Operation Torch

[Sarah Browning]

Operation Torch referred to the British and U.S. landings in French North Africa from November 8th to November 14th in 1942. The operation was carried out to open another front against the Axis armies in North Africa and to capture that area. The British convinced the United States that occupation of French North Africa was a favorable operation. On November 8th 1942, Great Britain and the United States undertook the largest water operation in history up to that point. The navies consisted of 650 ships, and more than 107,000 men at three different points held by the French. The French Vichy government was officially neutral at that time, and the Allied governments had contacted French military commanders to arrange their cooperation with the invasion, but they were unsuccessful. After France fell in June 1940, the British had tried to destroy the French fleet to deny it to Adolf Hitler. French general Alphonse Juin finally surrendered Algiers on the evening of November 8th, which allowed the Allies to establish a firm bridge in the Mediterranean. Operations in the Atlantic were protected by the U.S. Navy.

The most powerful French figure in North Africa was Adm. Jean Darlan, high commissioner for North Africa, who ordered a general cease-fire on November 10th. The Allies had hoped to place General Henri Giraud in command of the French, but Darlan had greater support. Darlan had connections with the Vichy government, and the Allies were uncomfortable dealing with him. Their difficulties were solved on December 24th 1942, when a French nationalist a shot Darlan. Giraud succeeded him in command. As a result of the invasion of North Africa, the Germans had the opportunity to occupy that part of France that had not been under their control. They also were able to rush an army to occupy Tunisia in North Africa. The fighting continued in North Africa until May 1943.

By the time Germany surrendered in mid-May, the Allies had lost 76,000 troops. In addition to losing a large number of soldiers, the German Army also lost 238,000 men captured during the campaign. Losses suffered by Rommel resulted in his falling into disfavor with Adolf Hitler and the undermining of his military leadership by the Nazi regime. Breakdowns in communication between Allied commanders during the North African campaign revealed the shaky foundation of cooperation between military leaders, a problem that would be corrected when Allied forces hit the beaches of Normandy in 1944. Many generals and political leaders felt then that the North African campaign, though victorious, was fought in the wrong location. They contend that the real focus of the war should have been an attack on the German Army in France, which occurred the next year and was known as Operation Overlord, or D-Day.

Primary Source
This source is a first hand experience of a man who was in one of the of Pontardawe was in the 7th Battalion of the South Wales Borderers in World War II along with a number of other battles and operations. This article give us a better understanding of Operation Torch because it shows us how life changing being in a war can be and what was going through his head as these things were going on.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/ww2/pages/george_treadwe...