Quote:
Originally Posted by Asterix
I have read in several sources that a significant portion of the American task force landing at Oran actually surrendered to the Vichy French.
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I think you may be referring to this the 3rd Battalion, 135th Infantry ,
Operations against the port of Algiers represented the most difficult assignment for the attacking Allied forces. Not only did the French have substantial ground forces in the area, they also possessed 52 fighter aircraft and 39 bombers. The port itself was defended by strong coastal artillery positions. Thus, the main Allied attacks came on beaches to the west and east of the city. British Commandos and Regular infantry, as well as the U.S. Army’s 168th Regimental Combat Team (RCT), landed to the west, and the American 39th Combat Team, supported by Commandos, came ashore east of the port.
The Allied attack also included a daring raid on the port itself. Two British destroyers,
Broke and
Malcolm, carried Royal Navy personnel and the 3rd Battalion, 135th Infantry, from the U.S. 34th Infantry Division. Before either destroyer could breach the harbor’s barrier booms, the French opened fire.
Malcolm suffered serious damage and turned back.
Broke made it through the barrier and landed her troops on the mole. Within a short time, the landing party had seized the city’s electric power station and petroleum tank farm. But the French responded vigorously, and when the troops from the 168th RCT failed to show up, the American commander was forced to surrender his forces
Operation Torch: Allied Invasion of North Africa » HistoryNet - From the World's Largest History Magazine Publisher