American World War II Cemetery in Draguignan, France

 

By sheer chance (we were running low on gas and had to drive about 20 km out of our way to find any), we stumbled upon this historical marker, commemorating the spot where on 16 August 1944 at 2230, American airborne troops made contact with the French resistance with whom they liberated the city of Draguignan.  

There were signs to the Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial, so we followed them to pay our respects.   As the website described it: 

On 12.5 acres at the foot of a hill clad with the characteristic cypresses, olive trees, and oleanders of southern France, rest 860 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the liberation of southern France in August 1944. Their headstones are arranged in straight lines, divided into four plots, and grouped about an oval pool. At each end of the cemetery is a small garden. On the hillside overlooking the cemetery is the chapel with its wealth of decorative mosaic and large sculptured figures. Between the chapel and the burial area, a bronze relief map recalls military operations in the region. On the retaining wall of the terrace, 294 names of the missing are inscribed. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.

The grounds were extremely well-maintained, quite a contrast to the somewhat run-down surrounding area.  We met the man in charge of maintaining the place and complimented him on his work.  

    The mosaic mural on the little chapel was quite impressive, done with local artists commissioned by the United States.

It is an awesome and humbling thing to be standing in the final resting place of these young men who never made it home, fighting to liberate a people they had never met from an occupation over which they had no control.  Most who died here were probably about 10 when Hitler became dictator of Germany in 1933.   Many were a little older than Christopher is now when they died.  

Today, this Mediterranean Front is far less remembered than the Normandy theater of operations which we visited a few summers ago, but the sacrifices made her were just as great.  The English language version of Wikipedia has no entry whatsoever for Draguignan, but the French language version has an interesting write-up.  Dracénois and Var refers to the region.  My translation follows: 

 

During World War II, the city was headed by Fernand Escullier.  Resistance was quite lively and several [resistance] networks were established in Draguignan. In November 1942, the city was occupied by Italian troops, replaced in 1943 by the Germans... Many young people left to avoid the STO [Service du travail obligatoire, or obligatory labor program imposed by the Germans] into the wilderness areas of the Var Highlands to join the maquis of various political persuasions. The Gestapo and the militia were active in Draguignan. The most famous Dracénois resistance fighter, Georges Cisson, was shot in 1944.

Draguignan was liberated in large part by the FFI  (French Forces of the Interior) on Aug. 15 1944.  U.S. and British paratroopers landed to the southeast, at Motte during Operation Anvil-Dragoon. The Germans, superior in number and equipment, counter-attacked during the day of August 16 to regain control of the city.  Four FFI soldiers were killed but the Resistance held on.  Thanks to the action of Helen Vidal who notified the allies of the local insurrection, the city was not ultimately bombed by U.S. aircraft. The city was liberated by the U.S. 551st Infantry Battalion. 

A memorial [see above] recalls the place where Dracénois Resistance and the Allies finally joined on August 16 at 2230. General Von Neuling surrendered to U.S. General Patch. In 1963 a memorial erected in Peace Square in honor of Resistance of Var.

 When we returned home, I got out the World War II maps we had studied at West Point and found the town in the context of the larger fighting:

I circled in green the city of Draguignan.

On the drive back through the scrubby, rugged country near what is described as France's grand canyon that must have been perfect country for the maquis,  there were numerous spots marking where members of the Resistance had been captured and summarily executed by the Germans.


Original French:

Durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, la mairie est dirigée par Fernand Escullier. La Résistance est assez vive et plusieurs réseaux s'implantent à Draguignan. En novembre 1942, la ville est occupée par les troupes italiennes, remplacées en 1943 par les Allemands. Le général Neuling réside à Draguignan, où il installe le PC du XII^e corps d'armée allemand. De nombreux jeunes dracénois partent pour éviter le STO dans les zones sauvages du Haut-Var pour rejoindre des maquis de diverses obédiences politiques. La Gestapo et la Milice sont actives à Draguignan. Le plus célèbre résistant dracénois, Georges Cisson, est fusillé en 1944.
Draguignan est en grande partie libérée par les FFI le 15 août 1944⁶ lors de l'opération Anvil-Dragoon ⁷. Les parachutistes américains et anglais atterrissent au sud-est, à La Motte. Les Allemands, supérieurs en nombre et en matériel, contre-attaquent dans la journée du 16 août pour reprendre le contrôle de la ville. Quatre FFI sont tués mais la Résistance tient bon. Grâce à l'action d'Hélène Vidal qui prévient les alliés de l'insurrection dracénoise, la ville n'est finalement pas bombardée par l'aviation américaine. La ville est libérée par le 551^e bataillon d'infanterie américain. Un monument commémoratif rappelle l'endroit où les Résistants dracénois et les Alliés font finalement leur jonction le 16 août à 22h30⁸. Le général Von Neuling se rend au général américain Patch⁹. En 1963 est inauguré un monument commémoratif érigé place de la Paix à la gloire des Résistants du Var¹⁰.