Introduction
Operation 'Dragoon' and Beyond - Then and Now is a new book from After the Battle, now part of the Pen & Sword family. Authored by Jean Paul Pallud, After the Battle's longest serving author, this high-quality hardcover book features 224 glossy pages with 158 images is catalogued with ISBN: 9781399046114. Curiously, my copy contains 296 pages, including front and back material; I did not count the photos although only a handful of pages lack any images.
After the Battle is a fascinating concept that amazed me for over 40 years - show scenes during the war and then find and capture the scene in the present day. These are valuable resources for historians and tour guides. Operation 'Dragoon' covers;
From the Riviera, to the Rhine and on to the Colmar pocket, all three operations are covered in this volume by Jean Paul Pallud, and each show the action and locations in our unique ‘then and now’ style.
Operation Dragoon holds a particular interest for me; I had the honor of being befriended by private Ralph Burrell of the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, who fought in Anzio, Dragoon, through the Battle of the Bulge where he won the Silver Star, and through VE Day. He confided some of his war experiences, including Dragoon and the the campaign through southern France.
Let's look at this book.
Content
Operation 'Dragoon' and Beyond - Then and Now is told through 296 pages including front and back material, divided into the following chapters:
After the Battle explained and recreated battles and campaigns. Rarely was I not amazed by the photographs that enhanced the text. Then and Now continues, using content from After the Battle and combined with new information when discovered.
Using wartime photos, the researchers and authors track down the vantage points of the original photo and show us the scene today. An impressive amount of research goes into these publications - I find the text worth the investment just for the thorough historical content. I am amazed by the amount of planning, research and effort that must be expended to find and recreated the photographs. The synergy of the imagery with the words results in a treasurer trove for modelers and historians alike.
This book includes a history of Dragoon, including strategic considerations of both sides, planning, introductions of key commanders, composition of forces (including the Forces Francaises de l'Intérieur, "the resistance"), and descriptions of defenses and the attackers material and plans to overcome them. Dragoon incorporated Rangers, Commandos and Airborne forces, each covered appropriately. The beaches and other battle areas are discussed in detail, as are Allied advances and German retreats - and counterattacks.
Two special sections highlight the exploits of Medal of Honor recipient Audie Murphy. Four pages covers his Distinguished Service Cross action, and a five-page section details Murphy 's one-man-stand at Holtzwihr. It also covers his post-war movie career and tragic death. The third issue of After the Battle magazine covered then-Lieutenant Murphy's stand, and this book includes two photos of the remains of the M10 found in the area.
Ultimately, the author provides a thorough story of Dragoon and the subsequent advance through the battle for Alsace. It covers the successes and even the failures, such as Eisenhower's decision not to bounce the Rhine near Strasbourg. Actions are recounted on the strategic scale as well as focused accounts of battles, e.g., 11. Panzer-Division's August attempt to encircle the 36th Division and subsequent rout, Operation Sonnenwende, the Colmar Pocket, the fighting around Jebsheim.
Photographs, Artwork, and Graphics
Modelers - especially those who enjoy creating dioramas, vehicle and equipment historians, and artists will find a cornucopia of incredible and amazing photos in this book. As this series is oriented towards showing contemporary wartime scenes next to the vantage point of the present day, it is richly populated with images. The wartime photos run the gamut of quality while the newer photos are professionally exposed and developed. Some are cut from motion picture film. All photos are black-and-white except for the four present day comparison photos on the front and back covers.
The images show armies on the march, at rest, in preparation, in combat, and often immediately after combat. You will find many studies of soldiers, tanks and other combat vehicles, softskins, strategic bunkers and panzerturm bunkers, ordnance, supplies - you get the picture. Many of the photos capture immense amounts of post-combat detritus and ruins. Emptying out 30 years of spare part bins onto a diorama could not do justice to some of the scenes.
There are some remarkable schemes in this book, e.g., three pages showing LSTs converted to aircraft carriers for spotter planes, several shots of captured railway guns, blown bridges over the Rhine.
Maps
Several maps accompany the text.
1. The Colmar Pocket
2. Seventh Army Advance Toward Belfort
3. 6th Army Group Plan of Attack
4. Nineteenth Army Dispositions
5. Breakout From the Blue Line
6. The Anvil Landing Plan
7. Operation Anvil-Dragoon: aircraft lanes; airborne routes; fighter patrols
8. Headquarters-level sketch of the landing beaches and inland
The then and now imagery is both mesmerizing and somber. I often say that a book is worth buying just for the imagery - this one certainly is.
Conclusion
Operation 'Dragoon' and Beyond - Then and Now impresses me to no end. I believe that After the Battle, now part of the Pen & Sword family, have a winning series. Modelers rejoice! The gallery of photos, the work that must have gone into finding and recreating the photos, the historical text, and the high-quality paper and printing of the book - all of it merges together to create, in my opinion, an exceptional look at Operation Dragoon through the Battle of Alsace. It is an excellent resource for modelers of France in 1944-45, and the European war in general.
I certainly recommend this book and look forward to the next one.
Thank you to Casemate for providing this copy for review.
Please remember to mention to vendors and retailers that you saw this product here - on Armorama.