As it happened, the Seventh US Army went through the Vosges fairly easily in November, even though the German defenses had solidified in September. Eisenhower had to push very hard to get Churchill to agree to the southern France landings, he wanted them very much to draw pressure off the Normandy front. The landing was originally code-named "Anvil," later changed to "Dragoon." Churchill quipped that it was because he had to be dragooned into it!
The capture of Marseilles was fortuitous, since its port was nearly intact, and it was able to supply both the Seventh US and French First Armies, and even some of Patton's Third.
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My Twilight claim to fame: I ran "Allegheny Uprising" at Allegheny College, spring of 1988.
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