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 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
|
United States United Kingdom | Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| John D. Bulkeley | Hermann Polenz | ||||||
| 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 | ||||||
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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.