Delayed two months by their strategists to allow a full-strength Normandy invasion, the Allies finally landed in southern France during the month of August 1944.
This “Champagne Campaign” (as many Allied soldiers came to call it) played a key role in the victory of Nazi Germany, to include securing the vital port of Marseilles. These battles featured a balanced French-American army, superbly coordinated with multi-national air and sea forces and a full-fledged French Resistance movement, facing the always-dangerous Wehrmacht.
All the battle actions took place in the spectacular setting of the French Riviera and Provence. The craggy beaches of the Cote d’Azur are best seen from off-shore, and the decisive capture of Toulon and Marseilles from inside each city. Examining the Allied efforts to attack deeply up the Rhone River and cut off the German withdrawal offer participants the chance to consider “operational maneuver” in some of the most lovely terrain in the world.
Study of the “Champagne Campaign” offers business leaders a wide range of historical metaphors to illuminate challenges of today and tomorrow. Issues of strategic vision and operational implementation, communication both internal and external, cohesion (especially from a multi-national and cross-functional perspective) and innovative use of cutting edge technology – all are studied to great effect in this campaign. |
