The North African landings in the world's most powerful war story

North African landing campaign

Following the east-to-west offensive campaign of the British army against the German and Italian armies in the El Alamein region of Egypt from October to November 1942, the United States and Britain began to carry out the "Torch" operation on November 8 of the same year, that is, landing in "French North Africa", and then attacking the German and Italian armies from west to east. The decision of the Us and British authorities to implement the North African landing was based on the following considerations: at that time, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and French West Africa, although they were all subordinate to the French Vichy regime, these countries and regions had not yet been occupied by Germany. If the Allies had captured these places, the German Rommel Regiment fighting in the El Alamein region would have been caught between the landings of Allied forces and the British 8th Army, which had broken through the El Alamein Line. At the same time, it can further reduce the pressure of the German and Italian armies on the island of Malta, restore Britain's sea control over the Mediterranean, and ensure the safety of the allies' communication lines in this sea.

In addition, it could capture bases for attacks on Italy and other parts of southern Europe, and possibly organize a French army to fight against Germany and Italy.

The Committee of Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States and Great Britain began to formulate a specific operational plan for the North African landing in London in late March 1942. U.S. Army Vice Admiral Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, and Commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, Admiral Kanjan, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Navy. "Landing Day" was originally set for October 30, 1942, but was later changed to November 8. Winter, rapids roll along north Africa's Atlantic coast, and November 8 is considered the last day of the year to cross this barrier to make landfall. The finalized landing areas were three seaport strips located outside the operational radius of the Luftwaffe Aviation. They are: Algiers and Oran in the mediterranean direction and Casablanca in the Atlantic direction, including the Mehedia, Fedara and Safi regions.

The formation and mission of the landing force were divided into about 10.17 million landing forces participating in the North African landing campaign, which were integrated into three naval task forces in the west, central and east.

The Western Naval Task Force, the U.S. Task Force 34, will send 3.15 million people directly from the U.S. mainland to the Mehedia-Safi line off the west coast of French Morocco to launch a surprise landing, with the main objective of capturing Casablanca. The task force was commanded by Rear Admiral Hewitt of the U.S. Navy, and the landings were commanded by Rear Admiral Patton of the U.S. Army. The ships were battleships Massachusetts and Texas, the aircraft carrier Assaulter, the escort aircraft carriers Sangamon, Chenango, Suwanni, and Santi, the heavy cruisers Vichita, Tuscaloosa, and Augusta, the light cruisers Savannah, Brooklyn, Cleveland, and Philadelphia, 38 destroyers, 4 submarines, 23 troop carriers, 8 supply ships, and 5 oil tankers. The landings were the U.S. 2nd Armored Division, the U.S. 8th Infantry Division, and the U.S. 9th Infantry Division, with a total of more than 3.14 million men, 54 medium tanks, and 198 light tanks.

The above-mentioned ships were organized into three assault groups, namely the Cover Ship Group and the South Road, the Middle Road, and the North Road. The cover ship group consisted of 1 battleship, 2 heavy cruisers, 4 destroyers, and 1 oil tanker. The South Road Assault Ship Group is responsible for transporting and supporting landing troops from the direction of Safi, with 6423 landing troops under its jurisdiction, equipped with 54 light and medium tanks, organized into fire support brigades, assault transport brigades, cover and escort brigades and aviation fire support brigades.

The Middle Road Assault Ship Group is responsible for transporting and supporting the landing troops to carry out the surprise landing from the direction of Fedala, with 1.18 million landing troops under its jurisdiction, equipped with 79 light tanks, organized into a fire support brigade, a surprise transport brigade, a cover escort brigade, a snow sweeping brigade, an aviation fire support brigade and a special task force.

The North Road Assault Ship Group is responsible for transporting and supporting landing troops from the direction of Mahdia, with 9,099 landing troops under its jurisdiction, equipped with 65 light tanks, organized into fire support brigades, assault transport brigades, cover escort brigades, aviation fire support brigades and special task forces.

The Central Naval Task Force, with the support of the British Navy, will send 3.19 million American troops from the British mainland to the Oran region of the Mediterranean for landing operations. The commander of the task force was Rear Admiral Trubridge of the British Navy, and the landing force was commanded by Rear Admiral Frigdendor of the United States Army. The flagship is the "Lagos", with the escort aircraft carriers "Biter", "Stormtrooper", "Air Defense Cruiser", 1 air defense ship, 13 destroyers, 4 frigates, 6 gunboats, 8 minesweepers, 8 tugboats, 2 submarines, 29 landing ships, and 28 supply ships. The landing troops were the U.S. 1st Infantry Division and the U.S. Armored Division. The above-mentioned forces carried out surprise landings on "Z" beach, "Y" beach and "X" beach respectively.

The Eastern Naval Task Force will transport 2.13 million British troops and 10,000 American troops from The United Kingdom to the direction of Algiers for landing operations. The commander of the task force was Rear Admiral Baler of the British Navy. The landings were commanded by U.S. Army Major General Ryder. The flagship is the "Brolo", which consists of 3 anti-aircraft ships, 8 destroyers, 3 gunboats, 6 frigates, 6 minesweepers, 8 tugboats, 3 submarines, 25 landing ships, and 16 supply ships. The Eastern Naval Task Force also included an O formation. The formation consisted of the aircraft carrier "Hundred-Eyed Giant", the escort aircraft carrier "Avenger", the light cruisers "Sheffield", "Syrah", "Charlibudis" and destroyers 5 ships. The landings were the U.S. 34th Infantry Division, the 9th Division, the U.S. Armored 1st Division, and the British 78th Infantry Division, totaling 3.13 million men. The above-mentioned troops were organized into three assault groups of "A", "B" and "C", and carried out surprise landing at the three beaches of "A", "B" and "C" in turn.

In addition, operations in the Mediterranean could be supported by the British Navy H Formation in Gibraltar. Formation H had the battleships Duke of York, Nelson, and Rodney, the battlecruiser Prestige, the aircraft carriers Victory, Fear, and Fury, and the light cruiser Sailor Yalgi.

The landings of the United States and Britain in Morocco and Algeria, although resisted by the French Vichy government forces, were not very fierce and progressed smoothly.

In the direction of Casablanca, the raid landed on November 8. The Western Naval Task Force departed from the East Coast of the United States on October 23. When sailing in a sea formation, it is vast and covers 500 square nautical miles of sea surface.

In order to deceive each other, the North Road Assault Group and the South Road Assault Ship Group set out from the Hampton Anchorage on October 23 and sailed south; the next day, the Middle Road Assault Group also left the anchorage and sailed eastward, giving the illusion of heading for Britain. Later, groups of forces met at sea. On the 27th, a cover ship group from Kelsk Bay, Maine, joined the task force. Another carrier support group was pre-sent to Bermuda, which joined the task force on the 28th. The task force was camouflaged to Britain by 28 October. After the 28th, it suddenly changed course and sailed southeast, giving the other side the illusion of attacking Dakar. From 2 November onwards, the task force sailed northeast, camouflaged towards Gibraltar. On 7 November, the task force advanced in division, with each assault ship group approaching its own landing area.

The South Road Assault Ship Group turned south and headed for the phosphate outlet port of Safi. It was prepared to send 6,500 landing troops and 90 medium and light tanks to land there in order to approach Casablanca from the south. Arrive before midnight for your scheduled transfer to the sea. The landings landed on the "yellow", "blue" and "green" beaches according to the predetermined battle plan. The two destroyers carrying 197 landing troops each carrying a frontal attack on The Port of Safi forced their way into the harbor. After docking, it carried out a surprise landing and was successful. It was the only time that a frontal assault using ships was successful in the North African landing campaign.

The Squadron chose Fedara, a small port about 15 miles northeast of Casablanca, as the landing area, and prepared to send 11.95 million landing troops and 79 light tanks to land here in order to advance from the north to Casablanca and capture the port back of the area. The transport ships arrived near the landing beach at midnight on 7 November and immediately began to transfer and carry out landing battles. During the landing, there was no strong resistance from the French army, and it progressed smoothly.

The North Road Assault Ship Group sailed to Mahdia, a seaside village about 35 miles northeast of Fedala, and sent 9,000 landers and light tanks to capture the airfield near Port Lyot. After arriving at the transfer waters, carry out the surprise landing according to the predetermined combat plan. 5:15 a.m. Wave 1 sailed towards the shore beach through the departure line. Although the landing force received some resistance, it broke the resistance of the defenders relatively quickly, and by November 11 had completed the scheduled combat mission as planned.

In the direction of Oran, the assault landing battle began at 1 o'clock on November 8. The Central Naval Task Force pretended to pass through Oran on the evening of the 7th, and quietly pulled back in the middle of the night. Just after midnight, the troop carrier entered Azo Bay, then changed to a landing craft and began landing battle on the "Z" beach. Attempted resistance. About half an hour later. U.S. troops landed on "Y" Beach on the Oransea side, and then at "X" Beach.

Completely unexpected, the Americans did not receive much resistance when they landed suddenly, and quickly occupied the airfield. Only after dawn when the port of Åland was attacked from the front. The landing force was blocked in the middle of the road. In order to prevent the defenders from destroying the equipment in the harbor and the ships moored in the harbor, the British sent frigates "Hartland" and "Vorny" to rush into the harbor on the 8th, and were heavily shelled by French shore guns and French ships in the harbor, and both ships were sunk. By the 10th, the American army advanced to the outskirts of Åland, and subsequently occupied the city.

In the direction of Algiers, the Eastern Naval Task Force left the British mainland on 22 October. During the voyage, the carrier-based aircraft of some ships and 2 aircraft carriers of the British Home Fleet, as well as shore-based air forces on the British mainland, Gibraltar and Malta Islands, served as sea and air cover. On the night of 5 November and in the early hours of the following morning, the Eastern Naval Task Force and the Central Naval Task Force met at sea, passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, and began sailing in the direction of Malta. It then turned around and pointed directly at the predetermined landing areas, thus achieving a considerable surprise attack effect.

The landing assault force of the "A" assault ship group launched a surprise landing at 1 a.m. on November 8. The landing is 2 km straight. During the landing, only a little resistance was encountered, and progress was rapid. The landing assault forces of the "B" assault ship group arrived at the transfer area at midnight on November 7. During the surprise landing, no resistance was encountered. However, due to the lack of training of the landing troops and poor landing technology, 98 landing boats were accidentally damaged during the landing process, and the loss rate was as high as 94%. The landing assault force of the "C" assault ship group, its first wave of boats at 0:15 a.m. on the 8th through the departure line to the beach, at 1:18 a.m. began to seize the beach. At dawn, the transport ships arrived at the beach to unload, and were attacked by artillery on the French coast, with great losses. At 18:00 on the same day, the French army stopped resisting. The frontal attack on the port of Algiers was carried out by the British destroyers Brock and Malcolm. At about 2 o'clock on the 8th, after the two British destroyers learned of the success of the assault on the beaches, they carried 1 battalion of American infantry to the harbor, but they were fiercely attacked by French shore guns, and the losses were heavy. At about 5 o'clock, the Brock again forcibly docked, and the troops ashore were all surrounded by French troops and captured. The ship was destroyed and the landing in the harbor was frustrated.

However, due to the effective activities of the Allied intelligence apparatus, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the French Vichy government, Darlan, issued an order to the French army in Algeria to stop resisting. Many French troops surrendered without resistance, and Algiers came under Allied control.

Throughout the course of the campaign, the French generally said that they did not make a resolute resistance, and the French navy killed 462 people, the army killed 326 people, wounded 1,000 people, and lost 15 aircraft. The German and Italian armies also basically did nothing, and only sent a number of submarine forces to deploy at sea in an attempt to intercept and transport troops, but the results were not great, and there was almost no impact on the war situation. From November 8 to 14, although the German and Italian air forces carried out several attacks on the Us and British landing forces, they only sank 4 transport ships, 1 landing ship, and 1 gunboat in the coastal waters of North Africa, and injured the British aircraft carrier "Hundred Eyes Giant".

The defeat of the German and Italian armies in this campaign was the general trend. Although Germany and Italy were aware of the British and American landings in North Africa in late October 1942, the German defeats in other battlefields made it unable to resist the Offensive launched by the British and American Forces in western North Africa. Rommel, germany's supreme commander in North Africa, believed, "This is our doom,...... We are on the eve of a time in Kedruk, Africa. ”

The preemptive implementation of the landing campaign in North Africa by the United States and Britain was of great strategic significance to the Allies, which provided the Allies with control of the Passage of the Tunisian Strait and thus the entire Mediterranean, created favorable conditions for the subsequent launch of the Sicily Landing Campaign and the Normandy Landing Campaign, and completely lifted the long-term siege of malta by the German and Italian armies. It also laid the foundation for the pincer offensive of the American and British forces to launch an east-west attack on the German army in North Africa, and the once dominant Rommel troops were attacked on their stomachs and backs, and finally collapsed in Tunisia.