Battle of La Ciotat

Battle of La Ciotat
Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II

American sailors examining battle damage to USS Endicott after the action off La Ciotat
Date17 August 1944
Location
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 United States
 United Kingdom
 Germany
Commanders and leaders
United States John D. Bulkeley Nazi Germany Hermann Polenz[1]
Strength
1 destroyer
2 gunboats
17 PT boats
1 corvette
1 naval yacht
Casualties and losses
United States:
1 man wounded
1 destroyer damaged
United Kingdom:
Unknown
169 captured
1 corvette sunk
1 naval yacht sunk
  • One German merchant ship was sunk during the battle

The Battle of La Ciotat was a naval engagement in August 1944 during World War II as part of Operation Dragoon. Allied forces, engaged at the main landings in Vichy France, ordered a small flotilla of American and British warships to make a feint against the port city of La Ciotat as a diversion. The Allies hoped to draw German 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.

  1. ^ O'Hara 2004, p. 239

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