Operation Torch

Operation Torch was the Allied invasion of French North Africa, launched on 8 November 1942. It brought American forces into the European war and helped trap Axis forces in Tunisia.

Operation Torch landings: The Allied amphibious assaults on Morocco and Algeria that began Operation Torch on 8 November 1942. Three landing groups struck Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers to secure ports and airfields.
Second Washington Conference: A 1942 meeting of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill that set Allied strategic priorities. The conference produced the decision to invade French North Africa rather than cross the Channel that year.
Dwight D. Eisenhower: The American general who commanded Allied forces in the Mediterranean during the Second World War. Eisenhower directed Torch's multinational invasion force from Gibraltar.
French North Africa campaign: The 1942–1943 Allied campaign to defeat Axis forces in North Africa. Torch established the western Allied position for the campaign's advance into Tunisia.
Operation Reservist: A British-led commando landing at Oran during Operation Torch, intended to seize port facilities intact. Its catastrophic losses showed the danger of trying to capture a defended harbor directly.
Operation Sledgehammer: A proposed 1942 Allied emergency landing in German-occupied France. Torch displaced this risky plan for a cross-Channel attack before Allied forces were ready.
George S. Patton: A United States Army general who commanded forces in North Africa and later Europe. Patton led the Western Task Force's landing at Casablanca.
Battle of Tunisia: The final campaign in North Africa, ending with Axis forces' surrender in May 1943. Torch's western landings helped trap Axis troops between Allied armies advancing from east and west.
Operation Blackstone: The Allied landing at Safi, Morocco, during Operation Torch. Safi's capture enabled the landing of tanks needed for the advance on Casablanca.
Operation Roundup: An Allied plan for a large-scale invasion of German-occupied France in 1943. Torch took priority, delaying the cross-Channel campaign envisioned by American planners.

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