Who invaded North Africa in 1942?
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U.S. troops, led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, marched onto North African soil for the first time in the war. They secured several ports for the Allies in what British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is already calling “the beginning of the end” of the war. Show On November 8, U.S. troops, supported by British naval and air forces, landed in advance of an anticipated attack by German and Italian forces. French forces who previously held the land in North Africa were at first wary of the arrival of American and British troops. Some saw it as an attack on the French. General Eisenhower made an official statement shortly after the troop landings assuring the French military that their motives were pure. “This is a military operation directed against the Italian-German military forces in North Africa,” Eisenhower said. “Our only objective is to defeat the enemy and to free France. I need not tell you that we have no designs either on North Africa or on any part of the French empire. We count on your friendship and we ask your aid.” Shortly after this plea from Eisenhower to the French military, Admiral Francois Darlan, acting as commander-in-chief of the French in North Africa, ordered a ceasefire. Following Darlan’s order, resistance in Casablanca, the chief port of Morocco, finally ended. Casablanca was the last remaining point of resistance along the 1,300-mile coastline of French North Africa.  General Dwight D. Eisenhower (left), commander in chief of Allied Armies in North Africa, and General Honore Giraud, commanding the French forces, salute the flags of both nations at Allied headquarters. From Library of Congress. Eisenhower stated in a press conference shortly following the American landing that he was originally disappointed in the resistance of the French but is glad that they have come around and accepted the presence of American and British troops. Eisenhower also praised the American army for its ability to move quickly and take African ports while setting up defense points across the coastline. Although Eisenhower and President Roosevelt have both given most of the credit for the invasion to U.S. military forces, Eisenhower has been quick to praise the British navy and air force for their aid. General Eisenhower explained that the British navy was up against terrible storms and still managed to deliver materials as well as men on time: “The way the naval staff planned the giant convoys with exact timing was nothing short of wonderful.” French North Africa coming under the control of the Allied forces is a great tactical position for the military, especially after reports that German and Italian troops were poised to enter North Africa within the next few weeks. The location of these new ports gives Allied forces direct access to what some call the “soft underside” of Axis-dominated Europe: an area that is not protected well by Nazi forces, separated from Allies by waters that are easily navigable by the powerful ships of the British and US navies. Although Eisenhower was quick to praise these military advances, he was careful to say that this is no great victory as U.S. troops have yet to face German ground troops in battle. As the general told French forces in North Africa: “The hour of national uprising has not sounded. We have already promised you that we will warn you when this hour shall have come. Today that moment is closer. We will keep our promise.” Sources:
Operation Torch was the Anglo-American invasion of French Morocco and Algeria during the North African Campaign of World War II. It began on November 8 and concluded on November 16, 1942. It resulted from an uneasy compromise between the Western Allies, and was intended to relieve pressure on the Soviet Union by imperiling Axis forces in the region and by enabling an invasion of Southern Europe in 1943. Commanded by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the operation was designed as a pincer movement with American landings at Morocco’s Atlantic coast and Anglo-American landings on Algeria’s Mediterranean coast. The primary objective was to secure bridgeheads for opening a second front to the rear of German and Italian forces battling the British in Libya and Egypt. On the night of November 8, after undetected crossings from the United States and the United Kingdom, a great Anglo-American fleet consisting of 350 warships and 500 transports carrying some 107,000 troops assembled off the coast of French North Africa. The following morning, the Allied assault commenced as three task forces sought to seize key ports and airports at Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers before advancing eastwards into Tunisia. The invasion forces had to overcome French opposition in territories controlled by the Vichy Regime under Marshall Philippe Pétain. His government had some 125,000 soldiers stationed in Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, as well as powerful coastal artillery, numerous tanks, aircraft, and warships. Optimistic British intelligence suggested that the French would offer minimal resistance. This would prove wrong. On November 7, Vichy forces thwarted an attempted coup d’etat by pro-Allied General Antoine Béthouart against the French command in Morocco. Stiff French resistance then caused significant losses at several of the Moroccan assault points before the Western Task Force achieved its landing objectives. On November 10, the Allied troops readied to assault Casablanca. After a brief naval engagement, the French surrendered the city before an all-out attack was launched. At Oran, the Center Task Force also encountered stubborn French resistance before Oran’s surrender on November 9. On the other hand, the Eastern Task Force was aided by a successful coup by the French resistance in Algiers, which neutralized the French XIX Corps before the Allied landings there. Allied troops quickly pushed inland, and General Juin surrendered the city in the early evening of November 9. Urged by General Mark Clark, Eisenhower's deputy, Admiral Jean Francois Darlan, Vichy High Commissioner for North Africa, and General Juin also ordered French forces to cease armed resistance in Oran and Morocco on November 10–11. Consequences of Operation TorchOperation Torch has a mixed political legacy. In return for his cooperation, Darlan temporarily remained head of the French administration as the French forces in North Africa joined the Allies, deeply offending Charles de Gaulle and other members of Free France. The operation also led to various unforeseen military consequences. Upon learning of Darlan’s deal with the Allies, Adolf Hitler ordered the occupation of Vichy France and started building up Axis forces in Tunisia, where they would later clash with British troops. Tunis did not fall quickly to British and American forces. Conversely, the invasion also failed to draw away large numbers of Germans from the eastern front, a key strategic rationale given for the operation. But there were notable successes as well. Operation Torch marked the largest American campaign to date in the Atlantic theater, and the first major operation carried out jointly and combined by the United States and the United Kingdom during World War II. American and British forces had finally seized the offensive after three years of German and Italian forces dictating the tempo of events. Lessons learned in North Africa would shape Anglo-American decision making and facilitate successful invasions in the European theater throughout the rest of the war. Last Edited: Jan 7, 2019 Author(s): United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC Why did the US invade North Africa in 1942?It stemmed mainly from a demand for early action against the European members of the Axis, and ostensibly was designed to ease the pressure on the hard-pressed Soviet armies and check the threatened advance of German power into the Middle East.
Who invaded North Africa in ww2?Within days of the British victory at El-Alamein, the Allies launched Operation Torch, the code name for their invasion of North Africa. On November 8, 1942, British and American forces carried out an amphibious landing on the coast of French North Africa (present-day Morocco).
What was the name of the 1942 Allied invasion of North Africa?The combined operation in North Africa was dubbed Operation Torch, and it was agreed that the supreme command of the invasion should be given to an American. On July 26, 1942, Maj. Gen. Dwight D.
Who invaded North Africa?The invasion of North Africa accomplished much for the Allies. Perhaps most important, American and British forces finally had seized the offensive after three years of German and Italian forces dictating the tempo of events.
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