User:Hungrydog55/sandbox/military/mediterranean/1942-11 OperationTorch article

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Battle[edit]

A map showing landings during Operation Torch.
A map showing landings during Operation Torch.

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 Major General George S. Patton in command and Rear Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt heading the naval operations. 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. They were transported directly from the United States in the first of a new series of UG convoys providing logistic support for the North African campaign.[1]

A shipment of 116 Supermarine Spitfires sent by sea was assembled in just 11 days at RAF North Front, Gibraltar. Many of these Spitfires served with the United States Army Air Forces, including the aircraft in the foreground, EP 365 (308th FS, 31st Fighter Group).[citation needed]

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.S. Army uniforms, and No.6 Commando did so.[2] (Fleet Air Arm aircraft did carry US "star" roundels during the operation,[3] and two British destroyers flew the Stars and Stripes.[2]) In reality, the Eastern Task Force—aimed at Algiers—was commanded by Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson and consisted of a brigade from the British 78th and the U.S. 34th Infantry Divisions, along with two British commando units (No. 1 and No. 6 Commandos), together with the RAF Regiment providing 5 squadrons of infantry and 5 Light anti-aircraft flights, totalling 20,000 troops. During the landing phase, ground forces were to be commanded by U.S. Major General Charles W. Ryder, Commanding General (CG) of the 34th Division and naval forces were commanded by Royal Navy Vice-Admiral Sir Harold Burrough.

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 Royal Air Force aircraft under Air Marshal Sir William Welsh operating east of Cape Tenez in Algeria, and all United States Army Air Forces aircraft under Major General Jimmy Doolittle, who was under the direct command of Major General Patton, operating west of Cape Tenez. P-40s of the 33rd Fighter Group were launched from U.S. Navy escort carriers and landed at Port Lyautey on 10 November. Additional air support was provided by the carrier USS Ranger, whose squadrons intercepted Vichy aircraft and bombed hostile ships.

Casablanca[edit]

American ships preparing to land off Safi, Morocco, during Operation Blackstone

Attacking forces[edit]

Ground forces
US I Armored Corps
Major General George S. Patton, USA
France 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

Landings at Safi – Southern Attack Group[edit]

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: Safi (Operation Blackstone), Fedala (Operation Brushwood, the largest landing with 19,000 men), and Mehdiya-Port Lyautey (Operation Goalpost). Because it was hoped that the French would not resist, there were no preliminary bombardments. This proved to be a costly error as French defenses took a toll on American landing forces. 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. His forces surrounded the villa of General Charles Noguès, the Vichy-loyal high commissioner. However, Noguès telephoned loyal forces, who stopped the coup. In addition, the coup attempt alerted Noguès to the impending Allied invasion, and he immediately bolstered French coastal defenses.

A flyer in French and Arabic that was distributed by Allied forces in the streets of Casablanca, calling on citizens to cooperate with the Allied forces.

Landings at Fedala – Center Attack Group[edit]

Ground forces
Maj. Gen. J.W. Anderson (18,783 officers and enlisted)
3rd Infantry "Rock of the Marne" Division
7th Infantry Regiment (reinf.)
15th Infantry Regiment (reinf.)
30th Infantry Regiment (reinf.)
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.[5] The landings were begun without covering fire, in the hope that the French would not resist at all. However, once French coastal batteries opened fire, Allied warships returned fire. 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. Most of the landings occurred behind schedule. Carrier aircraft destroyed a French truck convoy bringing reinforcements to the beach defenses. Safi surrendered on the afternoon of 8 November. By 10 November, the remaining defenders were pinned down, and the bulk of Harmon's forces raced to join the siege of Casablanca.

Landings at Mehediya – Northern Attack Group[edit]

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[edit]

Attacking forces[edit]

Ground and naval commanders for Center Task Force
Maj. Gen. Lloyd R. Fredendall, USA
Commodore Thomas Hope Troubridge, RN
Ground forces[6]
United States US II Corps
Major General Lloyd R. Fredendall, USA
Approx. 39,000 officers and enlisted
1st Infantry "Big Red One" Division
Combat Command B / 1st Armored Division
6th Armored Infantry Regiment
1st Ranger Battalion
France French Army in Algeria
Algiers Division, Oran Division, Moroccan Division
Naval forces[6]
United Kingdom Center Task Force
Commodore Thomas Hope Troubridge, RN
1 fleet carrier, 2 escort carriers, 1 battleship, 1 anti-aircraft cruiser, 13 destroyers, numerous auxiliaries
USS Lakehurst (formerly Seatrain New Jersey), after discharging medium tanks at Safi, Morocco.

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.

American troops on board a Landing Craft Assault heading into Oran, Algeria, November 1942

The U.S. 1st Ranger Battalion landed east of Oran and quickly captured the shore battery at Arzew. An attempt was made to land U.S. infantry at the harbour directly, in order to quickly prevent destruction of the port facilities and scuttling of ships. Operation Reservist failed, as the two Banff-class sloops were destroyed by crossfire from the French vessels there. The Vichy French naval fleet broke from the harbor and attacked the Allied invasion fleet but its ships were all sunk or driven ashore.[7] The commander of Reservist, Captain Frederick Thornton Peters, was awarded the Victoria Cross for valour in pushing the attack through Oran harbour in the face of point blank fire.[a][8] French batteries and the invasion fleet exchanged fire throughout 8–9 November, with French troops defending Oran and the surrounding area stubbornly; bombardment by the British battleships brought about Oran's surrender on 10 November.

Airborne landings[edit]

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[edit]

For other battles in the same place, see Battle of Algiers.
Ground and naval commanders for Eastern Task Force
Maj. Gen. Charles W. Ryder, USA
Rear Adm. Sir Harold M. Burrough, RN

Attacking forces[edit]

Ground forces[13]
Major General Charles W. Ryder, USA[b]
Approx. 33,000 officers and enlisted
United Kingdom British (approx. 23,000)
78th Infantry Division, No. 1 Commando, No. 6 Commando
United States United States (approx. 10,000)
39th Infantry Regiment / 9th Infantry "Old Reliables" Division
135th, 168th Infantry Regiments / 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division
Naval forces[13]
United Kingdom 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[edit]

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[edit]

American soldiers land near Algiers. The soldier at the dune line is carrying a flag because it was hoped the French would be less likely to fire on Americans.

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 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, landed on the middle beach; and the US 39th Regimental Combat Team, from the US 9th Infantry Division, supported by the remaining 5 troops from 1 Commando, landed on the left hand beach. The 36th Brigade Group from the British 78th Infantry Division stood by in floating reserve.[15] Though some landings went to the wrong beaches, this was immaterial because of the lack of French opposition. All the coastal batteries had been neutralized by the French Resistance and one French commander defected to the Allies. The only fighting took place in the port of Algiers, where in Operation Terminal, two British destroyers attempted to land a party of US Army Rangers directly onto the dock, to prevent the French destroying the port facilities and scuttling their ships. Heavy artillery fire prevented one destroyer from landing but the other was able to disembark 250 Rangers before it too was driven back to sea.[7] The US troops pushed quickly inland and General Juin surrendered the city to the Allies at 18:00.

References[edit]

Notes
  1. ^ The award was posthumously as he was killed in an aircraft crash returning to the UK
  2. ^ CG, US 34th Infantry Division
Reflist
  1. ^ Hague 2000, pp. 179–80.
  2. ^ a b Mangold, Peter (2012). Britain and the Defeated French: From Occupation to Liberation, 1940–1944. London: I.B. Tauris. p. 159.
  3. ^ Brown 1968, p. 93.
  4. ^ Edwards 1999, p. 115.
  5. ^ Howe 1993, pp. 97, 102.
  6. ^ a b Morison 1947, p. 223.
  7. ^ a b Rohwer & Hummelchen 1992, p. 175
  8. ^ "Frederick Thornton Peters – the Canadian Virtual War Memorial – Veterans Affairs Canada". 20 February 2019.
  9. ^ Playfair et al. 2004, pp. 146–47, map 19.
  10. ^ a b Lane Herder, Brian (2017). Operation Torch 1942: The invasion of French North Africa. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 9781472820556.
  11. ^ Playfair et al. 2004, p. 149.
  12. ^ Haskew, Michael E. (2017). The Airborne in World War II: An Illustrated History of America's. McMillan. p. 44. ISBN 9781250124470.
  13. ^ a b Morison 1947, p. 190.
  14. ^ Documentary film presenting the dominant role of Jewish resistance fighters in Algiers
  15. ^ Playfair et al. 2004, pp. 126, 140–41, map 18.

Bibliography[edit]

  • 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. ISBN 978-0-8117-3381-6. OCLC 40595324.
  • Willmott, H.P. (1984). June, 1944. Poole, Dorset: Blandford Press. ISBN 0-7137-1446-8 – via Archive Foundation.

External links

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