Part of the Vichy state, during the Second World War Provence was occupied first by the Italians, then the Germans.
In the South of France, the most memorable event of the Second World War was the sea and airborne invasion of 15 August 1944. Perhaps because it went relatively smoothly, this "Second D-Day" was soon relegated to the back pages of history. Operation Dragoon and the liberation is however only a small part of the story.