Page 260 - Il Mediterraneo quale elemento del Potere Marittimo - Atti 16-18 settembre 1996

246 DEAN C. AlLARD

The southern France landings were a major success (33>. The allies effectively
swept German sea mines blocking.the approaches to the coast. Prior to the landings,
air and naval forces bombarded many enemy positions and in.terdicted supply li-
nes into the objective area. Later they provided dose support for the forces ashore.
Aircraft from a force of nine British and American escort carriers spotted for naval
guns, protected the fleet, and flew armed reconnaissance missions deep into the
interior of France. Al:nphibious craft, both large and small, offloaded massive quan-
tities of supplies and troops.
Within two weeks of the initiallandings, the ports of Marseilles and Toulon
fell to French troops. By the end of first month, forces landed in this area had pu-
shed 400 miles north into France where they established a continuous front with
the other Allied armies. In the meantime, through France's Mediterranean beaches
aad ports - especially Marseilles - passed the massive manpower and logfstical
requirements of modern warfare. In ali, between the August 1944 and the end of
the European conflict nine months later, no less than 1.3 million troops and almost
4.5 million tons of long cargo moved through the supply lines opened along the
Mediterranean coast (34>.
. Although many British leaders and historians viewed southern France as a
diversion that weakened the more-important campaign in Italy, there is no doubt
that this landing contributed significantly to Allied victory. The enemy was forced
to make a major retreat. The shortage of major Allied ports on the European conti-
nent following theJune 1944 Normandy inva~ion became less criticai with the ope-
ning of Marseilles. Further, Southern France, not ltaly, was the logica! poi n t to
introduce French ground forces into World War II. Those units were equivalent
to eight to ten American division <35>.
In closing this brief account of a large and complex subject, let me remind
you that the United States Navy of today is giving· special attention to operations
in the earth's littoral regions. Capabilities required for this type of warfare include
amphibious landings, air and missile bombardment missions against shore targets,
and the logistical support of armies fighting continental campaigns. Modern Ame-
ricans vividly remember the nation's hard-won amphibious successes more than
a half century ago in the island of the Pacific. But the nation's less-known experien-
ce during the same period in the relatively resrricted waters of the Mediterranean,
w h ere mari rime forces projected Alli ed power into the land masses of North Africa
and Europe, may be even more relevant to naval requirements of the 1990s. The
eventful World War II history of the U.S. Navy in the Mediterranean also stands
as a classic demonstration of the ability of seapower to influence events on the land
masses of the world.