Operation Torch The Battles of El Alamein Nishu

Operation Torch & The Battles of El Alamein Nishu Chakrapani, Ben Wang, Cynthia Xie, Mahathi Allepally 1

Thesis The victories at the Battles of El Alamein enabled Operation Torch, the first Anglo-American joint operation in the war; this series of Allied offensives permitted them to conquer North Africa, opening up Mediterranean shipping lines, subsequently resulting in the establishment of an effective Anglo-American joint command, the fall of Vichy France and the turning point of the war in the European theatre. 2

Combatants ● First Battle of El Alamein: ○ British Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck commanded the Allied forces. ○ German Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel commanded the Axis forces ● Second Battle of El Alamein: ○ British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery commanded the Allied forces. ○ German Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel commanded the Axis forces. ● Operation Torch: ○ Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded the Allied forces. ■ The Western Task Force was commanded by American Major-General George Patton 3

Background Originally, the Italian army had controlled North Africa. In September of 1940, the Allied army under the command of British Field Marshal Archibald Wavell routed the Italian forces and drove them out of Egypt and Eastern Libya. However, Rommel arrived in February of 1941 and pushed the Allies back to the Egyptian border. Claude Auchinleck, another British Field Marshal, subsequently launched an offensive in the November of 1941 and forced Rommel back to the Gulf of Sidra. Rommel counterattacked in January of 1942 and drove the British back to El Alamein, where the battles of El Alamein would be fought. 4

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The First Battle of El Alamein "It may almost be said, 'Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat. '" -Winston Churchill Lasted from July 1 -30, 1942 Took place in North Africa, near El Alamein in Egypt Major players are General Claude Auchinleck (Allies) and Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Panzer Armee Afrika (German and Italian troops) Lack of morale in the Allied troops Rommel’s army was depleted of supplies but he attacked in hopes of taking Cairo 6

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The Second Battle of El Alamein October 23 - November 4 1942 Players: German army (Erwin Rommel), Allied army (British Commonwealth countries and France, led by Bernard Montgomery) Montgomery transformed Allied troops after Auchinleck left, boosted morale and unified army by improving relations between the Desert Air Force and the army Rommel tried to attack, but the Allies held their ground and Montgomery doesn’t choose to counter-attack (wanted to bide his time so he could launch a huge attack later) Rommel tried his best to prepare for the Allied army’s inevitable attack, but couldn’t use his favorite techniques because of a lack of fuel and transport Montgomery attacked in two phases, Operation Lightfoot, and Operation Supercharge 8

Operation Lightfoot: Allies attack Operation Supercharge: Allies attempt to cut off Axis troops 9

Allied forces break through the minefield Axis forces retreat, Allies win 10

Battles of El Alamein- Impact First Battle: Rommel orders a pause after 5 days of combat Halted and exhausted Axis forces, setting the stage for the second battle. ● Second Battle: ○ Only great land battle won by British and Commonwealth forces without American involvement. ○ Increased British morale, and remains one of the most celebrated victories in the war. ○ Bernard Montgomery’s war hero status was increased and solidified. 11

Prelude to Operation Torch American strategy in the 1940 s aimed to defeat Nazi Germany before turning against Japan in the Pacific theatre. Thus, they proposed an attack in northwestern Europe in order to decisively destroy the German forces. However, the British Field Marshal Alan Brooke opposed this, as British troops would have had to be the bulk of the fighting force. Also, the British command felt that freeing up shipping lines in the Mediterranean was more important at the moment. The British thus proposed an attack in Axis North Africa in order to free shipping lines. 12

Vichy France After the defeat of France by Germany, the French Marshal Philippe Petain formed the Vichy government. This government took its name from its base of operations in Vichy. The Vichy government were officially neutral, but cooperated with the Nazis. The governments of the world officially recognized the Vichy government, but the French forces under Charles De Gaulle challenged that. After the war, many leaders of Vichy France were tried for war crimes and executed. The Vichy regime hated the British due to their attack on the French Navy in 13

Operation Torch Landings Originally called Operation Gymnast On November 8, 1942, Allied forces landed in Vichy French-controlled Morocco and Algeria. This marked the first time that Britain and America collaborated on an invasion. The attack was split into three groups: Western, Central, and Eastern Task Forces. The three task forces were commanded by American officers, including George Patton, even though the operation consisted of both British and American troops. This explained why Ryder was not the “real” commander of the Eastern Task Force. British troops wore American flags, and the Allied ships also flew the American flag; 14

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Western Task Force The Western Task Force faced the strongest enemy resistance of all the landings. It was also the largest out of the three, and was mostly American. The goal of the Western Task Force was to capture Casablanca. In order to achieve that goal, it would land troops north, south, and directly at Casablanca. The northern division managed to capture the key Port Lyautey airfield. The southern and eastern divisions fought through strong resistance, and 16

Central and Eastern Task Force The Central Task force landed near Orlan, damage from unexpected shallow waters Faced strong French resistance, French surrendered November 9 th The Eastern Task Force landed at Algiers, some issues with fog and wind Encountered very little resistance from French They secured the important airfields at Maison Blanche and Blida, allowing the Allies to launch air missions. Allied forces quickly surrounded Algiers, and the French forces surrendered 17

The Impact of Operation Torch The highest ranking officer in the Vichy French forces, Francois Darlan, recognized that the French could not win. He surrendered the French forces over to the Allies, leading to a quick end to the war in northwestern Africa. However, this was expressedly against Hitler’s orders, and an infuriated Hitler marched Axis troops into Vichy France in Operation Case Anton, and ended the Vichy government. The control of North Africa allowed secure allied shipping lines in the Mediterranean. This operation also allowed the British and Americans to establish an effective 18

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Aftermath: The Tunisia Campaign November 17, 1942 - May 13, 1943 After Operation Torch, the Allies controlled northwestern Africa. Bernard Montgomery’s 8 th army was in control of Lybia, and was pushing to crush Rommel in between the two armies. However, the German and Italian forces had ample reinforcement; from the surrender of Algiers to January of 1943, 112, 000 men and 101, 000 tons of supplies and equipment were sent to Tunisia. The Axis forces pushed the Allies back, until the devastating Allied defeat at Kasserine Pass. After the defeat, Eisenhower decided to make Patton the commander of the American forces. After this battle, the tide turned in favor of the Allies. Montgomery and Patton were closing in on Rommel, and due to Hitler’s no retreat order, the Axis army was in an untenable position. 20 The Axis forces sustained 40, 000 casualties, and surrendered on May 13 th; 267, 000 German and Italian

Timeline December 7 -11, 1941: February 14, 1941: Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, US and Britain July 1 -30: November 1, German ‘Afrika declare war on Japan, First Battle of 1942: Operation Korps’ arrive in Hitler declares war on El Alamein Supercharge North Africa US June 22, 1941: Germans attack USSR, beginning Operation Barbarossa June 30, 1942: Rommel reaches El Alamein October 23 November 4 1942 February 2, 1943: Germans surrender at Stalingrad July 9 -10, 1943: Allies land in Sicily May 7 -13: Allies November 8, 1942: Operation take Tunisia and Germany Torch begins and Italy surrender in North Africa 21

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