My father participated in Operation Dragoon, originally planned for the same time as D Day, but which got delayed until August 15 because of lack of resources.
My Father was a cook in the army and in England for D-Day...I had the privilege to attend the 50th Anniversary on the USS Harlan County....spent the summer attending liberation celebrations in villages all over France.
That delay was very costly but the whole Italian campaign was that way. The South of France was harder for the Germans to defend.