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8 November in military history: Operation Torch, 1942

Military history · 8 November · World War II, North AfricaFull calendar

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Aerial view of a long sandy beach backed by dunes as landing craft trail white wakes through the surf in the first Operation Torch landings, November 1942, a track and buildings inland
Landing craft run in to a North African beach in the first landings of Operation Torch, November 1942, photographed from the air by Horace Bristol (U.S. Navy photo 80-G-470021). Public domain. U.S. National Archives, via Wikimedia Commons.
Quick answer

On 8 November 1942 American and British troops under Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower landed around Casablanca, Oran and Algiers in French North Africa, held by Vichy France. Algiers, where local resisters had seized key points overnight, ceased fire that evening; fighting at Oran and Casablanca ended on 10 and 11 November.1

Operation Torch, 1942: the Allied landings in North Africa

8 to 11 November 1942 · 83 years ago

Three Allied task forces under Dwight D. Eisenhower landed around Casablanca, Oran and Algiers in Vichy French North Africa. After up to three days of fighting the French ceased fire, and the Allies gained a base for the campaign in Tunisia.

Read the full story of Operation Torch, 1942: the Allied landings in North Africa ›

Battle of White Mountain, 1620: two hours that ended Bohemia's revolt

8 November 1620 · 405 years ago

An army backing Frederick V and the Bohemian Protestants was defeated outside Prague by Catholic Habsburg forces of Emperor Ferdinand II early in the Thirty Years' War. Imperial troops entered Prague the next day and Frederick fled, a turning point for the Czech lands.

Read the full story of Battle of White Mountain, 1620: two hours that ended Bohemia's revolt ›

Frequently asked questions

What was Operation Torch?

The Anglo-American invasion of Vichy French Morocco and Algeria, launched on 8 November 1942 under Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower, with landings around Casablanca, Oran and Algiers.2

Did the French fight the Allies in Operation Torch?

Yes. Algiers, where resisters had seized key points overnight, gave up on the evening of 8 November, but Oran fought on until 10 November and Casablanca until early on 11 November.3

How many casualties were there in Operation Torch?

The U.S. Army history counts 1,469 Allied casualties, and an Ohio State University history article gives just over 2,000.4

Notes

A number in the text points to a note; each note names the works that paragraph draws on, listed in full under Sources.

  1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, “Algeria-French Morocco”; Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate, chapter 3; Carson Teuscher and Robert F. Williams, “Torch”. ↩
  2. U.S. Army Center of Military History, “Algeria-French Morocco”; Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate, chapter 3; Carson Teuscher and Robert F. Williams, “Torch”. ↩
  3. U.S. Army Center of Military History, “Algeria-French Morocco”; Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate, chapter 3; Carson Teuscher and Robert F. Williams, “Torch”. ↩
  4. U.S. Army Center of Military History, “Algeria-French Morocco”; Carson Teuscher and Robert F. Williams, “Torch”. ↩

Sources

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