Rear Admiral Carleton Bryant served as commander of Battleship Division 5 for most of 1944 from his flagship, USS Texas. At Normandy, Admiral Bryant was given command of the naval bombardment of Omaha Beach and later Cherbourg on June 25^th. Like his flagship, Admiral Bryant was a battle-tested and battle-proven officer by August 1944. The men who served with him said he always had to be on the move and in the action – his Flag Lieutenant Roger Harper joked that he just liked the sea pay. After his and Texas’s success at Normandy, it was only natural that Admiral Bryant command Task Group 85.12, the gunfire support group off Saint Tropez during Operation Dragoon.

1^st Lieutenant Weldon James was a Marine Corps Public Relations Officer serving as a war correspondent. He had been stationed aboard USS Texas for the Normandy Invasion and remained aboard through the Battle of Cherbourg and Operation Dragoon. Lt. James was a prolific writer, producing dozens of stories just from his short time on Texas, and he was just as thorough as he was prolific. Lt. James interviewed every wounded Ranger that came aboard on June 7^th, distributed questionnaires to every Marine aboard, tracked down every sailor, Marine, and officer aboard with an interesting family tie to the action, and even managed to find his way onto a shore party on June 12^th to inspect the damage inflicted by USS Texas on Pointe du Hoc and surrounding areas. A first-hand witness who took good notes, Lt. James is now our eyes and ears for the Invasion of Southern France.

USS Texas arrived in Taranto, Italy on July 30^th, 1944 and on August 1^st, personnel began receiving briefings on Operation Dragoon. On August 3^rd, Admiral Bryant conferenced with the captains and senior staff of TG 85.12 on USS Texas and the French Admiral Robert Jaujard, another Normandy veteran who was commanding six Free French ships for the Invasion of Southern France. On August 10^th, there was a USO show on USS Texas, featuring the famous actors Mary Brian and Jack Healy and other performers. The next day, August 11^th, Texas and TG 85.12 were underway for the Invasion of Southern France.

In the early morning of August 15^th, 1944, the US 8th Fleet approached Southern France over a 40 mile span from Port Cros to Saint-Raphaël. USS Texas and TG 85.12 took position off the coast of Saint Tropez and Sainte-Maxime, a pair of small ports roughly in the center of the invasion area. At 0440, heavy bombing on shore could be heard from Texas, but not seen. At 0616, Texas’s spotter plane was in position over her target, Pointe de la Rabiou, but still could not see due to haze and smoke. Visibility from the ship was as low as 2,000 yards. Texas fired a two-gun salvo at 0651, but the plane could not see where it landed. Texas fired more salvos until 0659 with the same results. Not one to sit and wait for better weather, Admiral Bryant transferred to the destroyer USS Forrest to get closer to TG 85.12’s targets and direct their gunfire from there. From Forrest, Bryant ordered USS Fitch to close on Texas’s target and spot for her gunfire.

Pointe de la Rabiou was a critical target for TG 85.12. The 45th Infantry Division was scheduled to land on beaches near Sainte-Maxime to the north of the Point. The six 155mm guns at Pointe de la Rabiou would have had an ideal field of fire against the 45th’s transports. With USS Fitch in position, Texas opened fire again at 0735. Between the skillful use of radar plotting from Texas and Fitch’s keen observers, Texas’s gunfire found her targets in short order. Fitch reported that Texas had very accurate gunfire requiring minimal adjustments, despite no one onboard Texas ever laying eyes on the target.

Texas fired on Pointe de la Rabiou from 0735 to 0814, lifting her bombardment for the 3^rd Infantry Division arriving from their beachhead. The 3^rd had seen action in amphibious landings in North Africa, Sicily, and Anzio already and showed their experience with clockwork precision in Saint Tropez. The 3^rd Infantry hit the beach and then Pointe de la Rabiou exactly on schedule, down to the minute.

The Army encountered light resistance as they came ashore. Southern France was indeed heavily fortified, but Germany had withdrawn many forces to reinforce the Normandy front. This, along with an overwhelming pre-invasion naval and aerial bombardment, created the conditions for a resounding victory in Southern France. Experienced units like the 45^th and 3^rd Infantry Divisions were able to capitalize on these advantages. The Americans quickly met up with the French Resistance and Free French divisions began landing in the Saint Tropez area later in the day, set on capturing the major ports at Toulon and Marseilles while the Americans pushed inland to link up with the Normandy front.

USS Texas remained in the Saint Tropez area on August 16^th, but no calls came for her gunfire. That same day, German High Command ordered a retreat all across France, with the exception of the garrisons at Toulon, Marseilles, and other key ports. These orders were intercepted, decoded, translated, and provided to the Allied commanders within a day. The morning of August 17th, Texas was released and ordered to Palermo, Italy. In parting, Admiral Jaujard sent the following message to Admiral Bryant: