Operation Dragoon -- Autopsy of a Battle: The Allied Liberation of the French Riviera -- August-September 1944

On the night of 14-15 August 1944, the First Airborne Task Force, which included the U.S. 509th, 517th and 551st Parachute Infantry Regiments, jumped into enemy held territory spearheading Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France. Based on interviews from all combatant units, battlefield archaeology, period photos, letters and reports, this book provides an outstandingly detailed hour-by-hour account of the advance through southern France, as seen through the eyes of those who lived through it, bringing to light the tragic and gruesome realities of what was later to become known as the "Champagne Campaign".