World War II: France honours African fighters

France commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings on the French Riviera during World War II to repel the Nazis, with events on Thursday that particularly honored the many soldiers from Africa, sent by France’s then colonies, who took part.

Sometimes called the “forgotten D-Day ,” the event was marked by ceremonies presided over by French President Emmanuel Macron . Storm warnings Thursday around the Mediterranean coast forced the cancellation of a maritime portion of the events.

Mr Macron and Cameroonian President Paul Biya were due to deliver speeches at the Boulouris national cemetery in the town of Saint-Raphaël , where the bodies of 464 French soldiers killed in the fighting in August 1944 lie.

Other African leaders also took part in the commemorations.

Six World War II veterans – five French and one foreign – were to receive the Legion of Honor , the nation’s highest honor. An aeronautical demonstration and fireworks display were also planned.

Beginning on August 15, 1944, hundreds of thousands of troops, primarily American and French, landed on the Mediterranean coast as part of Operation Dragoon.

The operation was intended to coincide with the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944, but was delayed due to a lack of resources.

Africans made up as much as half of the French contingent, soldiers from what are now some twenty independent countries.

There is no definitive count of Allied casualties, but the French Defense Ministry claims that 1,300 Allied soldiers died in the first two days of the operation.

Operation Dragoon allowed the Allies to liberate most of southern France in just four weeks.

Soldiers from the Normandy landings in northwestern France met Operation Dragoon troops on September 12, 1944, in the eastern region of Burgundy.

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