November 1942
Anglo-American Landings in North Africa
U.S. military planners had hoped to launch a full-scale invasion of German-occupied France in 1942, but by the summer they had become convinced that such an operation would be too risky. Nevertheless, President Roosevelt was determined that American troops see action against the Germans before the end of the year, so an invasion was planned instead for Morocco and Algeria, in an effort to relieve Axis pressure against the British in Egypt. The invasion, which was to consist of nearly 130,000 British and American troops, was placed under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. However, there was a potential complication—Morocco and Algeria were French colonies, and while the French were not active allies of the Germans, it was feared that they would resist any attempt by the Allies to occupy their territory.

The invasion force set sail from Scotland on 26 October, and the first landings—at Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers—took place on 8 November. At all three locations the French chose to resist, and the Allies suffered casualties. However, the French High Commissioner in Algiers entered into secret negotiations with Eisenhower, and two days later all French resistance came to an end. By the middle of November Algeria was firmly in British and American hands, and Axis forces in North Africa faced the possibility of being caught between two Allied armies.

Histories:
Algeria-French Morocco
Allied Landings in French North Africa

Campaign Maps:
Campaign in Northwest Africa, November 1942 – February 1943
Campaign in Northwest Africa, November 1942

Personal Accounts:
Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II: Interview with Peter Logerfo
Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II: Interview with John G. Rosta

Photographs:
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander in chief of Allied Armies in North Africa, and General Honore Giraud, commanding the French forces, saluting the flags of both nations at Allied headquarters
Two-and-a-half ton prime mover towing a 105-millimeter howitzer along the Algerian beach
Scene in a prison yard after the armistice in North Africa
French and American officers saluting during flag raising ceremonies somewhere in North Africa
A watchful U.S. destroyer cuts through the wake of a U.S. aircraft carrier on patrol as a setting sun brings to a close the first day of fighting off North Africa
U.S. troops resting momentarily at the harbor after landing operations
Jeep rolling off a landing boat at Fedala harbor during the landing operations of the U.S. task forces there
From Coast Guard-manned "sea-horse" landing craft, American troops leap forward to storm a North African beach during final amphibious maneuvers