Operation Torch

Given the top secret nature of Operation Torch, few Americans took notice of the massive buildup of war ships, troops and other weapons of war amassing on the East Coast of the United States, throughout the bulk of 1942. Rails and highways bristled with eastbound processions of the military might—a massive parade of equipment, supplies and personnel.

Buildup on Multiple Continents

Across the pond, British tanks, guns and troops clogged rail lines in a similar fashion, as the two Allied nations prepared for the invasion of French North Africa, intended to draw Axis forces away from the Eastern Front, in hopes of relieving mounting stress on a hard-pressed Soviet Army. While American war planners had pushed for a landing in northern Europe, Operation Torch came about as a compromise with British war leaders, who felt that a premature D-Day-style invasion of the European mainland would lead to disaster at such an early stage in the war.

Three-Pronged Offensive

From November 8th through the 16th, U.S. and British forces engaged General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s three-pronged offensive on French North Africa—the Western flank at Casablanca, a Center prong at Oman, and an Eastern offensive at Algiers—with plans for a rapid advance on the German-Italian Afrika Korps at Tunis in conjunction with a second Allied pincer-style advance on Tunis from Egypt.

Early Success

After loosening up shoreline defenses with varying degrees of Allied naval bombardment, the Western Task Force at Casablanca experienced both heavy resistance and bad weather, eventually capturing French Vichy’s primary Atlantic naval base after a short siege, while the Center Task Force suffered damage to some of their ships as they landed in shallow waters, at the same time sinking or driving off all French naval assets.

Algiers Surrenders

The Eastern Task Force met with even less resistance following an anti-Vichy coup attempt on the day of invasion, leading to the surrender of Algiers on the opening day of the campaign. After three years of Axis aggression, which dictated the tempo of Allied defensive responses, the rapid success of Operation Torch marked a turning point moment in the Allies’ attempts to push back against Axis aggression, forcing Axis troops to defend both its eastern and western fronts.

Successful Collaboration

The invasion force of some 100,000 U.S. and British personnel demonstrated a successful, albeit imperfect, collaboration between British and American war planners, which if viewed in tandem with the Americans’ promising Solomon Islands campaign and the Soviets’ ability to hold the Eastern Front, the triumvirate of events positioned the Allies in a significantly better place in late 1942 than they had been in early spring, making Operation Torch, a critical breakthrough in the Allies steady march toward victory.