User:Hungrydog55/sandbox/military/mediterranean/1942-11 OperationTorch article
Battle
The Allies organised three amphibious task forces to simultaneously seize the key ports and airports in Morocco and Algeria, targeting Casablanca, Oran and Algiers. Successful completion of these operations was to be followed by an eastwards advance into Tunisia.
A Western Task Force (aimed at Casablanca) was composed of American units, with
The Center Task Force, aimed at Oran, included the U.S. 2nd Battalion 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, and the U.S. 1st Armored Division—a total of 18,500 troops. They sailed from the United Kingdom and were commanded by Major General Lloyd Fredendall, the naval forces being commanded by Commodore Thomas Troubridge.
Torch was, for propaganda purposes, a landing by U.S. forces, supported by British warships and aircraft, under the belief that this would be more palatable to French public opinion, than an Anglo-American invasion. For the same reason, Churchill suggested that British soldiers might wear
U-boats, operating in the eastern Atlantic area crossed by the invasion convoys, had been drawn away to attack trade convoy SL 125.[4] Aerial operations were split into two commands, with
Casablanca
Attacking forces
- Ground forces
- US I Armored Corps
- Major General George S. Patton, USA
- French Army in Morocco
- Fez Division, Meknès Division, Casablanca Division, Marrakech Division
- Naval forces
- Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, USN
- 1 battleship xx ss dd ww
- Vice Admiral
Landings at Safi – Southern Attack Group
- Ground: Maj. Gen. Ernest N. Harmon (6,423 officers and enlisted)
- Naval: Rear Adm. Lyal A. Davidson (Task Group 34.10)
The Western Task Force landed before daybreak on 8 November 1942, at three points in Morocco:
Landings at Fedala – Center Attack Group
- Ground forces
- Maj. Gen. J.W. Anderson (18,783 officers and enlisted)
- Naval: Capt. R.M. Emmet (Task Group 34.9)
At Fedala, a small port with a large beach close to Casablanca, weather disrupted the landings. The landing beaches again came under French fire after daybreak. Patton landed at 08:00, and the beachheads were secured later in the day. The Americans surrounded the port of Casablanca by 10 November, and the city surrendered an hour before the final assault was due to take place. Casablanca was the principal French Atlantic naval base after German occupation of the European coast. The Naval Battle of Casablanca resulted from a sortie of French cruisers, destroyers, and submarines opposing the landings. A cruiser, six destroyers, and six submarines were destroyed by American gunfire and aircraft. The incomplete French battleship Jean Bart—which was docked and immobile—fired on the landing force with her one working gun turret until disabled by the 16-inch calibre American naval gunfire of USS Massachusetts, the first such heavy-calibre shells fired by the U.S. Navy anywhere in World War II. Many of her one ton shells didn't explode, linked to poor detonators, and aircraft bombers sank the Jean Bart. Two U.S. destroyers were damaged.
At Safi, the objective being capturing the port facilities to land the Western Task Force's medium tanks, the landings were mostly successful.
Landings at Mehediya – Northern Attack Group
- Ground forces
- Brig. Gen. Lucian K. Truscott(9,099 officers and enlisted)
- 60th Infantry Regiment (reinf.) / 9th Infantry Division
- 1st Battalion / 66th Armored Regiment / 2nd Armored Division
- 1st Battalion / 540th Engineers
- Naval forces
- Rear Adm. Monroe Kelly (Task Group 34.8)
- 1 battleship, 1 light cruiser,
At Port-Lyautey, the landing troops were uncertain of their position, and the second wave was delayed. This gave the French defenders time to organize resistance, and the remaining landings were conducted under artillery bombardment. A former French pilot of the port on board a US destroyer led her up the shallow river to take over the artillery battery, clearing the way to the air-base. With the assistance of carrier air support, the troops pushed ahead, and the objectives were captured.
Oran
Attacking forces
- Ground forces[6]
- US II Corps
- Major General Lloyd R. Fredendall, USA
- Approx. 39,000 officers and enlisted
- French Army in Algeria
- Algiers Division, Oran Division, Moroccan Division
- Naval forces[6]
- Center Task Force
- Commodore Thomas Hope Troubridge, RN
- 1 fleet carrier, 2 escort carriers, 1 battleship, 1 anti-aircraft cruiser, 13 destroyers, numerous auxiliaries
The Center Task Force was split between three beaches, two west of Oran and one east. Landings at the westernmost beach were delayed because of a French convoy which appeared while the minesweepers were clearing a path. Some delay and confusion, and damage to landing ships, was caused by the unexpected shallowness of water and sandbars; although periscope observations had been carried out, no reconnaissance parties had landed on the beaches to determine the local maritime conditions. This helped inform subsequent amphibious assaults—such as Operation Overlord—in which considerable weight was given to pre-invasion reconnaissance.
The
Airborne landings
Torch was the first major airborne assault carried out by the United States. 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.[9] The operation was marked by communicational and navigational problems owing to the anti-aircraft and beacon ship HMS Alynbank broadcasting on the wrong frequency.[10] Poor weather over Spain and the extreme range caused the formation to scatter and forced 30 of the 37 air transports to land in the dry salt lake to the west of the objective.[11] Of the other aircraft, one pilot became disoriented and landed his plane in Gibraltar. Two others landed in French Morocco and three in Spanish Morocco, where another Dakota dropped its paratroopers by mistake. A total of 67 American troops were interned by Franco's forces until February 1943. Tafraoui and La Sénia were eventually captured but the role played by the airborne forces in Operation Torch was minimal.[10][12]
Algiers
Attacking forces
- Ground forces[13]
- Major General Charles W. Ryder, USA[b]
- Approx. 33,000 officers and enlisted
- British (approx. 23,000)
- 78th Infantry Division, No. 1 Commando, No. 6 Commando
- United States (approx. 10,000)
- Naval forces[13]
- Eastern Task Force
- Rear Admiral Harold M. Burrough, RN
- 2 escort carriers, 1 monitor, 3 light cruisers, 3 anti-aircraft cruisers, 13 destroyers, various auxiliaries
Resistance and coup
As agreed at Cherchell, in the early hours of 8 November, the 400 mainly Jewish French Resistance fighters of the Géo Gras Group staged a coup in the city of Algiers.[14] Starting at midnight, the force under the command of Henri d'Astier de la Vigerie and José Aboulker seized key targets, including the telephone exchange, radio station, governor's house and the headquarters of the 19th Corps.
Robert Murphy took some men and then drove to the residence of General Alphonse Juin, the senior French Army officer in North Africa. While they surrounded his house (making Juin a hostage) Murphy attempted to persuade him to side with the Allies. Juin was treated to a surprise: Admiral François Darlan—the commander of all French forces—was also in Algiers on a private visit. Juin insisted on contacting Darlan and Murphy was unable to persuade either to side with the Allies. In the early morning, the local Gendarmerie arrived and released Juin and Darlan.
Invasion
On 8 November 1942, the invasion commenced with landings on three beaches—two west of Algiers and one east. The landing forces were under the overall command of Major-General
References
- Notes
- Reflist
- ^ Hague 2000, pp. 179–80.
- ^ a b Mangold, Peter (2012). Britain and the Defeated French: From Occupation to Liberation, 1940–1944. London: I.B. Tauris. p. 159.
- ^ Brown 1968, p. 93.
- ^ Edwards 1999, p. 115.
- ^ Howe 1993, pp. 97, 102.
- ^ a b Morison 1947, p. 223.
- ^ a b Rohwer & Hummelchen 1992, p. 175
- ^ "Frederick Thornton Peters – the Canadian Virtual War Memorial – Veterans Affairs Canada". 20 February 2019.
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004, pp. 146–47, map 19.
- ^ ISBN 9781472820556.
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004, p. 149.
- ISBN 9781250124470.
- ^ a b Morison 1947, p. 190.
- ^ Documentary film presenting the dominant role of Jewish resistance fighters in Algiers
- ^ Playfair et al. 2004, pp. 126, 140–41, map 18.
Bibliography
- Allen, Bruce (2007) [1999]. Exit Rommel: The Tunisian Campaign, 1942–43. Stackpole Military History Series. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3381-6.
- Anderson, Charles R. (1993). Algeria-French Morocco 8 November 1942 – 11 November 1942. WWII Campaigns. Washington: ISBN 0-16-038105-3. CMH Pub 72-11. Archived from the originalon 5 April 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
- ISBN 0-8050-6288-2– via Archive Foundation.
- Breuer, William B. (1985). Operation Torch: The Allied Gamble to Invade North Africa. New York: St.Martins Press.
- Brown, J. D. (1968). Carrier Operations in World War II: The Royal Navy. London: Ian Allan.
- Churchill, Winston (1951a). The Second World War, Vol 3: The Hinge of Fate.
- Churchill, Winston Spencer (1951b). The Second World War, Vol 5: Closing the Ring. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
- Danan, Professeur Yves Maxime (2019). République Française Capitale Alger, 1940–1944 Souvenirs. Paris: L'Harmattan.
- Eisenhower, Dwight D. (1948). Crusade in Europe. London: William Heinemann. OCLC 559866864– via Archive Foundation.
- Edwards, Bernard (1999). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs. Brockhampton Press. ISBN 1-86019-927-5– via Archive Foundation.
- Funk, Arthur L. (1974). The Politics of Torch. University Press of Kansas.
- Groom, Winston (3 April 2006). 1942: The Year That Tried Men's Souls. New York: Grove Press. p. 354. ISBN 978-0-8021-4250-4.
- Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-019-3.
- Howe, George F. (1993) [1957]. North West Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West. The United States Army in World War II. Washington, D.C.: LCCN 57060021. CMH Pub 6-1. Archived from the originalon 28 May 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
- Meyer, Leo J. (2000) [1960]. "Chapter 7: The Decision to Invade North Africa (Torch)". In Roberts Greenfield, Kent (ed.). Command Decisions. United States Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 70-7. Archived from the original on 30 December 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (1947). Operations in North African Waters. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. II. Boston: Little, Brown and Co. ISBN 0-7858-1303-9.
- Moses, Sam (November 2006). At All Costs; How a Crippled Ship and Two American Merchant Mariners Turned the Tide of World War II. Random House.
- O'Hara, Vincent P. (2015). Torch: North African and the Allied Path to Victory. Annapolis: Naval Institute.
- ISBN 1-84574-068-8.
- Rohwer, J.; Hummelchen, G. (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.
- Watson, Bruce Allen (2007) [1999]. Exit Rommel: The Tunisian Campaign, 1942–43. Stackpole Military History Series. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. OCLC 40595324.
- Willmott, H.P. (1984). June, 1944. Poole, Dorset: Blandford Press. ISBN 0-7137-1446-8– via Archive Foundation.
External links
- The Decision to Invade North Africa (TORCH) Archived 15 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine part of Command Decisions Archived 30 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine a publication of the United States Army Center of Military History
- Algeria-French Morocco Archived 5 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine a book in the U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II series of the United States Army Center of Military History