the 1st Battalion captured assigned objectives. The 460th Field Artillery, under Lt. Col. Ray Cato, had a bulk of its guns deployed and ready to fire by 1100. The 2nd Battalion pushed through to join with the 1st Battalion as Germans began massing their forces on the outskirts of Les Arcs for an all-out counterattack. The 3rd Battalion completed a 40 km forced march as the RCT consolidated. The team attacked all assigned German positions clearing the way for Allied beach forces to push toward the north. The 1st Platoon of Capt. Bob Dalrymple's 596th engineers had joined assault operations with elements of the 509th PIB near Le Muy. The 2nd Platoon conducted operation south of Les Arcs. The 3rd Platoon had joined attack operations with 3rd Battalion. By D+3, German opposition within the airhead had ceased. Within 18 hours 9,099 troops, 213 artillery pieces and anti-tank guns and 221 vehicles had been flown over across the Mediterranean and landed by parachute and glider in enemy-held territory. Despite widely scattered landings, all missions assigned had been accomplished within 48 hours. Airborne task force losses included 560 killed, wounded and missing, and 283 jump and glider casualties. 517th PIR losses included 19 killed, 126 wounded and 137 injured through D+3. Southern France As VI Corps moved west, the 1st Airborne Task Force reverted to Seventh Army control and was assigned to protect the Army's eastern flank, while the main forces moved up the Rhone Valley. The British 2nd Parachute Brigade returned to Italy and was replaced by the First Special Service Force. Protection of the Army's eastern flank meant moving as far east as practicable and then protecting the best ground available. The initial Task Force objective was the line Fayence-La Napoule. The 517th RCT was assigned the left, the Special Service Force the center and the 509th/551st PIR the right in a narrow strip along the coast. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions were charged with the capture of Fayence and Callian. This was accomplished by 21 August. Saint-Cézaire fell to Companies G and I on the 22nd. During the attack, Company G had been pinned down. Company I surged through heavy fire up the mountainous slope to take the objective. For this action, it earned a commendation from Task Force Commander Maj. Gen. Robert T. Frederick. Saint-Vallier, Grasse, Bouyon and La Roquette fell in quick succession. In the attack on