Advancing to the north
The Germans continued to withdraw to the north along the Rhone Valley through St. Etienne and Lyon towards Dijon, and along the Swiss border toward the Vosges Mountains. They were pursued by VI Corps, supported by the French II Corps. As the Germans retreated they destroyed the bridges behind them though in some cases the Americans had crossed ahead of the Germans, beating them to their objectives. FFI and Maquis fighters fought both German units and members of the Vichy militia, known as the milice. The Rhone Valley was liberally littered with destroyed German military equipment and dead horses.
The United States 45th Division swept past the Germans and arrived first at the town of Meximieux on the first of September. The position of the town and its outskirts placed them in a position to harass the retreating Germans and once reinforced offered the possibility of cutting off the German retreat. The Germans attacked using the depleted 11th Panzer division, causing the Americans to evacuate the town after taking heavy casualties. The German units continued to withdraw towards Lyon, which was reached by the Americans on September 2, 1944. Another 2,000 German prisoners were taken at Lyon.
The remaining Germans had already evacuated the town, which the Americans found already involved in reprisals against those of its population which had collaborated with the Germans. The Americans began an assault on the village of Bourg-en-Bresse in another attempt to close the German line of retreat to the remaining German units south of Lyon. This assault by the 45th division was repelled by strong German defense lines. At the same time units of Taskforce Butler bypassed the town and secured positions to its north. The position was one which effectively blocked the German escape route.
The position was too far north for reinforcements to reach it before the Germans arrived, once again in the form of units of the 11th Panzer Division. The Germans surrounded the town occupied by the American 117th Cavalry, and during the ensuing assault the American unit was destroyed. Once again, the escape route to the north was open for the remaining German troops, which continued their fighting withdrawal to the prepared defensive lines from Dijon to the Swiss border. The heavy losses of men and equipment forced the Germans to yet again alter their plans as they escaped the American and French pursuit, retreating further to the north.
The many towns of southern and central France which were garrisoned by German troops were also evacuated as the Germans retreated. These garrisons avoided the fighting by moving from the south to the Loire River and then east towards the main German lines. About 60,000 German troops evacuated southern France in this manner, leaving behind about 20,000 deserters. German garrison troops evacuating often did so in stolen French vehicles, having none of their own, and were hampered by FFI and Resistance fighters as they withdrew. They were also subject to Allied air attacks as they pushed to the east.