The Battle of La Ciotat was a naval engagement in August 1944 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

as part of Operation Dragoon. Allied forces, engaged at the main landings in

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its te ...

, ordered a small flotilla of American and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

warships to make a feint against the port city of

La Ciotat La Ciotat (; oc, label= Provençal Occitan, La Ciutat ; in Mistralian spelling ''La Ciéutat''; 'the City') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France. It is the southeasternmost ...

as a diversion. The Allies hoped to draw

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

forces away from the main landing zones at Cavalaire-sur-Mer, Saint-Tropez and Saint Raphaël. During the operation, two German warships attacked the Allied

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same clas ...

Battle

On 17 August 1944, the Allied command appointed Captain John D. Bulkeley to take charge of the operation. Bulkeley proceeded to La Ciotat with a force of one destroyer, , 17

PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the war ...

s and the British s HMS ''Scarab'' and . When the Allies arrived off La Ciotat, the PT boats and gunboats were sent in ahead of ''Endicott'' and sank a German merchant steamer in the harbor. The warships then bombarded targets in the city until two German ships were spotted. They were the former Italian ''Antilope'', renamed ''UJ6082'' and the former

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

ian

armed yacht An armed yacht was a yacht that was armed with weapons and was typically in the service of a navy. The word "yacht" ("hunter"; Dutch "jacht"; German "jagd", literally meaning "to hunt") was originally applied to small, fast and agile naval vessels ...

''Nimet Allah''. ''UJ6082'' was armed with one gun and two torpedo tubes. Her sister ship ''UJ6081'' had been sunk two days earlier at the

Battle of Port Cros The Battle of Port Cros was a battle of World War II fought off the French Riviera in the Mediterranean Sea on the island of Port-Cros. The battle began when a United States Navy warship encountered two German warships in August 1944 while suppo ...

. The yacht mounted only a German anti-aircraft/ anti-tank Flak gun. The two British gunboats engaged the Germans with their and 12-pounder weapons, but the enemy fire was so accurate that they were forced to withdraw. USS ''Endicott'', with only one gun in operation, opened fire from within of the enemy ships. The Germans switched fire from the gunboats to ''Endicott'' and hit her, wounding one man, the only American casualty. Although a dud, the shell tore a large hole in ''Endicott''s side. In an engagement that lasted just under an hour, the Americans and the Germans dueled at close range until both the corvette and the yacht were sunk. The Allies then resumed their bombardment of the city. When later asked why he engaged two enemy vessels, Captain Bulkeley replied, "What else could I do? You engage, you fight, you win. That is the reputation of our Navy, then and in the future". On the same day, American aircraft, just north of La Ciotat, dropped around 300 dummy paratroopers and explosive devices that simulated rifle fire. German casualties are unknown, although ''Endicott'' rescued 169 sailors who became prisoners of war. John Bulkeley eventually rose to the rank of vice admiral in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, retiring from service in 1988.

Gallery

File:HMS Aphis AWM 302297.jpeg, HMS ''Aphis'' during World War II File:USS Endicott 0549504.jpg, USS ''Endicott'' in 1944

References

*Swarns, Rachel L. Vice Admiral John D. Bulkeley, 84, Hero of D-Day and Philippines New York Times (1996), retrieved 8/30/10 {{Liberation of France

1944 in France August 1944 events