ITALY
BOMBING OF RHÔNE RIVER BRIDGES at Tarascon by Allied planes. Pre-D-Day bombardment wrecked all but one bridge across the Rhône, which helped to hamper large-scale movement of enemy troops. The Allied forces were to advance through the Rhône River Valley which passes between two mountain masses, the Massif Central and the Alps, and forms a great natural corridor connecting the Mediterranean coast with the Paris basin.
FRANCE
B-24 0VER THE GOLFE DE LA NAPOULE. Smoke rising in distance, near village of Théoule-sur-Mer, is caused by bombing of railroad, highway, and bridges. At right is Cannes. The air offensive in support of the invasion actually began as early as 28 April 1944 when heavy bombers attacked Toulon. Between that time and August, the Mediterranean Allied air force dropped more than 12,500 tons of bombs on southern France. Beginning on 10 August the offensive was continued by attacking coastal batteries and radar stations, harassing coastal defense troops, and isolating the target area by destroying bridges across the Rhône.
ITALY
WATERPROOFED PRIEST undergoing test in preparation for the invasion. The invasion training center at Salerno, Italy, established a school of one week’s instruction in waterproofing vehicles for the coming assault. The 105-mm. howitzer motor carriage M7 was the principal artillery weapon of the U. S. armored division.
ITALY