Thursday honored the soldiers of the French army was too strong on the coast of north Africa land the Germans pressed Provence and the lead in the 70-year anniversary of "Operation Dragon," Friday Toulon planned.
They seemed hardly for decades to be (almost half a million Allied troops and the French army in August 1944 are), former soldiers of all nationalities, the iconic memorials Var Thursday back.
Veterans Memorial in front of the French Army of Africa, the imposition of a map on the opposite shore of the Saint-Raphael.
French Secretary of State for Veterans, Kader Arif, decorative expressed "excitement" eight "heroes" fighting in the 1944th
Among them, the communicator and Julia ambulance Russafa Robert Brown, black teenage girl was sentenced on August 15 foot landed on the beaches of the Var region of 18 years. ROQUEMAURE resistant O Marius, who participated in 20 battles and a few drops in Provence.
All guests Toulon international maritime parade on Friday aboard the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, President Francois Hollande.
You can find a comrade in North Africa, France and furnished with guests on Thursday in Paris.
The landing in Normandy on June 6, there were only about 177 French. As of 16 August, more than 250,000 soldiers, the army reached southern beaches "B" of the French, led by General de Lattre de Tassigny.
"We are Africans who came from far and wide to areas, to save the country", then sang, Muslims and Christians, and mobilized a team of volunteers sang rally Thursday before Memorial African army.
"B Army" landing in Provence, which is essentially the "Army of Africa" was created in 1830 during the conquest of Algeria and the gradual integration of the indigenous soldiers.
Half of the workforce consists of French North Africa in the second half of the native Maghreb (about 100,000) and black African (10,000), a diagram of the operation Laurent Moënard made a dragon.
- "His contribution to the final victory in the capital" -
It is also included on the French metropolis, scare the sensitivity label PETAIN colonial army. As a young Parisian André Sciard registered in 1942, the first year of the Saint-Cyr military school. It was one of the "20,000 fled to France", which had to be trained and the forces invaded North Africa in the Var in the car.
General Sciard, 90, spread over ten years chaired the National Association Memory Army Africa recently broke due to lack of members, reinforced talks in schools.
"I wanted the memory of the Army of Africa, which was published in France to hold," he said, too tired to come to celebrate St. Raphael landing is often overshadowed by the Normandy.
After demonstrating its effectiveness in Tunisia and Italy, the French is on a dangerous mission to capture army in Afghanistan, the strategic ports of Toulon and Marseille, where he placed German artillery.
"For the first time since 1940, a French army, the army opened prepared and seasoned, fought on French soil. Delete the defeat of the army in 1940 and its contribution to the final victory is very important," says Lawrence Moënard. De Lattre de Tassigny ratification of the German surrender in the name of France, Berlin May 8, 1945.
Provence was launched less than two weeks into life.
"By mixing their blood metropolitan warriors, soldiers are always linked the fate of our country in Africa", Kader Arif said Thursday in St. Raphael. "It's a common destiny, France recalls the day, with the participation of Mali and the Central African countries", which, he added.
La Motte, Var is the first city in the early morning hours of August 15, 1944 free, the sky "rained" 9000 British and American paratroopers Thursday as serving "the eternal gratitude of France," Arif in a ceremony in honor reminded the Anglo-Saxon allies.
