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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

Related Content
Topic
  • Operations
  • Theater of Operations--Mediterranean
  • Theater of Operations--Atlantic
Document Type
  • Publication
Wars & Conflicts
  • World War II 1939-1945
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Location of Archival Materials
  • NHHC

Operation Torch: The American Amphibious Assault on French Morocco, 1942

Alexandra Lohse and John Middaugh, 2018

ISBN 978-1-943604-29-6


Operation Torch cover image

Available for free in the following formats: 508-compliant PDF (3.3 MB); ePub (5 MB); MOBI (12.1 MB)

Operation Torch resulted from an uneasy compromise between the Allies’ conflicting political and military objectives. Though pledged to a “Europe First” policy, the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union deadlocked on when and where to confront Germany—questions that tested their alliance as their military situation grew increasingly precarious over the course of 1942. Torch was an ambitious amphibious invasion that foreshadowed other great naval operations carried out jointly and combined by the United States and the United Kingdom during World War II. The U.S. Navy, in particular, executed a pioneering achievement, transporting American troops and material over several thousand transatlantic miles to terminate in major assaults on enemy strongholds. Lessons learned in North Africa would shape American decision making and facilitate successful amphibious landings in the European theater throughout the rest of the war.

Download a free digital edition or order a softcover copy from the Government Publishing Office bookstore

Published: Tue May 21 15:10:30 EDT 2019