Riviera to the Rhine (United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations)

Riviera to the Rhine focuses on the Anvil/Dragoon amphibious assault in southern France on August 15, 1944, and there after covers the tactical operations of the 6th Army Group (Seventh U.S. and First French Armies) until February 1945. The initial lodgment, the pursuit up the Rhone valley, and winter warfare in the Vosges are all highlighted, as are the German Nordwind offensive and the reduction of the Colmar Pocket. This volume links the U.S. Army's Mediterranean and northern European operational series and provides an important counterpoint for those works dealing with Eisenhower's two more well-know army groups commanded by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery and Lt. General Omar Bradley. The opening section treats the Southern France Campaign as part of the Mediterranean Theater of Operations; a middle section covers the fighting in the Vosges; and the final section takes up the battle of Alsace. Joint operations are highlighted in the treatment of Anvil, perhaps the most successful amphibious operation during the war, while the problems of combined (multinational) command are discussed throughout. A full account of German plans, organization, and actions is included for perspective, and the operations of the First French Army, a major component of the American army group, are also treated in detail.