What was the codename for the Allied invasion of southern France in August 1944?

Operation Dragoon was the codename for the Allied invasion of southern France in August 1944.

The landings began on 15 August 1944 along the Mediterranean coast of Provence. The main ground force was the U.S. Seventh Army, supported by French forces that soon moved against the strategically important ports of Toulon and Marseille. Airborne drops and commando operations preceded and accompanied the beach landings.

The operation was originally called Operation Anvil and had been planned to take place alongside the Normandy invasion, Operation Overlord. Shipping and other resources were diverted to Normandy, postponing the southern assault. The plan was revived partly because northern French ports could not handle the Allies’ growing supply needs and because French leaders pressed for a major liberation effort in the south.

Churchill opposed the operation, but it was approved by the Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff in July 1944 and renamed Dragoon on 1 August. Allied forces liberated much of southern France within weeks, captured the ports, and pushed German Army Group G northward.