page_title: Operation Torch
section_title: Oran
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Torch / Battle / Oran
caption_attribution_description: English: SEATRAIN LAKEHURST at Safi after discharging her cargo of medium tanks. A damaged Navy scout observation plane is taken aboard.
context_page_description: Operation Torch was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. The French possessions in the area were ruled by the Vichy French, formally aligned with Germany but of mixed loyalties. Reports indicated that they might support the Allies. American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied forces in the European Theater, planned a three-pronged attack on Casablanca, Oran and Algiers, then a rapid move on Tunis. The goal of Operation Torch was to open a second front in Europe, as per request of Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union.
  The Western Task Force encountered unexpected resistance and bad weather, but Casablanca, the principal French Atlantic naval base, was captured after a short siege. The Center Task Force suffered some damage to its ships when trying to land in shallow water but the Vichy French ships were sunk or driven off; Oran surrendered after bombardment by British battleships. The Eastern Task Force met less opposition because the French Resistance had staged a coup in Algiers and the Allies were able to push inland and compel surrender on the first day.
context_section_description: The Center Task Force was split between three beaches, two west of Oran and one east. Landings at the westernmost beach were delayed because of a French convoy which appeared while the minesweepers were clearing a path. Some delay and confusion, and damage to landing ships, was caused by the unexpected shallowness of water and sandbars; although periscope observations had been carried out, no reconnaissance parties had landed on the beaches to determine the local maritime conditions. This helped inform subsequent amphibious assaults—such as Operation Overlord—in which considerable weight was given to pre-invasion reconnaissance.
  The U.S. 1st Ranger Battalion landed east of Oran and quickly captured the shore battery at Arzew. An attempt was made to land U.S. infantry at the harbour directly, in order to quickly prevent destruction of the port facilities and scuttling of ships. Operation Reservist failed, as the two Banff-class sloops were destroyed by crossfire from the French vessels there. The Vichy French naval fleet broke from the harbor and attacked the Allied invasion fleet but its ships were all sunk or driven ashore. The commander of Reservist, Capt. F. T. Peters, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for valour in leading the attack through Oran harbour in the face of point blank fire. French batteries and the invasion fleet exchanged fire throughout 8–9 November, with French troops defending Oran and the surrounding area stubbornly; bombardment by the British battleships brought about Oran's surrender on 9 November.
caption: USS Lakehurst (formerly Seatrain New Jersey), after discharging medium tanks at Safi, Morocco.
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