Operation Torch- The forgotten D-Day?
The year is 1942. The Axis powers are in control of the majority of Western and Central Europe, and the unprepared Red Army is still slowly being pushed back by the Third Riech’s forces towards Moscow, Leningrad, and Stalingrad.
At this time, the Axis forces were attempting to take the strategic and economic holdings in Egypt through Italian Libya, namely Alexandria, Cairo, and the Suez Canal. However, the forces under command of General Erwin Rommel were being pushed back in Egypt and Libya. An attack on northwestern Africa by the Allies was needed to open up a second front on the continent and to carry out a pincer operation on the Afrika Korps and Italian troops. These areas of Northwest Africa were under control by the French State, commonly known as Vichy France. While formally a German puppet state, there was much pro-allied sentiment in the regime. The Vichy French were responsible for the occupation of Republic’s old colonial holdings in North Africa, including Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. There were approximately 125,000 French troops garrisoning North Africa, however, there were only about 500 planes and 200 tanks for support. Needless to say, this was not a great amount of troops, and the equipment these troops received was outdated and spread thin. In addition, the Americans did not expect to be up against very fierce resistance, as most of the Vichy French army was sympathetic to Allied causes. The idea of an invasion of these vulnerable territories in Africa was dubbed “Operation Torch.”
Operation Torch was at first quite controversial with the Allied Combined Chief of Staff. American General George Marshall and Admiral Ernest King both were strongly against the idea of an invasion of northern Africa, favoring either an invasion of the low countries from Southern England or a diversion of resources to a major offensive against the Japanese in the Pacific. Both of these ideas were later shot down, and General Dwight Eisenhower was given command of the operation.
Eisenhower and the Combined Chief of Staff determined that the invasion should launch from the British Isles and the Eastern Seaboard of the US, and landings were planned in French Morocco and Algeria. An attack on Tunis was planned in the beginning of the operation, but was later scrapped as Tunisia was deemed too close to Axis ports and airports in Sicily, and henceforth susceptible to Axis bombing. The main attack, commanded by George S. Patton, was aimed at Casablanca, with other task forces targeting key ports in Algiers and Oran.
Oddly enough, many of the British aircraft and ships used in the assault were fitted with American star emblems and flags, as it was determined the French would be more welcoming to American forces than British ones.
On November 8th, 1942, Operation Torch began. The Western Task Force was launched from the American East Coast and the Central and Eastern forces were launched from the British isles, primarily from Plymouth, Wales, and Western Scotland. The attacking forces reached the beaches of North Africa before dawn, and immediately began their assault.
There were no shore or aerial bombardments prior to the attack, as the chief of staff incorrectly predicted that the French would not put up resistance. It turns out that this was a very costly mistake as the Anglo-American forces took fairly heavy casualties during the beginning stages of the attack. Within two days, Casablanca was captured, and with it the main French port for the south Atlantic theatre. Immediately after ports were captured, the Allied forces, particularly the British First Army, began heading east towards the city of Tunis, a key port for the Axis forces in North Africa.
Unfortunately for the Anglo-American forces, German troops were sent in large numbers from Sicily to reinforce Tunisia and other Axis interests in North Africa, and the fighting fell into a stalemate in the mountains of Tunisia.
In February of 1943, the Axis forces in Tunisia were reinforced by Erwin Rommel and the Afrika Korps. These experienced regulars with plenty of armor support easily defeated the inexperienced American troops in the resulting Battle of Kasserine. Thankfully for the Allies, British and American reinforcements behind the front line prevented a devastating German breakthrough, and by the end of the month, most of the land lost during the battle was recovered.
The constant push from two fronts was too much for the Axis forces to hold, and on May 13, 1943, the last of the Axis forces in North Africa surrendered. While most German and Italian soldiers were able to evacuate into Italy, some 250,000 Axis soldiers were taken as POWs, a huge hit against the already manpower-starved Germany.
Operation Torch was one of the first American operations in the Mediterranean Theatre, and the first invasion with airborne assault components that America has ever carried out. At the time, it was the largest and most complex sea invasion in history. The invasion ultimately destroyed Axis influence in Africa. Given the importance of this event in the war, why is it never discussed or taught? Is it because teachers don’t feel like explaining why Americans were fighting the French? Operation Torch has been overshadowed by Operation Overlord, Operation Husky, and to an extent, even Operation Dragoon. I think it is unfortunate that the Americans, Brits, and French that died during this vital operation are not given the recognition that they deserve for fighting in such an important campaign in the Second World War.
