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Tanks in Southern France 1944: Operation Dragoon to the German border (New Vanguard #355)

Steven J. Zaloga, Felipe Rodríguez (Illustrator)

$20.00

Publish Date: January 19, 2027

Publisher:

Osprey Publishing

ISBN:

9781472871190

Pages:

Language:

English

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Description

Two months after D-Day, the Allies began the liberation of southern France. Fully illustrated, this study explores the Allies' unique US/Free French tank force, and the Panzers they faced.

Much less known than the Normandy landings and the campaign in northern France, the second part of Operation Overlord began on August 15, 1944 with the Operation Dragoon landings in southern France. It involved a substantial Allied tank force that took part in the amphibious landings and the subsequent campaign via the Rhone valley to the German frontier in the summer and autumn of 1944.

In this book, world-leading armour expert Steven Zaloga examines the unique Allied tank force that fought this campaign, and the single Panzer division that the Germans could field against them. The Allied force consisted of two main elements: US army tank battalions and tank destroyer battalions of the Seventh US Army, and French tank divisions of the 1st French Army. The US Army units were battle-hardened veterans of the campaigns in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. The French tank units were raised with US aid and training in North Africa in 1943 and saw their combat debut during Operation Dragoon.

With rarely seen photos and meticulously detailed original illustrations, this book provides a fresh look at this largely-ignored subject. It also details the particularly colorful markings of the tank units involved in these campaigns.

About the Author

Steven J. Zaloga is a senior analyst for Teal Group Corp., an aerospace consulting firm, where he covers missile and drone technology as well as international arms transfers for clients in the aerospace industry and the government. He served for more than two decades as an adjunct staff member with the Strategy, Forces, and Resources division of the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federal think-tank, retiring in 2021. He is the author of numerous books on military technology and history, including NVG 294 Allied Tanks in Normandy 1944 and NVG 283 American Guided Missiles of World War II. He currently lives in Maryland, USA.

Felipe Rodríguez Náñez (aka Felipe Rodna) lives with his wife and two sons in Salamanca, Spain, where he works as an architect and computer graphics artist. He combines his experience in CG art and his passion for modelling in his illustrations, where he looks for a good balance between technical detail and craft.