November 1942

When German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel (The Desert Fox) was retreating from El Alamein the Allies launched Operation Torch against the Vichy-French territory of North Africa on the 8^th November 1942.

American General Mark Clarke had met with Vichy-French officers in Algeria the previous month who stated they were willing to support the Allies. Operation Torch was a planned three-prong attack along the north coast of Africa. The three attacks being Casablanca (Western) in Morocco, Oran (Centre) and Algiers in Algeria.

For propaganda purposes, a U.S. landing force supported by British warships and aircraft was proposed. The thinking was it would be more acceptable to the French public, who were of mixed opinions, than an Anglo/American invasion. Before entry into the war the Americans had officially accepted the Vichy government whereas the British had not.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied forces in the Mediterranean duly ordered the attack to begin before daybreak on the 8th November 1942. They had hoped the French would not resist, therefore there was no preliminary bombardment. An attempted coup d’état against the Vichy-French command in Morocco was thwarted and enabled the French to strengthen their coastal defences.

Bad weather disrupted the landings at the long beach at Fedala port, east of Casablanca,. Despite the weather and heavy resistance by the French defenders, the beachhead was secured later in the day. The port of Casablanca was surrounded by the 10^th November 1942 and an hour before the Americans were to make a final assault the city surrendered.

At the time Casablanca was the principle Vichy-French Atlantic naval base. The Americans landed 35,000 assault troops from 102 ships. The Naval Battle of Casablanca resulted in a series of sorties with French cruisers, destroyers and submarines opposing the landings. However, the Allied invasion fleet either drove back the French warships or they were sunk. 

The second of the three-pronged attack was at Oran in Algeria (Centre) which were split between three beaches. Two of which were west of Oran and one to the east. Allied minesweepers, clearing a path, were delayed at the westernmost beach when a French convoy appeared. As there had not been any reconnaissance undertaken prior to the invasion, landing ships were damaged. The confusion and delays were mainly caused by unexpected shallows and sandbars leading to the beach. The landing east of Oran was successful and shore batteries were quickly captured. In order to prevent the destruction of Oran’s port facilities and the scuttling of French ships, an attempt was made to land assault troops directly at the harbour. The attempt failed when two Allied ships were destroyed by French vessels who had left the harbour to attack the Allied invasion fleet.

Operation Reservist was an attack on Oran harbour by two Allied ships packed with assault troops. The troops comprised of British Commandos, U.S. Armoured infantry and U.S. Marines. Commanded by Canadian born Captain Frederick Thornton Peters of the Royal Navy the two ships sailed through the boom toward the harbour jetty in the face of point-blank fire from the shore. Peters ship managed to reach the harbour jetty ablaze and disabled but managed to secure her sufficiently to allow the assault troops to land. Twenty-four officers and ratings survived but were captured when the ship sank. Peters did not survive his fatal injuries and was posthumously awarded the British Victoria Cross and the U.S. Distinguished Service Cross. The second ship failed to locate the harbour entrance and struck the southern jetty, where she lost most of her gun crew and troops crouching below decks. The survivors were also captured. French shore batteries and the invasion fleet exchanged fire, with French troops stubbornly defending Oran and surrounding areas. Following a heavy bombardment by British battleships Oran surrendered on the 9^th November 1942.

The third invasion was at the port of Algiers with landings on three beaches, two west and one east of the port. Lack of French opposition was caused by French resistance groups neutralising all coastal batteries allowing the Allies to advance inland. The only fighting took place in the port of Algiers when two British destroyers attempted to land troops on the dockside. Heavy French artillery firing prevented one destroyer from landing, but the other disembarked 250 troops before it too was driven back to sea. The city of Algiers surrendered to the Allies at 18.00 after all the invasion troops had congregated on the city on the 8^th November 1942.

Commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces, Admiral Francois Darlan was in Algiers visiting his hospitalised son when Operation Torch began. Darlan was also a political figure in the Vichy-French government. Eisenhower recognised Darlan as High Commissioner of France in Africa. On the 10^th November 1942 Darlan signed an agreement with the Allies and ordered all French forces to join the Allies. Not only was that order obeyed in French North Africa but also the Vichy forces in French West Africa. Apart from various mopping-up skirmishes from the 10^th, officially Operation Torch ended on the 16^th November 1942.

A total of 107,000 Allied troops were involved in the Battle of Operation Torch who were opposed by the Vichy-French army of 60,000 combatants. Of these the losses to both sides were, for the Allies nearly 500 were killed and 720 wounded. For the Axis powers nearly 1,000 were killed with almost 2,000 wounded. For the Allies it was the largest amphibious operation conducted in warfare and the first big success of the war.

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