INFANTRY MAGAZINE April-June 2012, page 51 by Russell A. Eno
This is a superbly researched account of the background events, and consequences of the invasion of France's Mediterranean coast in the autumn of 1944, at a time when the Allies had opened the second front which Soviet Premier Josef Stalin had long sought against Axis forces. Even as the Wehrmacht marshaled its units to react to the Allies' successful D-Day landings in France, they had to contend with airborne and amphibious landings in the expanse of coastline extending from Marseilles to Toulon to Nice, an area which encompasses the French Riviera.
The Allied invasion of southern France on 15 August 1944—initially code named Operation Anvil to complement Operation Sledgehammer, the planned invasion of Normandy—was later renamed Operation Dragoon just as Operation Sledgehammer was to be re-designated Operation Overlord. Although certainly not intentionally, this was to later preclude confusion with British security forces' military control of Kenya — also named Operation Anvil — during the Man Mau rebellion beginning in 1954, and with the U.S. series of 21 nuclear tests of the same name in the early 1980's. Regardless of the naming and the timing of Operation Anvil/Dragoon, this superbly planned and executed amphibious undertaking demonstrated the U.S. Navy's facility for force projection, something demonstrated throughout World War II and later in the Inchon landing in Korea, although this has been less credited than it deserved in other published histories.
Dr. Sussna has discussed the invasion of the French Mediterranean coast at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels, including the controversy over whether the invasion should have been undertaken at all. The British opposed the landing, feeling that it would divert resources from the main effort at Normandy, a reasonable concern. The French were in favor of it, not only because of the damage it could inflict on the German occupying forces, but also because of the morale boost it would give the beleaguered French who had suffered under the Vichy government. President Roosevelt and GEN Dwight D. Eisenhower were adamant and ultimately prevailed in their conviction that opening a new front in southern France would not only provide the much-needed deep water ports to the south, but also force German units to fight in yet another direction, thus preventing them from shifting forces north to reinforce Wehrmacht divisions opposing the Normandy landings.
Most accounts of the amphibious landings in World War II have focused on the United States Marine Corps' (USMC) operations in the Pacific Theater, and rightly so, for the Marines' tenacity, initiative, and valor against the Imperial Japanese forces have earned them their place in history. Largely unnoticed, however, is the fact that the U.S. Army conducted more amphibious landings than the Marines in the war. Naval contributions to the ultimate victory in the context of joint operations are acknowledged in accounts of the monumental undertaking that comprised the D-Day landings of June 6, 1944, and now Dr. Sussna's book describes the roles of the naval forces that made possible a virtually flawless insertion of American and French ground forces into German-occupied France. And that is what makes Dr. Sussna's book both unusual and valuable, for he addresses the naval component of the landing forces in detail, and specifically the role of the landing ship tank, commonly referred to as an LST. A typical LST boasted a crew of approximately 100 sailors, and the order of battle for Operation Dragoon lists Task Forces 84, 85, and 87 which comprised a total of approximately 77 such LSTs. And it was a young man named Stephen Sussna who served in the heat of the action as a helmsman aboard LST 1012. Defeat and Triumph is not merely one man's memoir of his wartime experience, based upon recollections possibly filtered by the passage of time — for his accounts of his own actions are buried in the reference material at the end of the book — but is instead an exhaustively researched and substantiated account of the operation which helped turn the tide of the war in Europe. The author has drawn from unpublished interviews, maps, good balanced data collection from diaries of Allied and Axis personnel alike, and charts and tables that supplement the narrative. As the editor of the U.S. Infantry's branch magazine, I particularly welcomed Dr. Sussna's use of detailed, clearly drawn maps to support the text. In the many wartime memoirs that come across my desk each year, the single greatest failing is the lack of maps, and I can assure you that Defeat and Triumph has no such shortcoming.
Defeat and Triumph: The Story of a Controversial Allied Invasion and French Rebirth is a treasure, as much for its exhaustive research, appendices, and bibliography as for its detailed, masterful narrative of a superbly planned, supported, and executed amphibious landing in enemy-held territory. Buy it, read it, and share it with those who have a genuine interest in military history. It is that good!
ARMY MAGAZINE (official magazine of the U.S. Army) April 2012, page 85
Operation Anvil (later called Operation Dragoon), the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, was always controversial. Churchill opposed it; Roosevelt and Eisenhower were for it. The operation succeeded in its goal of liberating most of France in about a month. Although it was a highly ambitious, large-scale operation, it has always been overshadowed by the even more ambitious Operation Overlord, the Normandy landings, which occurred two months earlier.
Stephen Sussna, a sailor on LST (landing ship tank) 1012 during Operation Dragoon, tries to provide an encyclopedia on the subject. The book is an exhaustive examination of every aspect of the landings-individual narrative, operational and tactical details, and the strategic context. The maps, charts and information culled from unpublished interviews, letters and diaries of American, British, French and German participants offer most of the details needed to understand what went on. Firsthand accounts are exciting; however, for a fast-moving narrative, readers may look elsewhere.
The author cites historian Alan Wilts' numbers regarding the size of the operation: 60,150 initial landing forces; 10 combat divisions; 250,000 troops; 2,250 ships and landing craft; and 4,056 aircraft.
Sussna succeeds in presenting a comprehensive sense of the operation and its consequences. He notes that GEN George C. Marshall credited the landings of the U.S. Seventh Army under LTG Alexander M. Patch as greatly contributing to the deterioration of the German army in France. Sussna also observes that naval historian Samuel E. Morison considered Operation Dragoon "the nearly faultless large-scale amphibious operation of World War II."
Although some recognition of the Allied troops of Operation Dragoon and of LTG Jacob L. Devers, who was deputy supreme allied commander, Mediterranean and later U.S. 6th Army Group commander, occurred in August 2010 at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., the operation is still known as the Forgotten D-Day.
Those who wish to learn more about it can dip into this thorough reference book.
GLOBAL WAR STUDIES 2010 by William E. Colligan
Stephen Sussna offers the reader one of the most comprehensive accounts of events surrounding Operation ANVIL/DRAGOON that perhaps has ever been written. He approaches the subject from three dimensions: the individual, tactical/operational, and strategic perspectives. The lengthy tome covers in detail the Allied landings in southern France on 15 August 1944, a subject often neglected by those wanting to add yet another book to the stacks covering the more well-known Allied D-Day landings in Normandy, France.
From the individual perspective, Sussna recounts the narrative not only as a dispassionate author and researcher, but as an eyewitness as well. Sussna was a sailor on USS LST-IOI2 (Landing Ship Tank) that participated in the operation bringing the invasion force from the Mediterranean to the beaches of the French Riviera near Saint Raphael, France. The LSTs, their commanders, and crew play a central role in his narrative and emerge from the story as the unsung heroes of this historical account.
Sussna has woven the LSTs, along with their development and evolution during World War II, into tactical descriptions of the landing and the difficulties operating these troop ships in a combat zone. Zooming out a bit farther, Sussna describes the operational context of combined naval operations supporting an amphibious assault from the well-established Italian theater to the fast-developing French theater, recently established since the Allied landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944. This former sailor does not stop at the water's edge; he continues to describe the operational events and ground maneuver of the Allied armor and infantry units, as well as their German adversaries deep into the Rhone valley. Sussna manages to convey to the reader the dynamics and details of this operation with great precision and clarity.
This would have been enough for any book on the subject, but Sussna also brings in the strategic context of ANVIL/DRAGOON by offering the reader a look at the fall and rise of France after its ignominious defeat in June 1940. He describes the uncomfortable relations between Charles de Gaulle, Churchill, and Roosevelt as well as the equally uneasy cooperation between the newly-won Vichy allies of North Africa after Operation TORCH and the already-established Free French Forces. Sussna brings out the strategic significance of ANVIL/DRAGOON as the first major operation using a majority of French units and troops and its significance in restoring French morale and pride as liberators of their own homeland. This operation played a significant role in the reestablishment of France, not just as an exiled Allied force, but as an Allied nation that would now take the fight with America and Britain into Germany itself.
As an added bonus, Sussna offers background and biographies of famous minor players like Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the author of Le Petit Prince (New York: Reynal and Hitchcock, 1943), and Audie Murphy, who would become a Hollywood actor, and less well known major players like Major General Lucian Truscott Jr., VI Corps commander, and Colonel Robert T. Frederick, commander of the First Special Service Force. The most interesting personal story is of Rear Admiral Don P. Moon, designated as the commander of the forces that would land at Camel Beach, the primary landing area for the whole operation. Rear Admiral Moon, in a story worthy of Greek tragedy, took his own life in what Sussna describes as anguished self-sacrifice exacerbated by a serious head injury, only two weeks prior to Operation ANVIL/DRAGOON.
Perhaps the biggest criticism of the book is that Sussna tries to take on too much. He is able to maneuver surely and steadily to his destination like his beloved LSTs when describing the individual and tactical/operational narratives, full of marvelous details that only a veteran and practitioner would know. However, his weakness is shown as he navigates the deeper waters of the strategic realm. The sections of the book dealing with France and its national struggle are riddled with factual errors. In just one example, when he discusses France's post war struggle with its collaborationist past, he cites the trial in the 1990s of an M. Papillon. The actual name, easily confirmed, is Maurice Papon. In other sections, he redundantly repeats quotes and passages that had been clearly stated previously, obviously an editing oversight. As it stands, it might have been better if Sussna would have changed the title and introduced France's strategic challenges only in a contextual manner and not as a primary thrust of his book. One can hope that a subsequent edition can clean up these problems so they do not detract from his admirable work.
The only other disappointment I have with Sussna's writing is that he has chosen to hide many of his personal insights and anecdotes in end notes in the back of the book. These eyewitness accounts and stories would only add to the book and bring out more of the individual narrative. Perhaps Sussna's sense of humility causes him to bury these accounts, but at least he has recorded them for posterity and we must be grateful for that.
Sussna does do a fine job in re-energizing the strategic debate on whether the decision of choosing a southern France operation over a Balkans one was a good one. In weighing both sides of the issue, he makes a good case for conducting Operation ANVIL/DRAGOON using the geographical, logistical, political, and military factors at the time. It may not close the debate, but it appears to score a point for the France strategy in its detailed assessment.
The first time I stood on Cap Drammont looking out on the sparkling Mediterranean and the Ile d'Or rising out of the sea as a young university student in the south of France, I only had the most general knowledge of that location and its significance to the monumental events of World War II. In his book, Stephen Sussna offers an in-depth look at extreme heroism and consummate skill of Allied navy, army, air force, special purpose forces, and civilian contributors locked in a common struggle against a desperate and determined foe that led to a successful operation of the European Theater during World War II. We owe him a debt of gratitude for compiling such a comprehensive volume on this subject that includes many eyewitness accounts, not the least of which comes from Sussna himself. Very few World War II veterans are still producing these valuable accounts today. It is with great respect that I recommend this book for those wanting to learn about Operation ANVIL/DRAGOON and the fight for southern France.
MILITARY REVIEW May-June 2009 by Lester W. Grau
There are histories and there are memoirs. Often, they are not interchangeable. Defeat and Triumph works as both a history and a memoir. The author, Professor Emeritus Stephen Sussna is a Professor of Law at Baruch College, City University of New York, and is a respected urban planner. During World War II, he was the helmsman on LST 1012, a U.S. Navy amphibious landing craft that participated in Operation Dragoon—the invasion of Southern France. Unlike most World War veterans who write books based on their experiences, Professor Sussna has taken his time to examine the events surrounding his war, his operation, and his role in all of it.
The invasion of Northern France through Normandy is known by the most casual students of history. Operation Dragoon, the equally successful and less-costly invasion of Southern France through the French Riviera, is less known, only because it followed two months later. It was successful, but it was also controversial. Winston Churchill opposed it because it took assets that could have been used in a thrust through the Balkans—the "soft underbelly of Europe"—to prevent future Soviet influence in the region. Lieutenant General Mark Clark, whose Fifth Army was struggling up the Italian Peninsula, also opposed it. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, however, pushed it through. Operation Dragoon captured some 80,000 prisoners, destroyed the German XIX Army, and drove 500 miles to link up with Patton's Third Army. It liberated Southern France, obtaining the ports of Toulon and Marseilles for Allied logistical efforts. It also reintroduced the French as a force on the European continent and assured Charles de Gaulle's prominent place in post-war politics.
Dr. Sussna's rigorous research puts the operation into the context of the war and its times. He provides new material and reinterprets existing material. He first sets the big picture and then draws together the Army, aviation, naval, and allied perspectives to portray the complexity of the operation. The days when the burden of fighting two wars is borne by less than one percent of the U.S. population, it is instructive to reflect on a time when the burden of combat was borne by over 10 percent of the population and the civilian sector was far more involved in its support and successes. Dr. Sussna has provided a window into that time.
What is not present enough in this memoir is the story about the sailor who wrote it. Over a million young Americans served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, but there are few accessible records of their individual experiences. It would have been nice to have a bit more of young Steve Sussna and his time at sea. But, this modest sailor really wrote this book to honor his shipmates and to provide a record of an operation, his operation, that should not be forgotten. He, like so many of the other veterans, went back to civilian life to build our nation into what it is today. I am glad he has now taken the time to tell us about the war. Defeat and Triumph is recommended for students of history and professionals working in joint and combined headquarters.
OSS SOCIETY JOURNAL Spring-Summer 2009 by Alice A. Booker
“Dr. Stephen Sussna is professor of law emeritus at Baruch College of the City University of New York, a realty expert, and head of his own consulting firm. In 1944, he was a sailor on an LST (Landing Ship Tank) 1012, carrying a crew of about 100. The LST 1012 was one of many such vessels participating in the little known and highly controversial Allied Invasion of the French Riviera on August 15, 1944.
Sussna has taken the time to think through this chunky volume (719 PP), and the interviews, correspondence, and other research is staggering. Since much of it was and will become increasingly difficult to find, he has generously included myriad appendices with complete copies of original documents and related matter, not only American and British data, but also French and German archival material.
The author provides eyewitness accounts of what was initially dubbed OPERATION ANVIL and later renamed OPERATION DRAGOON. His own memories are combined with the recollections of many others, including many of the OSSers then active in Europe whose stories are well integrated into the woven fabric of the story of this military operation.
One particular friend, OSSer Geoffrey M. T. Jones (French alias, Paul George Guillot from Avignon), has provided numerous anecdotes and vital, valid historical perspective, starting with OSS efforts to organize the Maquis, and his Jedburgh group's parachute mission from Algiers into France before the invasion, known as OPERATION RABELAIS. And notwithstanding being intimately involved, Jones, Sussna and others are forthright and candid about the pros and cons of the operation, giving it unusual balance.
Jones is quoted in pithy anecdotes, reflecting the history as well as the flavor of the OSS participation, e.g. two such items: (1) the very successful "firefly," a small plastic cylinder into which was packed an explosive charge, dropped by the Resistance into German gas tanks on their fill-ups, and blowing up after several hours…”
BOOK NEWS 2009
“During WW II, Dr. Sussna (Professor of Law Emeritus, Baruch College, City University of New York) sened as a sailor on Landing Ship Tank 1012 which participated in Operation Dragoon on August 15, 1944, a little-known Allied invasion of the French Riviera. Here, he draws on previously unpublished American, British, French, and German diaries, letters, and interviews to provide a panoramic history of the operation and related events in France, the United State, the Mediterranean, and Germany from 1940 to 1945. This book includes an abundance of provocative material about four Allied invasions in the Mediterranean. Dr. Sussna relates this material to current military intelligence, logistic, and diplomatic problems facing Americans and their Allies. The book includes over 50 b&w historical photos and maps, 50 pages of notes, about 80 pages of primary source documents, an extensive bibliography with comments, and a glossary of acronyms and other terms.”
WWII History Magazine Book Review, 2009
This magazine does not often review self-published books. Too often they are poorly written and self-serving. But we have made an exception for this exceptional book. Stephen Sussna, an emeritus professor of law, was the helmsman on LST 1012 during Operation Dragoon, the invasion of the French Riviera, on August 15, 1944. In Defeat and Triumph, he goes into great detail about all aspects of this important, dramatic, and controversial invasion and his ship’s role in the most dangerous and tragic event of the landings.
In his panoramic, well-researched history, Sussna thoroughly analyzes the pros and cons of Dragoon and provides a behind-the-scenes look at this large-scale but largely overlooked operation that ensured the liberation of France and the defeat of Nazi Germany.