About the Episode
In August 1942, Dwight D. Eisenhower officially takes command of Operation Torch, overseeing the landing of over 600 ships and 100,000 Allied troops in North Africa, territory controlled by the Vichy French government. Operation Torch is the first joint US–British operation of the war—a test not just for Eisenhower, but for the thousands of inexperienced American troops who will face German forces for the first time.
After an uncertain opening salvo, the Allies strike a deal with Vichy leader François Darlan, securing a successful landing. The combined Allied forces race to Tunisia to trap the German battle-tested Afrika Korps, led by the famed “Desert Fox,” Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
Following a close call at Kasserine Pass and a fierce attack at El Guettar, Eisenhower and British Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery’s forces close in around the Axis troops, forcing a quarter of a million German soldiers to surrender. The Nazis have been pushed out of North Africa, and the Allies can begin planning their next steps in breaching Hitler’s Fortress Europe.
The National WWII Museum was proud to support HISTORY's work on this series through historical research, educational outreach, and archival footage, as well as on-site interviews with WWII veterans that will be featured as part of the network’s “Save Our History” initiative.
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