History - War at a Glance

Ike Takes Command of Operation Torch On November 5, 1942, General Eisenhower - Ike - arrives in Gibraltar and sets up headquarters for Operation Torch. On November 8, three task forces begin landing troops in North Africa. The Western Task Force, commanded by Gen. George Patton, lands on a 200-mile front between Safi and Port Lyautey. Within two days, the Americans have secured their beachheads at Casablanca and Port Lyautey. The Center Task Force lands near Oran. The landings do not go well, but the task force establishes a secure beachhead and captures the airfield at Tafaraiu by nightfall; American-piloted Spitfires begin flying sorties from the airfield the next day. The Eastern Task Force lands at Algiers, and the town is quickly captured. By November 15, there are 10,000 German troops in Tunisia and 100 combat planes. The Germans use established French airfields with all-weather runways; the Allies must use temporary runways that are farther from the front. Within days there is serious combat. The Germans attack the French at Medjez el Bab - the French hold off the Germans, and then they are reinforced by American and British units. The Germans bring up more infantry and tanks. By November 26, Medjez el Bab is secure. By the end of the month, Eisenhower calls off the offensive. Supply problems hinder both sides. While the Germans have been able to disrupt Allied supply efforts with surface ships, submarines, and aircraft, the Allies have devastated Axis supply efforts. Nearly half of the cargo shipped by the Italians to Tunis and Tripoli is lost to Allied attacks. The German air cargo fleet is also hurt by fighter attacks in the air and bomber attacks on German and Italian airfields. As 1943 begins, the supply problem for the Axis forces in North Africa becomes acute. There is also the manpower issue. Without the Americans, the Germans would be facing only Montgomery. And the British troops in Operation Torch could only have reached Montgomery by running the gauntlet through German-held territory. With the Americans in the fray, the Germans are outmanned and outgunned. See Next Rommel Leaves North Africa The Allies Attack