 |
PP1 - Cut the Road to Marseille
1944 - The 19thof August - The 3rd Algerian Infantry Division is moving to outflank Toulon's western defenses; its primary mission is to complete the encirclement of the city and isolate it from any reinforcements coming from Marseilles. In order to complete this task, its first objective is Le Camp crossroad, which controls the primary road links between Toulon, Signe, Marseilles and Bandol. The 3rd Spahi Regiment is assigned for the assault. This green unit is very excited to be fighting its first engagement, especially against a position which Allied intelligence expects to be weakly held; the only reported defenders are the garrison of a local NCO school.
But sometimes intelligence reports are out of date... |
| PP2 - Supply Detail
1944 - The 20thof August - As elements of the 3rd Algerian Infantry Division advance down into the Las river valley north of Toulon, the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment captures the first hamlets west of Faron Mountain. A breakthrough here would allow it to block the western outskirts of Toulon and would isolate the German forces still fighting further up the valley. But nearby stand the tunnels of La Poudrière, where an ammunition dump and the barracks of the German pioneers are installed. To protect this vital installation, to prevent the entrapment of the German units remaining in the valley, and to resupply them with ammunition, the pioneers launch a counterattack, with armor support made up of old French H39s.
French tanks are about to go up against French troops! |
 |
 |
PP3 - Le Viet Relief
1944 - The 19thof August - The GIs of the 3rd Infantry Division have reached the "Blue Line", where, according to the plan for "Operation Dragoon", they are to be relieved by the 1st Free French Division. In order to perform the relief operation on schedule, the French start a 50-Km forced march from the landing beaches through the mountains. When they reach the crest line above the Viet distillery and the Real Martin River, the tired soldiers of the 6th Company of the 11th Battalion discover the US troops packing for the departure. Normally the relief itself would be completed without a hitch, but this time the Azerbaijani troops of the 765th Regiment have also noticed the American activity. They decide to add a little excitement to this too-quiet relief... |
| PP4 - Peak Hour at the Golf Hotel
1944 - The 21stof August - For two days, the point elements of the 1st Free French Division have been trying to cross the Gapeau River in various places in order to reach starting positions for their attack on Hyères, east of Toulon. Their thorniest problem is the Golf-Hôtel, a huge building south-east of Redon Hill; it controls access to the highway bridge over the Gapeau, interdicting any armored move on Hyères. The Germans have turned it into a strongpoint and hope to hold it as long as possible, even to the point of sacrificing its garrison. Several French assaults have failed and a pounding by artillery has not caused any significant damage. In order to reduce it once and for all, a special assault force is assembled from the veteran division's best units for a brutal and bloody attack... |
 |
 |
PP5 - Today We Take Hyères
1944 - The 21stof August - Late in the afternoon, soon after the surrender of the Golf-Hôtel, the 1st Free French Division rushes into Hyères. A first objective is to quickly seize the western outskirts of the town, in order to interdict any German retreat that might reinforce the inner defenses of Toulon. The French cross the center of town to the cheers of the crowd, but as soon as they approach the western exit, they receive a less friendly welcome: salvos of 88mm shells fired from a German battery installed on the slopes of Birds' Mountain. Their simple mission is about to become a much harder task than it seemed at first sight... |
| PP6 - Under a Sky of Lead
1944 - The 21stof August - In the gap between the 1st Free French Division and the 3rd Algerian Infantry Division, the 9th Colonial Infantry Division and 1st Armored Division have begun attacking the north-eastern defenses of Toulon. The attack axis is along a valley - through Solliès-Pont and La Farlède, then between the Thouar and Coudon Hills toward La Valette, and finally between the Thouar Hills and Faron Mountain toward Toulon. The small hilltop village of Solliès-Ville lies north of this axis and must be seized to secure the flank of the armored thrust. This objective is assigned to the 6th Senegalese Regiment. Captain Ternynch's 10th Company manages to take the village after a bloody fight; but with most of his men hors de combat, Ternynch orders his unit to fall back, while he stays behind with a tiny rearguard to wait for relief by the 9th Company. But at the very moment the 9th is approaching Solliès-Ville, the Germans launch a counter-attack. Under intense artillery shelling from both sides, the race for control of the village is on... |
 |
 |
PP7 - A Hunter in a Hurry
1944 - The 21stof August - After the fall of Solliès-Ville, the 9th Colonial Infantry Division continues the attack along its designated axis. However, its progress is slowed by numerous enemy positions in the valley and the surrounding hills, which disperse the infantry efforts. The reconnaissance tanks of the 1stArmored Division, deployed too early and without good infantry coordination, soon find themselves surrounded and in great danger. With no chance that the infantry alone will be able to rescue them, the decision is made to send the Shermans forward to help break their isolation. But the infantry cooperation doesn't improve; and so, to rescue their comrades, the medium tanks will have to go it alone across an area that is swept by fire from enemy anti-tank batteries and unsecured against German infantry. The word "difficult" does not even begin to describe their task. Nevertheless, one after another, the Shermans start their diesel engines... |
| PP8 - A Little Bit Closer to Heaven
1944 - The 22ndof August - To the left of the 9th Colonial Infantry Division, the 1st Free French Division resumes its progress. The Thouar Hills southeast of the valley provide ideal positions for the Germans' anti-tank guns, which are protected by strong entrenched infantry nests. A first attempt is made to outflank these positions with a combined assault to encircle them. Hill 79.2 is surrounded with few problems, but Hill 75.3, east of Le Thouar summit, offers a stiff resistance which causes many casualties to the Allied troops. A direct assault on this hill is now unavoidable, and the 11th Bataillon de Marche, is assigned to it, with support from an engineer company and from a platoon of Stuarts belonging to the "Porpoise" troops - the Pacific Marine Battalion. Peppered with mines, traps and trenches, the hill will be a tough nut to crack for the French troops, especially since the Germans are preparing to reinforce its defenses by sending some troops from the La Garde garrison... |
 |
 |
PP9 - Night Hotchpotch
1944 - The 23rdof August The commandos of the "Choc" Battalion, attached to the 3rd Algerian Infantry Division, have progressed deep inside Toulon, in an attempt to join their compatriots from the 9th Colonial Infantry Division south of Faron Mountain. Darkness fell as they reached the vicinity of the Place d'Espagne, so they have installed themselves in dispersed order in the surrounding buildings for the night, intending to continue the advance against the disorganized enemy in the morning. But the Germans are not so disorganized after all; they assemble a nighttime mopping-up operation, designed to methodically engage and destroy the tired French troops one squad at a time. An hour before dawn, the shooting starts - and in the indescribable chaos which follows, the French officers, helped by small partisan groups, must try to regroup their dispersed units in order to repel the German assault... |
| PP10 - A Cab for Ste-Anne
1944 - The 24thof August - The 4th Senegalese Regiment of the 9th Colonial Infantry Division, tasked with the relief of the 3rd Algerian Infantry Division in the various positions it holds in western Toulon, reaches the city's outskirts. The regiment's commander assigns his unit the objective of completing the junction with the troops invading Toulon from the east and the north. The lack of transport vehicles makes it difficult to quickly reinforce the point elements, so old Peugeot 202s are requisitioned from the militia to strengthen the transportation pool. The Germans, regrouping around the Grignan artillery barracks and the Marine Arsenal, try from time to time to make desperate counter-attacks and infiltrations to delay the inevitable outcome of the battle. As the fighting rages, the Germans sometimes achieve a local superiority - can the French reinforcements be transported to these hot spots fast enough to avert catastrophe? |
 |
|