In July 1941, Mieczysław Słowikowski (using the codename "Rygor"—Polish for "Rigor") set up "Agency Africa", one of the Second World War's most successful intelligence organizations. It consisted of the Big Three of the Allied Powers, being the United States, Great Britian, and France. [33] Though some landings went to the wrong beaches, this was immaterial because of the lack of French opposition. Landings at the westernmost beach were delayed because of a French convoy which appeared while the minesweepers were clearing a path. On 8 November 1942, the invasion commenced with landings on three beaches—two west of Algiers and one east. Additional air support was provided by the carrier USS Ranger, whose squadrons intercepted Vichy aircraft and bombed hostile ships. However, Noguès telephoned loyal forces, who stopped the coup. 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On the night of Nov. 7, pro-Allies General Antoine Béthouart attempted a coup d'etat in Casablanca against the regime of General Charles Noguès. Eisenhower told Patton that the past six weeks were the most trying of his life. The setbacks at Kasserine forced the Allies to consolidate their forces, develop their lines of communication and administration before another offensive. Flying from Britain, the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion was assigned the mission of capturing the airfields at Tafraoui and La Senia. The success of Torch caused Admiral François Darlan, commander of the Vichy French forces to order co-operation with the Allies, in return for being retained as High Commissioner, with many other Vichy officials keeping their jobs. On the night of 7 November, pro-Allied General Antoine Béthouart attempted a coup d'etat against the French command in Morocco, so that he could surrender to the Allies the next day. Intending to land in Morocco and Algeria, Allied planners were forced to determine the mentality of the Vichy French forces defending the area. Planners identified Oran, Algiers and Casablanca as key targets. In the south, French forces slowed the landings at Safi and snipers briefly pinned Allied troops down on the beaches. This was meant as a preventative action to keep the U.S out of WW2, but ended up doing the opposite. Rober Daniel Murphy located in Algiers at the time was assigned with the task to determine if and how cooperative the French army would be. Operation Torch was the Anglo-American invasion of French Morocco and Algeria during the North African Campaign of World War II. By 10 November, the remaining defenders were pinned down, and the bulk of Harmon's forces raced to join the siege of Casablanca. Wiki User Answered . Gen. Henry Jules Jean Maurice Martin), This page was last edited on 24 January 2021, at 08:40. Rendezvousing with Mast and others at the Villa Teyssier in Cherchell, Algeria on Oct. 21, 1942, Clark was able to secure their support. By the time the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment arrived, French snipers had pinned the assault troops (most of whom were in combat for the first time) on Safi's beaches. On 24 December, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, a French resistance fighter and anti-fascist monarchist, assassinated Darlan. In the hours prior to the landings, resistance teams under Henri d'Astier de la Vigerie and José Aboulker attempted a coup against General Alphonse Juin. Giraud supported that but also preferred to maintain the old Vichy administration in North Africa. Rear Admiral Sir Harold Burrough, RN[40] Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The lack of determined resistance by the Vichy French to the Allied invasions of North Africa and the new policies of de Gaulle in North Africa convinced the Germans that France could not be trusted. [37] The Economist speculated that to be because French forces were the initial enemies of the landing, making for a difficult fit into the war's overall narrative in general histories. This gave the French defenders time to organize resistance, and the remaining landings were conducted under artillery bombardment. [15] In Eisenhower's acceptance of landings in Algeria and Morocco, he pointed out that the decision removed the early capture of Tunis from the probable to only the remotely possible because of the extra time it would afford the Axis to move forces into Tunisia.[16]. The Allied Naval Commander of the Expeditionary Force would be Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham; his deputy was Vice-Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, who would plan the amphibious landings. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while allowing American armed forces the opportunity to engage in the fight against Nazi Germany on a limited scale. The French joined up with the Allied forces in North Africa and built a strong force. Responding, Hewitt directed aircraft from USS Ranger (CV-4) and USS Suwannee (CVE-27), which had been striking French airfields and other targets, to attack targets in the harbor while other Allied warships, including the battleship USS Massachusetts (BB-59), moved inshore and opened fire. Two U.S. destroyers were damaged. Overcoming shallow waters, the troops went ashore and encountered stubborn French resistance. While it was hoped that the French would not resist, the defenders opened fire on the two ships and inflicted significant casualties. Despite Operation Torch's role in the war and logistical success, it has been largely overlooked in many popular histories of the war and in general cultural influence. figure it out yourself. WikiMatrix WikiMatrix. During the time of Operation Torch the French Air Force had some 500 aircraft based on five airfields in Morocco, all within easy range of Casablanca, and various other fields in Algeri… Under the command of Major-General Charles W. Ryder, commanding general of the U.S. 34th Infantry Division, the 11th Brigade Group from the British 78th Infantry Division, landed on the right hand beach, the US 168th Regimental Combat Team, from the 34th Infantry Division, supported by 6 Commando and most of 1 Commando on the middle beach while the US 39th Regimental Combat Team, also from the US 34th Infantry Division, supported by the remaining 5 troops from 1 Commando, landed on the left hand beach. This failed and Noguès was alerted to the impending invasion. 2013-04-08 17:58:14 2013-04-08 17:58:14 . Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/world-war-ii-operation-torch-2361497. The deal was made on 10 November, and French resistance ceased almost at once. HMS Walney, formerly USS Sebago, after refit. Operation Torch is an expansion of the acclaimed wargame, Gary Grigsbys War in the West. Reports indicated that they might support the Allies. [5] The French colonies in the area were dominated by the French, formally aligned with Germany but of mixed loyalties. Operation Torch, which involved 196 ships of the Royal Navy and 105 of the United States Navy, landed about 107,000 Allied soldiers. These numbered around 120,000 men, 500 aircraft, and several warships. [10][11] After Prime Minister Winston Churchill pressed for a landing in French North Africa in 1942, Marshall suggested instead to President Franklin D. Roosevelt that the U.S. abandon the Germany first strategy and take the offensive in the Pacific. Eisenhower insisted, however, that he had no real choice if his forces were to move on against the Axis in Tunisia, rather than fight the French in Algeria and Morocco. The most lethal lesson was learned by those men who tried to take Oran's harbor in Reservist. "Operation Torch was the first major Allied and American offensive in WWII and, because everyone from the generals down to the privates were inexperienced in combat, there were many mistakes and hard learned lessons. German support for the Vichy French came in the shape of air support. This Western Task Force consisted of the U.S. 3rd and 9th Infantry Divisions, and two battalions from the U.S. 2nd Armored Division — 35,000 troops in a convoy of over 100 ships. The main goal of Operation Torch was to take control of the main ports from Morroco to Algeria, and also getting Erwin Rommel out of North Africa. While that was of minimal military effect, it committed the French to the Allied side. With the groundwork laid with the French, the invasion convoys sailed with the Casablanca force departing the United States and the other two sailing from Britain. Churchill then traveled to Moscow in August 1942, where Stalin berated him for postponing the second front and suspending Arctic convoys because of German naval action. The Germans and the Italians immediately occupied southern France, and German troops moved to seize the French fleet in the port of Toulon from 10 November. The Western Task Force encountered unexpected resistance and bad weather, but Casablanca, the principal French Atlantic naval base, was captured after a short siege. A compromise would be to land at Bône (Annaba) in eastern Algeria, some 300 miles (480 km) closer to Tunis than Algiers. When Adolf Hitler learned of Darlan's deal with the Allies, he immediately ordered the occupation of Vichy France and sent troops to Tunisia. New York: Doubleday, 1948. The Invasion was the largest anphib assualt in History. The naval strength of the Axis in the Mediterranean would have been greatly increased if the Germans had succeeded in seizing the French ships, but every important ship was scuttled at dock by the French Navy before the Germans could take them. The Allies planned an Anglo-American invasion of north-western Africa/Maghreb—Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, territory nominally in the hands of the Vichy French government. An assessment of the sympathies of the French forces in North Africa was essential, and plans were made to secure their cooperation, rather than resistance. ThoughtCo. Jun 7, 2019 - Explore Kathy roe's board "Operation Torch" on Pinterest. French losses totaled around 1,346 killed and 1,997 wounded. Roosevelt said it would do nothing to help Russia. This would later prove problematic as it took substantial time to advance troops from Casablanca and the greater distance to Tunis permitted the Germans to enhance their positions in Tunisia. The Vichy French naval fleet broke from the harbor and attacked the Allied invasion fleet but its ships were all sunk or driven ashore. January 9, 2018. 15 16 17. L'opération Torch impliquait 196 navires de la Royal Navy et 105 de l’US Navy. On July 26, 1942, Maj. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower , whom U.S. Army chief of staff Gen. George C. Marshall had chosen as commander of the U.S. forces in the European theatre, was given the post. The Germans took the airfields there and brought in more troops. The 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, aboard 39 C-47 Dakotas, flew all the way from Cornwall in England, over Spain, to drop near Oran and capture airfields at Tafraoui and La Sénia, respectively 15 miles (24 km) and 5 miles (8 km) south of Oran. It was a deceptive name, designed to make it seem that America had more paratroopers than it did. -51% $19.99 $9.80. Dubbed Operation Reservist, this saw two Banff-class sloops attempt to run through the harbor defenses. No role was provided for Free France, which was supposed to be France's government-in-exile and had taken charge in other French colonies. The occupation of French North Africa was seen as a first step in that process. Safi surrendered on the afternoon of 8 November. However, Tunis was much too close to the Axis airfields in Sicily and Sardinia for any hope of success. "The Stamford Historical Society Presents: Operation Torch and the Invasion of North Africa", "Frederick Thornton Peters - the Canadian Virtual War Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada", "Remembering Operation Torch on its 75th anniversary", United States Army Center of Military History, "Chapter 7: The Decision to Invade North Africa (Torch)", The Decision to Invade North Africa (TORCH), US Army Campaigns of World War II Series/Algeria-French Morocco, History and photos of the operations of the USS Ranger and its Air Group during Operation Torch, (North African Jewish Resistance to Nazis and the Holocaust), The accord Franco-Américan of Messelmoun (in French), Report of the Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces to the Combined Chief of Staff on Operations in North Africa, Operation Torch: Allied Invasion of North Africa, Operation TORCH Motion Pictures from the National Archives, Provisional Government of the French Republic, Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, Rape during the Soviet occupation of Poland, Commander, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, Military Governor, U.S. Hands of the Big three of the French lost about 1,346 individuals a. 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