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Preface:
The unchanging French officers tried to form another fleet, but unfortunately only two small frigates remained, and the ambition to fight again quickly faded.
Sailors dragged U.S. 16-inch duds from the port to the Navy headquarters and posted a sign in French: "Friends from afar!" "Put it at the entrance for public display.
The surviving sailors were gathered again, each firing a rifle and five rounds of ammunition, to form an infantry company to defend Casablanca. The wounded Major General Lafeng returned the salute while inspecting his sailors who were about to return to the front line on crutches.
Allied troops land in Fedara
At 1:20 p.m. on Sunday, Barton finally boarded a lifeboat to Red Beach Fedara 1.
Once a thriving horse farm and casino in a fishing port with a population of 16,000, it was a relaxing resort for celebrities and merchants in Casablanca, but now it is a deserted empty city. Barton waded waist-high in the sea, escorted by guards with submachine guns, to a hut on the breakwater.
In the morning, the paint of French artillery shells was stained on the "Augusta", and his leather jacket was covered with yellow marks. After practicing hard for many cold and summer days, he finally had a place to use. Now, he's going to take it in stride.
"I don't want to fight the French if I could." Barton said to his colleagues on the Augusta. But now, the deep French complex can only be put aside for the time being. Like the other commanders of Operation Torch, Barton knew nothing about the situation beyond the beach at the moment.
Unlike others, he was fascinated by this ambiguity: for the next two and a half days, then two and a half years, this ambiguity would show his way of doing things. At noon, the "Augusta" was called to report that Safavid's French troops had surrendered seven hours earlier, but that Sherman tanks had traveled 140 miles north to Casablanca, and it would take at least two days to reach all of them.
At 7:15 a.m., Trascot signaled "play" in Media, 50 miles north of Fedara, and has not been heard from since. Of course, part of the reason was that the recoil of the guns shook the radio on the Augusta, so it was impossible to receive information. The immediate priority was to deploy three regiments of the 3rd Infantry Division that landed in Fedara, capture the port city, and then adjust their deployment to capture Casablanca, 10 miles north.
That's easier said than done. Patton said that fighting was "a dogfight," and Fedara confirmed that. Instead of being concentrated on the 4-mile beachhead, the units were scattered along a 40-mile stretch of coast. Only 5 of the 70 tanks landed. Of the 9 artillery units that landed, only 2 contacted the warships that the naval guns asked them to command.
An operator with unskilled operation skills wanted to expand the range by increasing the transmit power of the radio station, and as a result, he occupied people's channels. Petty locals used the beach as a place of wealth, shouting the passwords "George" and "Patton", but could not understand what the Jewish army was doing here (seeing the Great White Star on the landing vehicle, they took it for granted that it was the Jewish army).
The soldiers dropped their bulky anti-tank guns and were later confronted by a Senegalese infantryman, several of whom pointed to the American flag sewn on their cuffs, making them have to explain. "If the Germans resist," Patton later admitted, "we would never have been able to get ashore." ”
Hewitt's fleet was in full swing, but Patton, who was like a trapped beast, looked up to the sky and sighed: "I wish I was a young ensign." That's exactly what he is doing today: scolding and mercilessly driving Moroccans and death-hungry soldiers. He dashed across the hut and pulled out the soldiers hiding behind the dunes. "I'm going to catch the American soldiers on the beach again," he yelled, "and I'll deal with it by military law!" ”
Mr. Patton believed that "criticism motivates soldiers to become heroes who sacrifice their lives," said one of his colonels. Whether these words aroused the courage of the soldiers is unknown, but the latter finally dragged his way into depth. The soldiers did not dare to be left behind, apparently thanks to a rumor: the Berbers were said to castrate prisoners.
The French faced 20,000 American troops in five infantry battalions of 2,500 soldiers and 46 artillery pieces. But by this time they were distracted, and the American landing in Fedara had actually surrounded, the French army guarding the northern coast of Casablanca. The landing army attacked the four-gun Pembrondam coastal defense battery, 3 miles northeast of Fedara, and won the first battle.
When mortar shells from the 30th Infantry Regiment landed on the fortress, a platoon commander shouted "assemble" over and over again, thinking the word meant "surrender." Several warships struck while the iron was hot, killing four French defenders and driving them into a sturdy stone toilet. The shells also killed six U.S. soldiers in an open field along the Negafi River.
Allied transport ships were scarce
"The Navy's cover artillery fire fell on the positions of its own people, but it was enough to discourage people." A major said. Yellow smoke bombs (ceasefire signals) ordered the ceasefire to fail, and an officer called over the radio: "Oh my God, please stop shelling Fedara!" You killed your own people... Shells bloomed all over the town. As long as you cease fire, they will surrender. ”
The shelling finally stopped. A white handkerchief flew over the tip of a bayonet outside the window, and 71 lost French defenders walked out of the battery. On the stairs lay a French sailor with broken legs, and an American captain handed him water and smoke. A Catholic chaplain ran forward and ran to make one last prayer for dead and dying soldiers on both sides.
Scouts stormed the city and captured 10 members of the German Armistice Commission. Several of them, also wearing pajamas, were running across the golf course, ready to board the plane waiting there. American troops retrieved stacks of secret documents from their Miramar hotel rooms, plus a gorgeous Persian military helmet.
The owner of the helmet, Erich von Villich, had fled to Spanish Morocco and later called General Noghès and said goodbye to him with tears in his eyes: "This is the largest German retreat since 1918." The Americans are going to take Rommel's way back and drive us out of Africa. ”
Rommel was 2,000 miles away, and the Americans had not even taken Casablanca at the moment. In order to give the French a chance to "shake hands or wait for the beating", Patton ordered the French-speaking colonel William Hale Wilbur to negotiate in a jeep with a white flag.
Wilbur went to General Betuar with the certificate of fencing team leader of West Point and other negotiation paperwork, unaware that the latter had committed treason and was imprisoned in a prison in Meknes. Wilbur drove through the French lines and greeted the Senegalese machine gunner cheerfully: "Hello, my friend! How is it this morning? ”
Inside the Admiralty compound, the cobblestone path was covered in blood, left by wounded French marines crawling over. There, Wilbur was chased back. He dodged his own fire and drove back to the U.S. position. He joined a squad of tanks to attack a coastal defense battery and was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor.
The second envoy managed to reach the Admiralty building, just in time for another round of artillery fire on Hank at 2 p.m. "That's the answer for you." A French officer said with disdain, and closed the door with a "bang". A staff officer told Patton that "the French navy is determined to resist to the end."
Barton was a little frustrated, but not frustrated. Trapped on the "Augusta", he could not use his skills and could not land. Now he is in good shape, "the commander must complete his tasks, and 80% of his tasks are to boost the morale of his subordinates." On Sunday night, with the adjutant's voice "Standing - right! Barton put on a pistol, shiny riding boots, and a white helmet with a Persian eagle on his head and walked into the candle-flickering restaurant of the Miramar Hotel. In a burst of laughter, he held up champagne and announced: "I'm going to wear it into Berlin." ”
Before going to bed that night, he wrote in his diary: "God has helped me a lot today. ”
On Monday, God no longer favored him. Following what Fedara residents described as "the calmest day in 68 years," the Atlantic Ocean changed abruptly, with a 6-foot-high wave before dawn on November 9. Unloading slowed down and soon came to a near standstill. Although 40 percent of the troops had landed, less than a tenth of the 15,000 tons of supplies on Hewitt's fleet had been unloaded.
No less than half of the 378 landing craft and tank landing craft were damaged, sunk or stranded. Cooks hang buckets and buckets of espresso for exhausted soldiers. Norfolk's hasty loading, coupled with the troops' long-term neglect of logistics, made him suffer a lot.
The beach logistics contingent lacked shovels, pallets, ropes and acetylene torches. Water-soaked cardboard boxes rot when touched. The guns sent to the beach either lacked sights, or they lacked ammunition, and even gunners. The critical wireless communication equipment was dragged to the bilge for ballast because it was too heavy and could not be retrieved. Medical equipment is far away at sea and takes another 60 hours to arrive.
Due to a shortage of vehicles and boats, dozens of wounded and good dead were stranded on the beach. Ammunition was scarce and had to be pulled ashore by life rafts. Patton unthinkingly dismissed the Minister of Logistics, who was still a few days away from Morocco, and recruited Moroccan stevedores (paid a box of cigarettes an hour), as a good opportunity to steal.
Victory belongs to the brave - the determination of General Patton
A company of 113 soldiers in four landing craft from the Leonard Wood was ordered to "put the chaos on the beach in order." In the pre-dawn darkness, the lead captain mistook the burning "Primaugai" as the beacon of Fedara's Yellow Beach. Several boats descended 15 miles along the shoreline into the channel of the port of Casablanca. A gendarme mistakenly identified a warship for an American destroyer and hysterically declared: "We are Americans!" ”
Machine guns from French warships opened fire from 50 yards, killing the company commander of the gendarmerie company. The soldiers on the leading boat raised their hands in surrender in horror, and a few even took off their underwear and waved desperately. The French pursued the ship with 20mm howitzers and 3-inch shells, destroying the ship's engines and sinking the boat in less than a minute.
The second boat 20 yards later turned around to flee, but a shell missed the captain's leg, and a lieutenant who jumped over to steer was crippled by a machine gun. One survivor later recalled that "bullets flew in the air." The lit gasoline swept from the stern to the bow like a beeping blue mattress.
The surviving soldiers jumped into the sea to escape, and the two boats behind fled for their lives under heavy artillery fire. There were 28 American casualties in the battle, and French sailors took 45 prisoners from the sea. Several other soldiers swam ashore vomiting oily seawater. French civilians dragged them up the breakwater, took off their coats and wrapped them around.
Two hours later, Barton walked to Fedara Beach again with the belief that "laziness, incompetence, and cowardice" were overlooked. Riding through the waves among the bodies of a capsized ship, Patton ordered all but the port of Fedara to stop unloading. "There was a mess on the beach, but the officers ignored it." He wrote in his diary. A soldier was seen babbling on the beach, "I flew a kick in his ass... It was a boost to his morale. In short, soldiers are greedy for life and fear death, and officers are worse. Demoralization is low and not optimistic".
An officer learned from Patton and called out in waist-deep water to the soldiers to help carry a stranded landing craft: "Come here! Yes, I'm talking about you! Come all over! Put down what you're holding and come here! Quick, hell with it. I shout one, two! ...... Lift, push. Right! Push, hell, push! ”
Punishment and cursing will not calm the monstrous waves, nor can they fill the empty ammunition trucks. On 8 November , the 3rd Infantry Division set out to attack Casablanca south , but was ordered to halt its advance due to shortages of material equipment. However, as of the early hours of 9 November, the 15th Infantry Regiment's transport consisted of only a few camels, a few donkeys and five jeeps, and was not capable of assault. At 7 a.m., the division organized four battalions to launch an attack, which was halted a few hours later due to a lack of vehicles and ammunition. The day was finally over, and Barton thanked God as usual, but this time only perfunctorily wrote in his diary: "Once again by God's favor." ”
At dawn on November 10, U.S. troops were still 5 miles away from Casablanca. The 7th Infantry Regiment, on the right and the 15th Infantry Regiment on the left, rushed with difficulty towards the clatter of boots and the roar of mongrel dogs on the flanks of the two columns. Although the French Navy had a broken mast, it was not to be underestimated, and it also carried 5 bullets to fight guerrilla. In the distance, a group of Algerian cavalry in bright uniforms appeared on the ridge, holding battle flags and spears and rushing towards this place with great momentum.
"Enemy cavalry!" An American military officer shouted. "Straight ahead!" The war horse galloped in the morning sun, the silver ornaments on the cage shining. While the U.S. snipers were arguing over whether to hit a man or a horse, their target disappeared into the fog. At least 12 75mm field guns opened fire, and a battalion of the 7th Regiment withdrew 500 yards before the leading officers stabilized the ranks.
"Nothing went well today." Barton wrote Tuesday night. A telegram from Gibraltar from Eisenhower added fuel to the fire: "Dear Georgie... Algiers has been occupied for two days. The Oran Line quickly collapsed ... The only hard bone is left to you. Be sure to overcome it as soon as possible. ”
Patton wrote in his diary on November 10: "God favors warriors, victory belongs to the brave." He now believes that only by drawing Casablanca can he take the city. Sherman tanks had arrived in the southern suburbs from Safavid. Hewitt's fleet and carrier-based aircraft dominated the sea and air. The 3rd Division surrounded the city from the northeast flanks. The road to Marrakech has been cut off.
Patton informed his staff officers and officers that at dawn on Wednesday, Casablanca must be taken quickly.
《References》
Craig Symonds, Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the Dei Landing (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014);
Frederick Lane, The Ship of Victory: A History of Maritime Commission Shipbuilding in World War II (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1951), pp. 3-6;