World War II officially began with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. Over the next two years most of Western Europe was brought under Axis control, Japan attacked the United States - putting the U.S. firmly in the Allied camp, Hitler turned east against his former ally Stalin, and Rommel was running rampant in North Africa. The United States quickly mobilized for war. Allied commanders made the decision that an invasion of North Africa would drain German resources and pave the way to an Allied invasion of Europe itself. The North African invasion was to be called Operation Torch.
The landing sites for Torch were decided in October 1942. The initial cities to be taken were Casablanca, Algiers, and Oran. More than 33,000 American soldiers and 100 ships were to be involved in the.....
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 918 words. This
study guide contains 16,427 words (approx. 55 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our An Army at Dawn: The War in Africa, 1942-1943 Access Pass.
