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Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War.Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa while allowing American armed forces the opportunity to begin their fight against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy on a limited scale.
Morocco was a protectorate of France at the time of World War II. The French government at Vichy had surrendered to Germany after the Battle of France , signing an Armistice with Nazi Germany . General Charles de Gaulle led French forces opposed to the surrender and to the Vichy government, continuing the war on the side of the UK and the Allies .
In 1940, France surrendered to Nazi Germany and was divided into two regions, with northern and western France occupied, [3] by German forces headquartered in Paris. In southern and central France, a nominally independent "free zone" was known as Vichy France, after its capital city (). [3]
The operation called for American amphibious troops to land at and capture the French-held port of Safi in French Morocco. The landings were carried out by the 47th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army and took place on the morning of 8 November 1942 as part of a larger operation to capture Casablanca .
Prior to the landings in French Morocco, and after the fall of France in World War II, the U.S. State Department had maintained in French North Africa an unusually large number of very able consular officials. This group was under the leadership of Mr. Robert Murphey, later General Eisenhower's political adviser.
The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers.It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert War), in Morocco and Algeria (Operation Torch), and in Tunisia (Tunisia campaign).
Morocco controls 75% of the Western Sahara, the Polisario Front controls 25%; Unknown. 2,155– 2,300 captured Shaba I (1977) Zaire Morocco Belgium Egypt France: FNLC: Victory. FNLC expelled from Katanga; The FNLC withdrew to Angola and possibly to Zambia; 8 killed Shaba II (1978) Zaire Morocco Belgium France United States: FNLC: Victory. Non ...
Allies and Adversaries: The Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Grand Alliance, and U.S. Strategy in World War II (2006) excerpt and text search Wilt, Alan F. "The Significance of the Casablanca Decisions, January 1943," Journal of Military History (1991) 55#4 pp 517–529 in JSTOR