History of Hyeres

Originally a possession of the Viscount of Marseilles, it was later transferred to Charles of Anjou. Louis IX King of France (often known as "St Louis") landed at Hyères in 1254 when returning from the Crusades.

A Commandry of the Knights Templar was based at the town in the 12th century, outside the town walls. The remaining remnant is the tower Saint-Blaise.

20th Century

After defecting from Soviet intelligence in 1937, Walter Krivitsky hid in Hyères (one of the farthest points in France from his operative base in Paris).

World War II

As part of Operation Dragoon on 15 August 1944, the joint United States/Canadian First Special Service Force came ashore off the coast of Hyères to take the islands of Port-Cros and Levant. The small German garrisons offered little resistance and the whole eastern part of Port-Cros had been secured by 06:30 am. All fighting was over on Levant by the evening, but, on Port-Cros, the Germans withdrew into old thick-walled forts. It was only when naval guns were brought to bear that they realised that further resistance was useless. An intense naval barrage on 18 August 1944 heralded the next phase of the operation – the assault on the largest of the Hyères islands, Porquerolles. French forces – naval units and colonial formations, including Senegalese infantry – became involved on 22 August and subsequently occupied the island. US/Canadian Special Forces landing at the eastern end of Porquerolles took large numbers of prisoners – the Germans preferring not to surrender to the Senegalese