The Champagne Campaign: The Spectacular Airborne Invasion That Turned the Tide of Battle in Southern France in 1944

xiv, 298 pp. The meticulously planned invasion of southern France and the unassuming commander who led it were largely overlooked in the wake of the Normandy landings. Operation Anvil, the Allied invasion of southern France during the summer of 1944, may have been the most underrated amphibious campaign of World War II. Perhaps even less has been written about its commander, Major General Alexander M. Patch, who headed the U.S. Seventh Army during the landings. A quiet professional, Patch lacked the color and public charisma possessed by some of his better-known compatriots. But Patch and Anvil left a lasting mark on the course of the war. - Military History Quarterly, Winter 2008