: Operation Dragoon, Veterans | Tags: Arlington National Cemetery, Brice Houdet, Darryl Egner, Dick Seitz, Elias Hernandez, Gene Frice, Jim Welsh, Joe Cichinelli, John Carter, John Singlaub, Lloyd Ramsey, Michael Halik, Operation Dragoon, Paul Donlon, Robert Jackson, Robert Ware Foster, Roger Donlon, Sam Magee, Stanley Siemrzuch, Veterans, William Ryan
U.S. Army World War II veterans of Operation Dragoon and Members of the Military District of Washington’s Sgt. Audie L. Murphy Club, the Society of the 3rd Infantry Division, and the military attaché to the French Embassy pose following a remembrance ceremony honoring the success of Operation Dragoon held Arlington, Va., July 21, 2012. DOD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
The 68th Anniversary of Operation Dragoon Commemoration was covered by the American Forces Press Service this time. Due to the expectations of severe weather at the time for the ceremony in the amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery, the Legion of Honor ceremony was instead held in the 16th floor ballroom of the Sheraton Pentagon City. John Singlaub, Paul Donlon, Darryl Egner, Elias Hernandez, Michael Halik and the son of Stanley Siemrzuch were all presented with the esteemed French medal by COL Brice Houdet, the French military attaché. The ballroom was filled with conference attendees, family members, staff from the French embassy and a number of active duty members of the Military District of Washington’s Sgt. Audie L. Murphy Club.
As always, the event was tremendously educational, allowing historians and veterans the opportunity to educate each other and the audience on this less well-known operation.
Filed under: 36th, Operation Dragoon, Understanding Battles | Tags: Books, HDMI cable, iPad, maps, Netflix, Nook, Operation Dragoon, tablet, Technology, WWII, Xoom
As I prepared for my talk on the 36th Infantry Division at our Operation Dragoon seminar, I’ve had an opportunity to use my new tablet (a Motorola Xoom) to the utmost. It really is a “killer app” for a historian.
My friend, Eric Wittenberg, first wrote about his tentative use of his Nook early last year, then replaced it with an iPad in December. Despite being a software developer in my paid work, I was apprehensive. I love books and maps. The look and feel of each has always been special, and I felt no computer would be able replace them for me.
I tried Kindle, first as a PC app, then on my smartphone. Not the same as a ‘real’ book, but quick and easy. With a library of a few hundred books, I never ventured to read history via Kindle. I had too big of a physical book backlog to consider it.
Then, I needed more detail on the 36th in less than a week. So, I used Google books to buy “First to the Rhine”. I kept flipping pages to review maps, then realized that I could use Google maps on my tablet. Zoom, twist, slide zoom out, add the terrain overlay. I’m sold. I just hope I can figure out how to Bluetooth or connect to the projector with my tablet because it makes understanding the fight at Montelimar so much easier. Maybe this or maybe at the Colmar Pocket seminar in December. It is an amazing tool.
Update: I’ve got a 15-foot mini-HDMI to HDMI cable on order from Amazon so that I can hook to the projector we use at these conferences and to my TV at home for Netflix.
Filed under: 509th, Books, German Perspective, Normandy, Operation Dragoon, Paratroopers | Tags: American Civil War, Fallschirmjager
If you stood in the right field near Le Muy in southern France or near Sainte-Mère-Église in Normandy, you could have seen paratroopers rain down upon you in 1944. This week, I felt as if I was having a similar experience with paratrooper books.
- Jim Broumley’s The Boldest Plan is the Best: The Combat History of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion during WWII
just arrived on Amazon and I’ve ordered my copy. I’ve been trying to find a copy of Stand in the Door: The Wartime History of the Elite 509th Parachute Infantry Batallion
by Charles Doyle and Terrell Stewart, but there are few copies available, so the prices are exhorbitant. Broumley draws the extensive veteran recollections included in Stand in the Door and adds a great deal of material from other sources. He’s blogging, so you can catch up with his activities any time. Since he’s in Pennsylvania, maybe we can get him to drive down for the Dragoon event next year (2-5 August 2012).
- On Tuesday, I got my much-delayed copy of LIONS OF CARENTAN, THE: Fallschirmjager Regiment 6, 1943-1945
, which I’m very excited about. One of the challenges for me in studying WWII has been that I’ve read so little that comes from the Axis perspective. In my studies of the American Civil War, I’ve looked at both sides, examining the available forces, the tactical and strategic decisions and the aftermath. That allows a level of understanding that examining only one side can never give you. The Lions of Carentan is one of the ways I’ve been expanding my knowledge so that I can understand both sides and relate the events more effectively.
- In the steady collapse of Borders bookstores, I often raided the sales. It was perhaps the most liberating book purchasing experience I’ve had as, with prices slashed, I simply gave a book a brief once-over and put it in my stack to buy. Normally, I take hours and read multiple reviews before committing my hard-earned cash to purchasing a book. So, I purchased a book titled “Overlord: The Illustrated History of the D-Day Landings”. It’s honestly a great book. It uses a lot of images from the Osprey series to di splay uniforms and equipment in action while providing some truly excellent maps. In each sector of Normandy, it also lists the order of battle and commanders (down to regimental level). None of the Allied-centric works I’ve read provide that information, so I find it immensely useful.
- There’s a new American Civil War magazine out, The Civil War Monitor. It has an experienced editor (Terry Johnston, who had edited North and South for many years) and comes highly recommended (by Eric Wittenburg).
Filed under: Korea, Marines, Operation Dragoon, Resistance, Weekend Wanderings | Tags: British paratroopers, Horses, Life magazine, Logistics, NCO, White Mouse, WWII
Monday will mark the 67th anniversary of Operation Dragoon. Last weekend’s seminar and commemoration was, as noted, fantastic. I’d been storing up a few links as I haven’t been able to post a “Wanderings” of late.
- On OperationDragoon.org, they posted a great story about British paratrooper Peter Matthews meeting, for the first time since August of 1944, the “boy” he gave chocolate to.
- As the modern soldiers and marines struggle up and down the mountains of Iraq, wondering how to transport supplies and ammunition, we can find an innovative method back in Korea. SGT Reckless made 51 trips up the mountains of the “Nevada Complex” in one day of the Battle of Outpost Vegas, carrying almost five tons of ammunition to Marine gunners. She was wounded twice, but did not stop. The small, Mongolian mare (yes, a horse!) served ably from 1952 to her retirement as a Staff Sergeant in 1960, and was buried with full military honors at Camp Pendleton in 1968.
- Adam Bernstein of the Washington Post wrote a marvelous obituary for Nancy Wake, known as the ‘White Mouse’ of World War II. She went from being a “sultry glamour girl” married to a rich Frenchman to a wily and effective resistance leader over the course of the war, deying the Gestapo at every turn. The quotes from her are simply precious, and I urge you to read Bernstein’s effort. Any of us would have been proud to know her. Canada’s National Post included a more modern photo of Ms. Wake in their obituary, with far less interesting prose.
- There’s a rather interesting blog post about the role of the NCO in the American Army throughout history. Not sure about the author’s view on when the role changed, but it is interesting nonetheless. I think the Marines were already doing this in Haiti in Chesty Puller’s time….
- The 67th anniversary of the capturing of Guam was remembered by Mariah, who usually writes about fashion in New York, but took time out to post marvelous Life magazine photos from the period, including one of Marines holding a sign thanking our most unsung service, the Coast Guard.
We're not lost, Sergeant, We're in ... France 