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Patton in Casablanca
Patton in Casablanca
bigpigeon.us webpage  WWII Germany  > The MTO > North Africa > Operation Torch, © 2026 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 30 Dec 2025

Operation Torch was the codename for the British and American landings in French Northwest Africa on 8 November 1942 and the subsequent combat against Vichy French forces.

French North Africa

  • In early November 1942, the French North African colonies of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia were controlled by the Axis-oriented Vichy French government.
  • Over 100,000 French military personnel were stationed in these three colonies.
  • Clandestine efforts to persuade French political and military leaders in North Africa to switch loyalty from Vichy France to the Allies failed.
Morocco, Algeria & Tunisia
Morocco, Algeria & Tunisia

Operation Torch,  8 November 1942

Operation Torch consisted of amphibious landings by British and American forces near three ports in French North Africa:
  • in three locations, near Casablanca in Morocco.
  • near Oran in northwest Algeria.
  • near Algiers in north central Algeria.
Vichy French forces resisted until 11 November, resulting in the deaths of around 500 Americans.
Operation Torch Landings
Operation Torch Landings - 8 Nov 1942
The Allied forces that landed near Algiers included the US 168th Infantry Regiment, formerly of the Iowa National Guard, and the British 1st and 6th Commando Battalions, to which many Iowans were attached.
The Allied Landings at Algiers - 8 Nov 1942
The Allied Landings at Algiers - 8 November 1942
Scalable Map

The Race to Tunis begins

Allied forces moved eastward from Algeria towards Tunisia by sea, by road, and by rail as quickly as possible. However, adequate motor transportation was  not available and German aircraft attacked Allied troop movements on the French railroad network.

Meanwhile, Germany rushed forces by air and sea into Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, and other locations on northern Tunisia.
French North Africa Railroads 1935
French North Africa Railroads 1935
Germany won the race to Tunis. 

While US and British forces were approaching Tunisia from the west, Erwin Rommel's German and Italian army were beginning their long retreat from the El Alamein area in northern Egypt to Tripoli in northwestern Libya and then into Tunisia.

​Thus the Allied North African campaigns continued in Tunisia for six additional months.
NE Algeria & N Tunisia
Northeastern Algeria & Northern Tunisia
Full Map
     ██  Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > Operation Torch webpage  ██
     ██  Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > Operation Torch  ██ 02-01 - WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > Operation Torch: (four dead, updated 23 Jul 2025)
† Bird, Frank Raymond, SN 20-706-126, US Army, Mills Co.
  • Co. I, 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div., II Corps, detached to British Commando; WIA 8 Nov 1942; DOW 12 Nov 1942 near Algiers, Algeria.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > Operation Torch
† Denison, Paul Marsh, SN 20-706-336, US Army, Cass Co.
  • Co. K, 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div., II Corps; KIA 8 Nov 1942 Algiers, Algeria.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > Operation Torch
† Johnston, Stanford Samuel, SN 20-706-341, US Army, Cass Co.
  • Co. K, 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div., II Corps; KIA 8 Nov 1942 near Algiers, Algeria.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > Operation Torch
† Klefman, Gordon Louis, SN O-325561, US Army, Pott. Co. & Douglas Co., NE
  • Co. C, 1st Ranger Bn., II Corps (one of the original 500 US Army Rangers); KIA 10 Nov 1942 near Oran, Algeria.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > Operation Torch