In 1941, three months before Pearl Harbor, General George C. Marshall recalled Taylor to active duty and promoted him to full colonel. He was appointed assistant director of Army Public Relations. In 1942 he went abroad with General George Patton's Seventh Army, where he participated actively in the landings of Operation Torch near Casablanca, and continued with the main forces through the invasions of Sicily, Italy, and Southern France. During this time he was promoted to Brigadier General.