"and forced to surrender seven hours later. However they succeeded in preventing the destruction of the port before the defenders in turn surrendered to the larger invading forces. A similar operation was carried out at Oran (Operation Reservist), but with even less success; however the Torch landings as a whole were successful, the ""Terminal"" and ""Reservist"" segments being the only setbacks in the entire operation. Operation Terminal Operation Terminal was an Allied operation during World War II. Part of Operation Torch (the Allied invasion of French North Africa, 8 November 1942) it involved a direct landing of infantry into the"
"American and British forces landed at several points along the coast of French Morocco and Algeria on November 8, 1942, during Operation Torch. This came only days after the breakthrough of the British Eighth Army (Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Montgomery) following the Second Battle of El Alamein. In response, German and Italian troops were ferried in from Sicily to occupy Tunisia, one of the few easily defended areas of North Africa and only one night's sail from bases in Sicily. This short passage made it very difficult for Allied naval vessels to intercept Axis transports, while air interdiction proved equally difficult"
"the Italian-German ""Panzer"" Army near the Mareth Line and came under command of General Harold Alexander's 18th Army Group for the concluding phase of the war in North Africa, the Tunisia Campaign. Operation Torch started on 8 November 1942, and finished on 11 November. In an attempt to pincer German and Italian forces, Allied forces (American and British Commonwealth), landed in Vichy-held French North Africa under the assumption that there would be little to no resistance. Nevertheless, Vichy French forces put up a strong and bloody resistance to the Allies in Oran and Morocco, but not in Algiers, where a"
"The last major battles against the Allied forces, in which the Vichy French air force took part, took place during Operation Torch, launched on 8 November 1942 as the Allied invasion of North Africa. Facing the U.S. Navy task force headed for Morocco, consisting of the carriers ""Ranger"", ""Sangamon"", ""Santee"" and ""Suwannee"", were, in part, Vichy squadrons based at Marrakech, Meknès, Agadir, Casablanca and Rabat, which between them could muster some 86 fighters and 78 bombers. Overall, the aircraft may have been old compared to the F4F Wildcats of the U.S. Navy, yet they were still dangerous and capable in"
"thence to the East Coast of the United States for a many-weeks-long overhaul. On 8 November 1942, Operation Torch—the code name of the Anglo-American effort to conquer Northwestern Africa from the Vichy French and Nazi Germany, and thence to expel the Axis Powers from Africa—got underway. Off Casablanca, French Morocco, the heavy cruisers ""Tuscaloosa"" and ""Wichita"" joined the new American battleship , the aircraft carrier ""Ranger"" and numerous light cruisers and destroyers as the ""big guns"" for the segment of Operation Torch in Morocco. (Other forces invaded Algeria via the Mediterranean Sea.) As American troops waded ashore, ""Tuscaloosa""s powerful 8-inch,"
"Torch was the capture of the major airfields and ports of North Africa to allow the allies to continue operations from the ground, from the air and from sea. This was to be accomplished within 24 hours in a three-pronged assault commencing on 8 November 1942: an expedition to Morocco and landings in Algeria. While the landings were taking place off Morocco, the Samuel Chase under the command of Commander Roger C. Heimer (USCG), landed the first troops just east of Algiers shortly after midnight. The Samuel Chase remained off the beach for three days before entering the harbor of"
"Mediterranean Theater of Operations The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations (NATOUSA), was the American term for the theater of operations covering North Africa and Italy during World War II. American operations in the theater began with the Allied Expeditionary Force, which landed on the beaches of northwest Africa on November 8, 1942, in Operation ""Torch"". They ended in the Italian Alps some 31 months later with the German surrender in May 1945. The operational command of the MTO USA was a combined U.S.–British operational command called Allied Forces Headquarters"
"Oran Tafraoui Airport Oran Tafaraoui Airport is a joint civil/military airport in Oran Province, Algeria . During World War II, it was a primary mission objective of the United States Army 34th Infantry Division during the Allied Operation Torch landings on 8 November 1942, and became a major Twelfth Air Force base of operations during the North African Campaign against the German Afrika Korps. Tafaraoui became a staging and transit point for many units: The new desert Spitfires of the 31st Fighter Group were also assigned to Tafaraoui. Other aircraft at the field included P-38s of the 14th, B-26s, B-25"
"Allied aircraft—11 over Malta. On 8 November 1942 Operation Torch began and Allied forces invaded Vichy French Morocco and Algeria. The Germans and Italians allocated large forces to prevent the Allied advance into Tunisia. The Run for Tunis was a success, and the fall of the country into Allied hands was prevented. JG 77 was among the units sent from Sicily to support the Axis forces in the Tunisian Campaign. On 1 November Berres claimed a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk over Bir-el-Abd, and other on 3 November northwest of Quotaifiya, and at 10:31 on 11 November 1942 he claimed another over"
"North Africa, codenamed Operation Torch. When the Paratroop Task Force departed Land's End, England on November 7, 1942, Yarborough, as executive officer (XO), accompanied it on its flight over Spain toward its target objectives in Algeria. This was the longest operational flight ever made by parachute troops. In the course of the ensuing action the airplane in which he was flying was shot down by Vichy French fighter aircraft over the Sebkra d'Oran. He participated in combat operations to capture Tafaroui Airdrome in Algeria. A week later, Yarborough parachuted into Youks les Bains Airfield near Tebessa, Algeria (near the Tunisian"
"World War II, Algeria, along with North Africa, were under the control of Nazi Germany and Vichy France. On November 8, 1942 the Allies launched the first major offensive of the war codenamed Operation Torch. Allied Forces led by Dwight D. Eisenhower landed on the northern beaches and advanced south against an army of 60,000 Vichy troops. The Allies retook Morocco along with Algeria, establishing the liberation of northern Africa. During the War, large numbers of both Muslim and European Algerians served with the French Army. Algerian troops particularly distinguished themselves as part of the French Expeditionary Corps under General"
"Operation Torch, the invasion of Algeria and Morocco by British and American forces, came as a complete surprise to Juin, who had not been brought into secret discussions concerning the operation. He was informed of the landings by Robert Daniel Murphy, the American consul-general in Algiers, on the morning of on 8 November 1942 as the first waves were heading toward the beaches. Juin had previously told Murphy that his orders were to resist an invasion of North Africa, but he agreed to immediately consult with Darlan, who arrived at Juin's villa within minutes. Darlan, in turn, sent a message"
"17 November 1942, north of Algiers, during ""Operation Torch"". She had been badly damaged after being attacked by a Lockheed Hudson bomber and signalled surrender, but was attacked and sunk by a Fairey Albacore torpedo-bomber from the British aircraft carrier . Of her crew 32 were killed and 17 survived, including von Tiesenhausen. As a prisoner of war, Von Tiesenhausen was initially moved to England, he then spent the rest of the war as a PoW in Canada, until his release in 1947. Returning to West Germany, he worked as a joiner, but in late 1951 he returned to Vancouver,"
"landing of the Allies in North Africa (Operation Torch) on 8 November 1942. Following the conclusion of the operation on 12 November, Vichy's remaining military forces were disbanded. Vichy continued to exercise its remaining jurisdiction over almost all of metropolitan France, with the residual power devolved into the hands of Laval, until the gradual collapse of the regime following the Allied invasion in June 1944. On 7 September 1944, following the Allied invasion of France, the remainders of the Vichy government cabinet fled to Germany and established a puppet government in exile in the so-called Sigmaringen enclave. That rump government"
"of the Operation Torch invasion of North Africa in November 1942, being deployed to the new Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). It was assigned to the Twelfth Air Force in French Morocco in November. The squadron engaged primarily in support and interdictory operations; bombing marshalling yards, rail lines, highways, bridges, viaducts, troop concentrations, gun emplacements, shipping, harbors and other objectives in North Africa. The squadron also engaged in psychological warfare missions, dropping propaganda leaflets behind enemy lines. It took part in the Allied operations against Axis forces in North Africa during March–May 1943, the reduction of Pantelleria and Lampedusa islands"
"Mitchells, A-20 Havocs, Gen. Doolittle's B-17-G, some French Amiot bombers around, and some old wrecks fixed up as dummies. In 1966 the airport was established as an airbase and training ground for the Algerian Air Force. Oran Tafraoui Airport Oran Tafaraoui Airport is a joint civil/military airport in Oran Province, Algeria . During World War II, it was a primary mission objective of the United States Army 34th Infantry Division during the Allied Operation Torch landings on 8 November 1942, and became a major Twelfth Air Force base of operations during the North African Campaign against the German Afrika Korps."
"was assigned to Operation Torch, the Allied landing in North Africa, and was involved in the attack on Algiers on 8 November 1942. Three days later the ship was part of a task force sent to capture an airfield near Bougie (modern Béjaïa) 100 miles east of Algiers. At the centre of the force were infantry landing craft, and the covering force included the cruiser , the monitor , ""Tynwald"" and fourteen other supporting vessels. The first landing met with little or no opposition, and the Bougie harbour was occupied. However, it proved impossible to capture the airfield from the"
"Operation Terminal Operation Terminal was an Allied operation during World War II. Part of Operation Torch (the Allied invasion of French North Africa, 8 November 1942) it involved a direct landing of infantry into the Vichy French port of Algiers with the intention of capturing the port facilities before they could be destroyed. The attacking forces were two Royal Navy destroyers, and (commanded by Henry Fancourt) carrying 600 troops of the 3d Battalion, 135th Infantry, (commanded by Colonel Edwin Swenson), part of the US 34th Infantry Division. The plan was to land the troops directly into the port. It was"
"Operation Avalanche Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, but the Allies landed in an area defended by German troops. Planned under the name ""Top Hat"", it was supported by the deception plan Operation Boardman. The landings were carried out by the US Fifth Army, under American General Mark W. Clark. It comprised the U.S. VI Corps, the British X Corps and the US 82nd Airborne Division, a total of"
"involved three Task Forces - Western, Centre, and Eastern - landing US and British divisions over 500 miles of coast. The Western Task Force sailed directly from the United States and landed near Mehdia, Casablanca, and at Safi. This task force contained no LCAs. Making landings inside the Mediterranean at Algiers and Oran were two task forces composed primarily of British ships. In these landings LCAs were the most numerous landing craft type. Torch was the largest amphibious operation mounted to date and was done on a ""shoestring"" budget with regard to landing craft and personnel. Combined Operations establishments were"
"naming its location. Its USAAF Station Code was ""RY"". The airfield was fairly complete when the first operational users arrived. The USAAF Twelfth Air Force 64th Troop Carrier Group, equipped with Douglas C-47s and C-53s, arrived from Westover Army Airfield, Massachusetts on 18 August 1942. Operational squadrons of the group were: The unit was temporarily assigned to the VIII Air Support Command for training at Ramsbury, and conducted an extensive training program while flying cargo, passengers, and courier missions for several months, before leaving with paratroopers for Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa on 9 November 1942, being deployed"
"were damaged. Plans for the Allied counter offensive after the attack on Pearl Harbor were ongoing by mid-1942. An invasion of Europe in 1943 would be unworkable, but the allies could attack the ""soft underbelly of Europe"" through the Mediterranean, as Prime Minister Winston Churchill put it. Devised by President Franklin Roosevelt and Churchill and code named Operation Torch, the plan was to occupy French North Africa: Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. From these French colonies, attacks could be launched that would drive Italy out of the war. In July 1942, Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed Allied Commander-in-Chief of"
"1942, Allied forces were completing the task of planning Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, with the 2nd Battalion, 503rd PIR scheduled to take the lead and make the first combat jump. Operation Torch was the first joint military action undertaken by the Allies in World War II. This was the springboard for the idea, formed by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, of attacking the ""soft underbelly of Europe"" before attempting a cross-channel attack from England onto mainland Europe. The main objective of Torch was to seize French Northwest Africa and, for political reasons, the Americans would lead operation."
"than 400 aircraft of all types were crammed into the dispersal areas around the Gibraltar runway. Fighters had been shipped in crates and assembled on the airfield. Every available area of storage was taken up with ammunition, fuel, and other essential supplies. 168 American pilots were housed in the RAF messes at ""North Front"". On 8 November 1942, 466 aircraft from Gibraltar landed on captured North African airfields. From their headquarters in Gibraltar, General Eisenhower and Admiral Sir Andrew Browne Cunningham directed Operation Torch, the first major combined combat operation during World War II involving American and British forces. Given"
"to continue their war on the Enigma cipher at ""PC Bruno"", outside Paris, where the Poles collaborated with their French and British allies. When France capitulated to Nazi Germany in June 1940, Fokczyński and his colleagues were transported by their French host, Colonel Gustave Bertrand, to a post codenamed ""Cadix"", outside Uzès, in southern, Vichy France. On 8 November 1942 the Allies landed in North Africa (Operation Torch). On 9 November Bertrand evacuated ""Cadix"", and the Poles set out for the Côte d'Azur. Two days later, the Germans abruptly invaded the French Free Zone, putting an end to the collaborationist"
"Torch). Meanwhile, the German Afrika Korps retreated from Egypt westward to Tunisia and set up defensive positions at the Mareth Line south of Gabès. The British followed on its heels. With reinforcements the Afrika Korps had some success against the ""green"" American and Free French advancing from the west. That enabled operations against the British at the Mareth Line, which ultimately failed perhaps due to Ultra intercepts. The Allies broke through the Axis lines and an intensive Allied air campaign forced the Afrika Korps to surrender in May 1943. Tunisia became a staging area for the invasion of Sicily later"
"Torch) in North-West Africa in November 1942, and subsequent battles against Vichy France forces (who then changed sides), the Allies encircled several hundred thousand German and Italian personnel in northern Tunisia and finally forced their surrender in May 1943. Operation Torch in November 1942 was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while allowing American armed forces the opportunity to engage in the fight against Nazi Germany on a limited scale. In addition, as Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, had long been pleading for a second front to be opened"
"left California in the fall and sailed for Northern Ireland, where it received additional combat training under Eighth Air Force. A month after the initial Operation Torch landings in North Africa the squadron deployed to Algeria, where it entered combat as an element of Twelfth Air Force. In North Africa, the squadron flew antisubmarine patrols, bomber escort missions and attacked enemy shipping and airfields, moving its base east through Algeria and Tunisia. As the North African campaign drew to a close, the unit began attacking targets in Italy, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions on 25 April 1943"
"Torch, the invasion of North Africa. On 10 November the air echelon flew from England via Gibraltar and on the following day landed personnel of the British 3rd Parachute Battalion at Maison Blanche (now Dar El Beïda), near Algiers. By mid-December, the squadron's ground echelon joined the air echelon at Blida Airfield, Algeria. The group dropped paratroops to capture airfields and destroy bridges, during the battle for Tunisia; Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily in July 1943; and Operation Avalanche, the invasion of Italy in September 1943. In April 1944, most of the squadron was detached to India where it"
"Operation Torch landings in the Vichy French territories of Morocco and Algeria (November 1942) British, American and French forces advanced east to engage the German-Italian forces in the Tunisia Campaign. By February, the Axis forces in Tunisia were joined by Rommel's forces, after their long withdrawal from El Alamein, which were re-designated the Italian First Army (under Giovanni Messe) when Rommel left to command the Axis forces to the north at the Battle of the Kasserine Pass. Despite the Axis success at Kasserine, the Allies were able to reorganise (with all forces under the unified direction of 18th Army Group"
"Operation Flax Operation Flax was a Western Allied air operation executed during the Tunisia Campaign, as part of the larger North African Campaign of the Second World War. The operation was designed to cut the air supply lines between Italy and the Axis armies in Tunis, Tunisia, in April 1943. The parallel Allied naval effort was Operation ""Retribution"". In November 1942, American and British forces landed in North Africa under Operation ""Torch"". Allied thrusts overran Vichy French Morocco and Algeria and advanced into Tunisia. The danger for the Axis Powers was now apparent. The Allied forces advancing eastward and the"
"Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942, formerly Operation Gymnast) was an Anglo–American invasion of French North Africa, during the North African Campaign of the Second World War. Torch was the debut of the mass involvement of US troops in the European–North African Theatre. The Soviet Union had long pressed the US and British to start operations in Europe and open a second front, to reduce the pressure of German forces on the Red Army. While US commanders favored Operation Sledgehammer, a landing in Occupied Europe as soon as possible, British commanders believed that it was premature and likely to"
"Tactical Air Command served in combat in the Mediterranean and European theaters until May 1945. Known units were: Colonel Demas T. Craw and Major Pierpont M. Hamilton were awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the invasion of Algeria-French Morocco (Operation Torch). When the Allies landed at Mehdia, French Morocco on 8 November 1942, both men volunteered to go behind enemy lines and meet with the French commander near Port Lyautey, French Morocco, to broker a cease fire. After landing on the beach under hostile fire, Craw, his interpreter Major Pierpont M. Hamilton, and their driver Private Orris Correy"