Montelimar, France
The 3rd Infantry Division made an assault landing in Southern France on August 15, 1944. We bypassed Marseilles and Toulon and left the mop up to the French forces which had landed on our left. The town of Montelimar was a key objective because it controlled the entrance to the Rhone Valley passage north. This escape route was choked off early by our artillery, infantry and air force and the retreating enemy was trapped between our attack and the Rhone River. Twelve miles of roadway was covered with thousands of dead horses, smashed carts, burned out vehicles and blackened enemy corpses. But little did we realize what bitter fighting lay ahead in the Vosges Mountains and the Colmar Pocket
Russ Cloer - 3_7_I_Recon