FRANCE
FRENCH TROOPS TAKE OVER A GERMAN GUN IN TOULON. At 2000 on D plus 1 a French army, consisting of seven divisions, began landing on the beaches in the Saint-Tropez area, with the initial mission of capturing the port cities of Toulon and Marseille. The divisions assigned the taking of Toulon began the encirclement of the city on 20 August. Because of formidable enemy defenses, the combined efforts of the French army, the tactical air command, and the Allied naval task force were required before complete occupation of the city was accomplished. The German garrison surrendered to the French army on 28 August 1944. (German gun, 7.5-cm. Pak. 40.)
FRANCE
THE FRENCH BATTLESHIP STRASBOURG. This ship was scuttled and then damaged by Allied bombing on D plus 3, 18 August 1944, in Toulon harbor. The enemy made maximum use of artillery for coastal defense purposes. Batteries included railway guns, heavy coast artillery, German field pieces, old French and Italian equipment, and even naval guns transferred from French warships scuttled in Toulon harbor.
FRANCE
DAMAGED DOCKS AT MARSEILLE, the second largest city in France, the most important port on the Mediterranean, and one of the three cities in southern France with facilities for handling 10,000-ton Liberty ships. (The others are Toulon and Nice.) Marseille capitulated to the French army on 28 August 1944, particular emphasis being placed on preserving port installations which the Germans had hoped to render useless by large-scale demolitions.
FRANCE