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WWII On This Day: August 16

What happened on August 16 during World War II? This date brings together 2 events from 1944, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1944
Jean de Lattre de Tassigny aboard the troop transport M.S. Batory approaching Provence, 13 August 1944, as Army B moved toward the landing area.
Jean de Lattre de Tassigny aboard the troop transport M.S. Batory approaching Provence, 13 August 1944, as Army B moved toward the landing area. Unknown photographer / SCA-ECPAD, TERRE 264-5921 · Licence Ouverte 2.0 Source
Operation Dragoon

French Army B Begins Landing

The first major echelon of French Army B came ashore on 16 August, including the 1st Free French Division, 3rd Algerian Infantry Division and 1st Armored Division. Jean de Lattre de Tassigny's force would eventually number roughly 250,000 to 260,000 men, with a large share drawn from North African and other African units. Its immediate operational problem was the port zone. Toulon and Marseille were the deep-water objectives that justified much of the operation's logistical value, while VI Corps turned west and north toward Aix, the Durance and the Rhône…

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German prisoners of war captured during the Soviet summer offensive march through Moscow on 17 July 1944.
Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-696-0426-14A · CC BY-SA 3.0 DE · Source
Operation Bagration

Germany attacks toward the Baltic gap

German forces opened a relief operation toward the Baltic coast in an attempt to restore land contact with Army Group North, which had been cut off when 1st Baltic Front reached the Gulf of Riga. Armour attacked through the narrow northern sector while Soviet fronts farther south held the approaches to East Prussia and the Vistula bridgeheads. The counterattack illustrated the changed balance of the campaign. Germany could now mass armour against selected Soviet penetrations because the front was shorter and reinforcements were arriving from nearby regions. The Soviets still…

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