North Africa: OofB Operation Torch The Race to Tunis Tunisia
bigpigeon.us webpage WW II Germany > The MTO > North Africa > The Race to Tunis, © 2024 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 24 Jun 2024.
After Vichy French forces surrendered in the French territories of Morocco and Algeria on 11 November 1942, Allied and Axis forces competed to seize strategic portions of Tunisia, also a French territory.
bigpigeon.us webpage WW II Germany > The MTO > North Africa > The Race to Tunis, © 2024 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 24 Jun 2024.
After Vichy French forces surrendered in the French territories of Morocco and Algeria on 11 November 1942, Allied and Axis forces competed to seize strategic portions of Tunisia, also a French territory.
Summary - The Race to Tunis
The Operation Torch landings of 8 November positioned Allied troops in the Casablanca area of Morocco and in Oran and Algiers on the western and central coasts of Algeria. The failure of diplomatic efforts prior to the landing meant that Vichy French military opposition to the Torch landings continued until November 11.
Upon learning of the Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria, Adolf Hitler called for a swift military buildup in France's third north Africa colony, Tunisia. The Vichy civil administration and French military in Tunisia did not resist the arrival of German and Italian troops.
Upon learning of the Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria, Adolf Hitler called for a swift military buildup in France's third north Africa colony, Tunisia. The Vichy civil administration and French military in Tunisia did not resist the arrival of German and Italian troops.
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Thus began the race to the key locations in Tunisia, the northern cities of Tunis and Bizerte.
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Tunisia 1942-43
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At one point during the race to Tunis, Allied forces almost reached Tunis. However, the Axis prevailed and the Allies fell back towards the Algerian border. The battle for Tunisia would continue until May.
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Northeastern Algeria & Northern Tunisia
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U.S. Rangers and British-American Commandos
Of the men in my WW II Dead roster who died in Morocco and Algeria during Operation Torch and its aftermath, most were in special operations units and died during the race for Tunis. Thus the remainder of this webpage.
In the spring of 1942, U.S. Army Colonel William Darby was authorized to create a Ranger force from the U.S. troops already based in Northern Ireland. He was overwhelmed with volunteers from the 1st Armored Division and the 34th Infantry Division, including many from the 168th Infantry Regiment of the Iowa National Guard. Volunteers trained in Scotland under British commando tutelage.
Colonel Darby's original 500-man 1st Ranger Battalion eventually expanded into six ranger battalions, the best known being the 2nd Ranger Battalion, elements of which stormed the cliff at Ponte de Hoc in Normandy on D-Day. The remainder landed nearby on Omaha Beach. In the film Saving Private Ryan, the fictitious lead character, Captain Miller, commands a 2nd Ranger company that landed on Omaha Beach.
In Northern Ireland, as the time for the Allied invasion of North Africa approached, several hundred other U.S. members of the 34th Infantry Division volunteered for temporary assignment to the British 1 Commando and 6 Commando Battalions, with the hope that the American presence among the British would reduce French opposition to the invasion. During the early phases of the North Africa Campaign, each commando battalion was organized into six British troops and four American troops, each troop containing roughly sixty men.
During Operation Torch, the 1st Ranger Bn. participated in the landings near Oran, while 1st and 6th Commando landed near Algiers. If Vichy French forces had not resisted the Allied landings, Torch plans called for the joint British-American commandos to make the initial landings in major Tunisian cities in the following days. However, French resistance, although lasting only three days, contributed to the failure of the Race to Tunis.
Colonel Darby's original 500-man 1st Ranger Battalion eventually expanded into six ranger battalions, the best known being the 2nd Ranger Battalion, elements of which stormed the cliff at Ponte de Hoc in Normandy on D-Day. The remainder landed nearby on Omaha Beach. In the film Saving Private Ryan, the fictitious lead character, Captain Miller, commands a 2nd Ranger company that landed on Omaha Beach.
In Northern Ireland, as the time for the Allied invasion of North Africa approached, several hundred other U.S. members of the 34th Infantry Division volunteered for temporary assignment to the British 1 Commando and 6 Commando Battalions, with the hope that the American presence among the British would reduce French opposition to the invasion. During the early phases of the North Africa Campaign, each commando battalion was organized into six British troops and four American troops, each troop containing roughly sixty men.
During Operation Torch, the 1st Ranger Bn. participated in the landings near Oran, while 1st and 6th Commando landed near Algiers. If Vichy French forces had not resisted the Allied landings, Torch plans called for the joint British-American commandos to make the initial landings in major Tunisian cities in the following days. However, French resistance, although lasting only three days, contributed to the failure of the Race to Tunis.
██ Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > The Race to Tunis ██
- Taken from the bigpigeon.us WWII Dead module.
- The men below were former Iowa National Guard members detached to the British 6th Commando Battalion, which landed near Algiers. The 6th Commando was then were deployed to northeastern Algeria, where some were killed when a train (or trains) on which they were riding was/were strafed by German aircraft.
† Findley, Everett Arthur, SN 20-706-174, US Army, Mills Co.
- Co. I (Glenwood), 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div., detached to British 6th Commando Bn.; KIA 22 Nov 1942 near Bone, NE Algeria; The MTO > North Africa > Race to Tunis.
- Co. L, 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div; detached to British 6th Commando Bn.; KIA 22 Nov 1942, NE Algeria; The MTO > North Africa > Race to Tunis.
- Co. I, 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div., detached to 6th British 6th Commando Bn.; KIA 21 Nov 1942 NE Algeria; The MTO > North Africa > Race to Tunis.
- Co. I, 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div.; detached to British 6th Commando Bn.; KIA 22 Nov 1942, Souk Ahras, NE Algeria; The MTO > North Africa > Race to Tunis.
- Hq. Det., 3rd Bn., 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div.; detached to British 6th Commando Bn. (served earlier with the 1st Ranger Bn.); DOW 23 Nov 1942 NE Algeria; The MTO > North Africa > Race to Tunis.
- Co. I, 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div.; detached to British 6th Commando Bn.; KIA 22 Nov 1942 NE Algeria; The MTO > North Africa > Race to Tunis.
██ Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > The Race to Tunis webpage ██
- The Tunisia 1942-43 map - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisian_campaign#/media/File:Tunisia1942-1943.svg
- The Northeastern Algeria & Northern Tunisia map is courtesy of hyperwar and was found at https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-MTO-NWA/maps/USA-MTO-NWA-VI.jpg.
- The list of 168th Infantry Regt./6th Commando Bn. dead in the webpage appendix is taken from a 2009 posting by Richie B at http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/36027-n7-us-troop-n6-commando/ who cited as source https://www.specialforcesroh.com/index.php.
- The 6th Commando history in the webpage appendix is taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._6_Commando.
Appendix - US Army Personnel Serving with British Commandos
Several hundred Americans fought alongside British Commandos during the early stages of the North Africa Campaign. Their story is hardly known. Thus this appendix.
Part 1 - Former 168th Infantry Regiment members who died in North Africa in November 1942 while serving with the British 6th Commando. Two were from Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and four from adjoining Mills County.
source: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/36027-n7-us-troop-n6-commando/
Rank: Private First Class
Number: 35036682 Gravesite: North Africa American Cemetery,Carthage,Tunisia Plot G Row 12 Grave 13
Date Of Death: 8th November 1942
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 US Infantry Division from Marion County,Ohio KIA North Africa
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Number: 20704918 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 8th November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Polk County,Iowa KIA North Africa
Rank: Private
Number: 20703337 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 8th November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Woodbury County,Iowa KIA North Africa
Rank: Private
Number: 20706174 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 8th November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S. Division KIA North Africa
Rank: Sergeant
Number: 20706542 Gravesite: buried Council Bluffs,Iowa
Date Of Death: 22nd November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Pottawattamie County,Iowa son of Earl Cliff
Rank: Private
Number: 35170380 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 8th November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Fountain County,Indiana DOW North Africa
Rank: Private
Number: 20706191 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 22nd November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Mills County,Iowa KIA North Africa
Rank: Private
Number: 20706207 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 22nd November 1942
Age: 20
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Mills County,Iowa nephew of Carrie I. Stone
Rank: Private
Number: 34170766 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 22nd November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Moore County,North Carolina KIA North Africa
Rank: Private First Class
Number: 37044956 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 22nd November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Lee County,Iowa KIA North Africa
Rank: Private First Class
Number: 20706224 Gravesite: Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery,Kansas,U.S.A. Section H Site 49
Date Of Death: 22nd November 1942
Age: 21
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Mills County,Iowa born 1.3.1921 KIA North Africa
Rank: Private First Class
Number: 35109840 Gravesite: North Africa American Cemetery,Carthage,Tunisia Tablets of the Missing
Date Of Death: 8th November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Floyd County,Indiana award Bronze Star KIA
Rank: Corporal
Number: 20706090 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 23rd November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Pottawattamie County,Iowa WIA 22.11.1942 Dieppe
Part 2 - a passage from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._6_Commando that explains the circumstances of death of some of the above:
After capturing Fort Duperre, the commandos received reports that a force of some 2,000 Zouaves were moving up to recapture the position.[27] The French attack did not eventuate, however, and in the end the commandos marched all the way to Maison Blanche. Having only been issued with rations for a day, they had to rely on fruit and bread that they obtained by bartering with the locals on the way. Eventually they arrived at the port, where they embarked upon the destroyers HMS Wheatland and Lammerton and in company with a force of US Rangers they set out to capture the airfields at Allerlick and Duzzerville, near Bone.[27]
Upon arrival No. 6 Commando took up defensive positions in the orange groves alongside troops from the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, the Royal West Kents and a number of Frenchmen that decided to join their cause.[28] A brief period of lull followed where the commandos were mainly involved in defending the airfield against air attacks from the Luftwaffe, before they moved off again to take part in the fighting around Medjez-el-Bab, where they fought on the left flank of the first French regular forces to engage the Germans since the fall of France in 1940, forming the spearhead of the advance towards Tunis.[29]
On 21 November, reinforcements had reached them and the decision was made to move the commandos to La Calle by rail. With only intermittent air cover, the train was attacked by German fighters and No. 6 Commando suffered heavy casualties with 11 killed and 32 wounded. After the train driver jumped from the engine, one of the commandos took over the duties of driving the train.[29] The unit remained in La Calle until 26 November, during which time the commandos were used to unload stores from the ships in the port, while half the unit carried out a reconnaissance patrol near Tabarka, to determine whether the German tanks that were parked there were real or decoys.[30]
Part 1 - Former 168th Infantry Regiment members who died in North Africa in November 1942 while serving with the British 6th Commando. Two were from Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and four from adjoining Mills County.
source: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/36027-n7-us-troop-n6-commando/
- Surname: Ashworth
Rank: Private First Class
Number: 35036682 Gravesite: North Africa American Cemetery,Carthage,Tunisia Plot G Row 12 Grave 13
Date Of Death: 8th November 1942
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 US Infantry Division from Marion County,Ohio KIA North Africa
- Surname: Boettcher
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Number: 20704918 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 8th November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Polk County,Iowa KIA North Africa
- Surname: Christensen
Rank: Private
Number: 20703337 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 8th November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Woodbury County,Iowa KIA North Africa
- Surname: Findlay
Rank: Private
Number: 20706174 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 8th November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S. Division KIA North Africa
- Surname: Glaze
Rank: Sergeant
Number: 20706542 Gravesite: buried Council Bluffs,Iowa
Date Of Death: 22nd November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Pottawattamie County,Iowa son of Earl Cliff
- Surname: Harshbarger
Rank: Private
Number: 35170380 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 8th November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Fountain County,Indiana DOW North Africa
- Surname: Johnson
Rank: Private
Number: 20706191 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 22nd November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Mills County,Iowa KIA North Africa
- Surname: Penewit
Rank: Private
Number: 20706207 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 22nd November 1942
Age: 20
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Mills County,Iowa nephew of Carrie I. Stone
- Surname: Maness
Rank: Private
Number: 34170766 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 22nd November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Moore County,North Carolina KIA North Africa
- Surname: Shumaker
Rank: Private First Class
Number: 37044956 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 22nd November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Lee County,Iowa KIA North Africa
- Surname: Thomas
Rank: Private First Class
Number: 20706224 Gravesite: Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery,Kansas,U.S.A. Section H Site 49
Date Of Death: 22nd November 1942
Age: 21
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Mills County,Iowa born 1.3.1921 KIA North Africa
- Surname: Warner
Rank: Private First Class
Number: 35109840 Gravesite: North Africa American Cemetery,Carthage,Tunisia Tablets of the Missing
Date Of Death: 8th November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Floyd County,Indiana award Bronze Star KIA
- Surname: Steele
Rank: Corporal
Number: 20706090 Gravesite:
Date Of Death: 23rd November 1942
Age:
Further Details: parent unit 168 Infantry Regiment,34 U.S.Division from Pottawattamie County,Iowa WIA 22.11.1942 Dieppe
Part 2 - a passage from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._6_Commando that explains the circumstances of death of some of the above:
After capturing Fort Duperre, the commandos received reports that a force of some 2,000 Zouaves were moving up to recapture the position.[27] The French attack did not eventuate, however, and in the end the commandos marched all the way to Maison Blanche. Having only been issued with rations for a day, they had to rely on fruit and bread that they obtained by bartering with the locals on the way. Eventually they arrived at the port, where they embarked upon the destroyers HMS Wheatland and Lammerton and in company with a force of US Rangers they set out to capture the airfields at Allerlick and Duzzerville, near Bone.[27]
Upon arrival No. 6 Commando took up defensive positions in the orange groves alongside troops from the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, the Royal West Kents and a number of Frenchmen that decided to join their cause.[28] A brief period of lull followed where the commandos were mainly involved in defending the airfield against air attacks from the Luftwaffe, before they moved off again to take part in the fighting around Medjez-el-Bab, where they fought on the left flank of the first French regular forces to engage the Germans since the fall of France in 1940, forming the spearhead of the advance towards Tunis.[29]
On 21 November, reinforcements had reached them and the decision was made to move the commandos to La Calle by rail. With only intermittent air cover, the train was attacked by German fighters and No. 6 Commando suffered heavy casualties with 11 killed and 32 wounded. After the train driver jumped from the engine, one of the commandos took over the duties of driving the train.[29] The unit remained in La Calle until 26 November, during which time the commandos were used to unload stores from the ships in the port, while half the unit carried out a reconnaissance patrol near Tabarka, to determine whether the German tanks that were parked there were real or decoys.[30]