The 6th Army Group Headquarters was organized in Corsica on August 1st, 1944, with the mission of providing operational control over the combined French and American Forces being readied for the invasion of Southern France. The major units making up the Group consisted of the Seventh U.S. Army, First French Army, and the First Allied Airborne Task Force which included the First Special Service Force. Initially, the invasion was given the code name "Anvil" and plans were made for simultaneous landings in Normandy and Southern France. When it was realized that the equipment drain might jeopardize the Normandy landings, Operation Anvil was postponed. The invasion of Southern France began on August 1 5th, 1944 with landings in the Cannes area. Unlike other combined units, the Headquarters elements of the 6th Army Group consisted of only American personnel due to a shortage of staff personnel within the French Forces. Fighting side by side, the American and French forces fought 265 days, advanced over 900 miles, captured nearly a million Axis prisoners, and freed 71,400 Allied prisoners of war. In addition to the assault landings on the Riviera, the Group liberated much of Southern and Western France held the Allied southern lines during the Battle of the Bulge, drove through Germany linking up with the Allied Forces in Italy, and finally ended up in Austria, The Group was inactivated in July of 1945. The design of the patch consists of six bars indicating the unit's number and are interwoven to indicate strength. The red and white colors suggest the Army Command, and the patch was approved for wear on October 23rd, 1944.