Operation Dragoon : the Allied invasion of the south of France / William B. Breuer.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-255) and index.

Originally published: Norato, CA : Presidio Press, 1987.

William B. Breuer's "Operation Dragoon: The Allied Invasion of the South of France" is an easy to read tale of the first days of the oft maligned ANVIL/DRAGOON combined airborne-amphibious invasion of the Cote d'Azur. Breuer's writing style is certainly appealing and he picks good combat stories to highlight action. The big picture provided by Breuer of Operation Dragoon is not particularly new, having been drawn largely from a handful of previously published books. Yet, Breuer's prose and use of many personal accounts of the foxhole-level events compiled from interviews the author conducted of surviving participants provides the reader with enough to merit the books' reading. It is worth noting that Breuer takes a quite liberal (almost plagiaristic) approach to retelling certain events that have been presented elsewhere. For example, Breuer `borrows' heavily from Adelman and Walton's "Champagne Campaign", so much so that this reviewer felt as if he were re-reading portions of the latter book. Breuer does cite "Champagne Campaign" in the bibliography so the previous authors are getting credit for providing Breuer with information, yet the way material is liberally rehashed is a bit disturbing to someone in academics.