Was it worth the effort?

What did Operation Anvil/Dragoon actually accomplish? It did open of the major port of Marseilles, which eventually helped relieve the supply issues faced by the Western Allies, but it also increased the friction that existed between the British and Americans concerning strategic matters throughout the war. Could the men and materiel used have been put to better use in Normandy, Italy or possibly in the Balkans?

 

It not only opened the ports in the south, which provided much more material supply than you seem to imply. Until the major ports on the west coast of France and in Holland were ready, a great deal came through those deep water ports. Also, the invasion in the south of France pulled the Germans in two directions and made re-enforcing the main defense lines more difficult.

They couldn't ignore this new threat from the south, and simply focus on the Normandy area. It was not terribly "expensive" in casualities, and "kept 'em guessing". I'm sure it was "worth it". The Balkans idea was a non-starter, even Churchill realized the foolishness of that idea when it's complications were pointed out to him. Of course he also wanted to abandon the Normandy invasion and go through Spain and Portugal at one time too. As one person said about Sir Winston (paraphrasing); "...he might come up with a hundred ideas in a single day, and 95 of them would be completely daft!"

 

Agreed Clint. The opening of the port at Marseilles supplied almost a full 1/3 of the supplies used in the battles in northern France. The campaign also resulted in the loss or capture of 125.000 German troops. The campaign was hindered by a lack of supplies itself or it might have achieved more significant gains. The quickness in which all main objective were captured undoubtedly aided later in in the push toward the Rhine in the subsequent weeks.

The following link has a pretty good overview of the southern France campaign
Southern France