The village of Callian, situated between Tourrettes and Montauroux, is not occupied by any German garrison on D-Day.
On August 15, 1944, numerous paratroopers from the 3/517th PIR are dropped within a radius of 10 kilometers between Seillans and Montauroux. As the battalion begins to regroup and search for their equipment, three major groups emerge. The largest of these groups lands in Callian. It consists of approximately 260 paratroopers from the G and H Companies, as well as members of the Demolition Sections and Wire Section of the 517th RHQ, attached to the 3/517th for the jump. Similarly, the 3rd Platoon of the 596th Ab. Engr. Co. lands northeast of Callian, along with members of the Service Company.
Divided into several scattered groups in the landscape of Callian, some remain in the homes of the region or head towards their landing zones to reach the D562. One of these leaders is 1st Lt. Ludlow Gibbons from H Co., who leads about twenty paratroopers to meet Capt. Joseph McGeever on the D562. The paratroopers then continue on the D4 to Bagnols-en-Forêt with another mixed group of British paratroopers under the command of Maj. Blackwood.
On August 18, elements of the Res.Gren.Btl.327 and 372 occupy Callian, and the paratroopers are discovered. Others manage to hide or flee to Montauroux. Barely have the Germans retaken Callian that elements of the 636th Tank Destroyer Battalion, coming from Bagnols-en-Forêt, come into view of the village. At dawn on August 19, Task Force Eitt attacks Callian, not without difficulty. A Tank Destroyer is destroyed. The fighting in Callian, more intense than it appears, lasts all day until the following day, August 20, abandoning the plan to attack Fayence. Upon the entry of Task Force Eitt troops, paratroopers, some of whom were holed up in caves, can be liberated.
