The landings were set for November 8, 1942. Tunis, an ultimate target, was judged to be too far from Allied bases and too close to Axis sources of air support. After considerable deliberation the Allies settled on landing three corps-sized task forces, one centered on Casablanca, one centered on Oran, and one centered on Algiers. Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that Eisenhower would command the operation overall, while British Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham would be its naval commander. It would be better to take on smaller campaigns sooner, tie down Axis forces the fledgling Americans were ready to handle, and season units for the ultimate climactic campaigns in France and Germany. American military leaders had preferred building up for an invasion of France as soon as possible, but Churchill and his staff convinced Roosevelt that this would take too long to prepare. They aspired to come in behind Axis forces fighting the British in Egypt, disrupt collaborationist Vichy French control of northwest Africa, open the Mediterranean for Allied shipping, restore French forces to the Allied cause, and take pressure off the embattled Russians. The landings would take place in northwest Africa in Morocco and Algeria, beyond range of most Axis air forces in the central Mediterranean. Instead of Europe, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to a combined attack on French northwest Africa, known as Operation Torch. And Allied intelligence indicated that an invasion of Europe would encounter powerful German defenses and reinforcements. The Dieppe Raid in August 1942 demonstrated it was extremely unlikely an intact supply port could be captured in occupied France. But British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his generals were set against direct invasion of Europe. Marshall favored direct invasion of Europe from Britain in 1942 or 1943. America’s absence on the battlefield would soon change.Īmerican Generals Dwight D. Roosevelt had committed with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to a “Germany First” policy, regarding Adolf Hitler as their most dangerous opponent. Fierce fighting against the Japanese in the Pacific had dominated the national news and psyche. In early November 1942 the United States had been at war against the Axis for almost a year, but had yet to come to grips with German or Italian ground forces.
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