Operation Torch: The Allied Gamble to Invade North Africa

by William B. Breuer

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Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military History, Military Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

William B. Breuer landed with the first assault waves in Normandy on D-Day (June 6, 1944), then fought across Europe. Later, he founded a daily newspaper on a string in Rolla, Missouri, and after that, a highly successful public relations firm in St. Louis, Missouri. He had been writing books full time since 1982

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fast and interesting account of Operation Torch. A lot of vignettes and a clear explanation of how SNAFU the operation was. The confusion of this operation paid off as the Allies learned valuable lessons for the future. Easily 4 Stars

The raid on Dieppe receives a lot of coverage in this book. The Allies are trying to develop tactics for assault landings. An account of one observer:
High above the carnage being inflicted on the invaders, the clear blue sky over Dieppe appeared to have gone mad. The greatest aerial battle since the 1940 Battle of Britain was raging between the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe. Among the thousands watching the aerial extravaganza was the U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Loren B. Hillsinger, who had come along as an observer on the destroyer Berkeley. Like other Americans in Jubilee, Hillsinger had never been under fire, and he was fascinated by the pyrotechnics and the sounds of battle around and above him.

Colonel Hillsinger was wearing a pair of Peel tank boots which he just had made and of which he was quite proud. Standing on the bridge, he looked up just in time to see a JU-88, which had been riddled by Spitfire machine guns, jettison its bombs. One of the bombs struck the Berkeley and blew Hillsinger off the bridge, severing his foot. He applied a tourniquet, fashioned from his handkerchief and necktie, to his leg. Looking down toward the water, he saw his coveted new boot with his foot inside it bobbing about. Cursing in disgust, he unlaced the other boot and pitched it into the water after the first.

The end of the raid on Dieppe sees a British destroyer carrying an overload of wounded men back. American general Lucian Truscott is aboard as an observer:
Recrossing the English Channel, Fernie was a grim vessel. She had taken aboard so many wounded that blood-caked, bandaged men were lving shoulder to shoulder on decks, in wardrooms, in cabins, and even in the galley. There were not enough pharmacist’s mates or medical supplies aboard to provide more than first aid, nor was there enough morphine to ease the pain of grievously wounded and dying men.

General Truscott picked his way through the bloody disarray of men, agonizing because he was powerless to help relieve their misery. Almost unconsciously, Truscott took out his sack of Bull Durham tobacco to roll a cigarette. As he lit it, one wounded British youth lying on the deck called out, “I say, old fellow, you wouldna have another ’un about ya, wouldya now?”

Truscott crouched and placed the cigarette in the youth’s mouth. He saw that the boy had been badly wounded in the stomach, but an opiate injected by a medic had temporarily relieved his suffering. Now the American general became aware that other eager eyes were staring at him, so until the Bull Durham sack was empty, General Truscott rolled and lit cigarettes for wounded men.

Someone had a great idea for the night-time invasion of French-held North Africa. Set off a giant firework with the red, white and blue American Flag. That should stop any French firing at those friendly Americans for sure....maybe not:

Inside adjacent Arzew where Darby’s Rangers had landed, the sound of heavy gunfire echoed through the night as Colonel Greer tried desperately to bring order out of near chaos. As the harassed combat team leader was talking on a walkie-talkie, he was approached by a sergeant who wanted to know if it was time to fire the Rube Goldberg mortar. Preoccupied with the scrambled condition of his units, Greer snapped, “Okay, but take the damned thing somewhere away from here before you shoot it!”

With two companions, the sergeant lugged the heavy device only 50 yards away. Moments later there was a loud boom, followed by a brilliant pyrotechnic display in red, white, and blue in the sky over Colonel Greer’s command post, which was out in the open. The flaming Ameri can flag was a beautiful sight to behold, dangling majestically 200 feet in the air.

All hell broke loose. French defenders had not known where the invaders had come ashore and had not found a specific target at which to shoot. Now machine gun tracers streamed past Colonel Greer and his command group, and mortars pounded the CP. For a long time Greer and his staff were stretched out with noses pressed into the sand.

An account of two brave men and a very unusual way to fire a weapon:
But in approximate company strength, the Americans entered a small collection of buildings known as Cactus Village and were met by a torrent of fire from elements of the Moroccan 1st Infantry Regiment.

French 75s poured fire into American ranks, and then three Renault tanks began clanking toward the beleaguered Go-Devils. Already decimated by casualties and a large number of stragglers, without tanks or artillery support, Dilley’s men began scrambling piecemeal for the rear. In the face of heavy fire by advancing Moroccan infantrymen, Lieutenant Dushane and Corporal Czar rushed to a nearby antitank gun which the French had abandoned after removing part of its breech. Czar aimed the antitank gun at the hostile force and Dushane set it off repeatedly by firing a bullet from his tommy gun at the percussion cap at the base of each shell.

Now the attackers concentrated their fire on Dushane and Czar, but the two Americans continued to shoot the gun. They knocked out a tank and caused the accompanying infantry to waver, then to halt. Lieutenant Dushane was aiming his tommy gun at the base of a shell when a French bullet struck him in the head. He toppled over dead. Corporal Czar, unable to shoot the antitank gun alone, crawled away under a hail of fire.

[Jill H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The United States was suddenly drawn into what became a World War by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declaration of war on the US by Hitler. Unfortunately the country was totally unprepared....small army, obsolete weapons, no military intelligence service, and no armored or airborne units. The British were beside themselves when they learned of the state of unreadiness of their ally. Britain had been fighting the war alone after the fall of France and had been beaten back at Dunkirk. So they had experience and the United States had men. Churchill and Roosevelt struggled to come up with a plan that they both could agree upon for a joint operation. Roosevelt wanted an across-channel assault of Fortress Europa but Churchill knew that it would be a disastrous move at this stage of the war. So they decided on Operation Torch......landing Allied troops in North Africa.

This book goes into great detail about this operation which began with monumental confusion on the African beaches. Heavy surfs hindered the landing of artillery, tanks, ammunition and supplies. What did get ashore was often on the wrong beach as communications were snarled. Some of the upper echelon of the military were prepared for a total fiasco but others, like Eisenhower and Patton were convinced that they could take the cities of Algiers and Casablanca. Through grit, luck, and heroism, they prevailed and the author takes us through each battle with a clear and concise description of the trials the Allies encountered. Thus, began the downfall of the Nazi hold on Africa and the opportunity for the Allies to take the next step onto the continent of Europe. This is an excellent history and is highly recommended.

[Plorqk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Torch was a logistical disaster. Glad they got things figured out for D-day.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

North Africa. Very journalistic and extremely detailed about the invasion itself but not so much on what happened after.