Sitka Force
The First Special Service Force trained for this missions in southern France at Lake Albano, located south of the recently liberated city of Rome. It was during this training period that Brigadier General Fredrick, the man who had been with the Force from the start, announced he was leaving to assume command of the First Airborne Task Force, which was preparing for the invasion of France. Needless to say, the men of the FSSF were shocked by their commander's announcement.
In early July, the Force moved to Santa Maria di Castelabate for continued amphibious training in preparation for its role in Operation Dragoon. In August it moved to the staging area on the island of Corsica. From Corsica, the FSSF made assault landings at the Ile du Levant by the Sitka Baker Force and the Ile de Port-Cros by the Sitka Able Force , two islands in the Iles d'Hyères chain off the coast of France. The Force's main objective was to knock out the coastal guns that would threaten the main Dragoon assault forces , the guns were finaly a german fake.
On August 14, 1944, the transports carrying the FSSF were positioned roughly three miles off the coast. Early morning on August 15 found the men paddling ashore in rubber boats under the cover of darkness. Knowing the most accessible beaches would obviously be the most heavily guarded, Colonel Edwin A. Walker, the new commander of the FSSF, selected the areas that had steep cliffs on both islands for landing points.
The landings at both Ile de Port-Cros and Ile du Levant went smoothly and virtually undetected. Levant was taken by 8:30 that evening, but Port-Cros held out longer, putting up resistance that led to the deaths of four members of the Force. But eventually, with the assistance of artillery and a rocket attack provided by the HMS Dido and the USS Barry , the entire mission objective was accomplished. Both Ile de Port-Cros and Ile du Levant were in Allied hands.
Best with the CMETO pack
Sitka Able
[ September 09, 2007, 09:36 PM: Message edited by: MacDuro ]