10 p.m. we sail from Glasgow. For several days we are making a big circle in the Atlantic Ocean. We are joining up with other ships from the U.S. and British Isles. At one time we are within 500 miles from the coast of Virginia and the Carolinas.
The account of the voyage from Scotland to North Africa . . . is a remarkable story. In late October, 1942 ships left the British Isles heading west into the Atlantic to escape enemy air observation and then rendezvoused near Iceland and headed southward toward the Azores. When approximately due west from the Strait of Gibraltar the convoy turned and made a dash eastward and into the Mediterranean. It is still difficult to believe that the large scale preparations required to mount such an operation could have been unobserved. Tension was high and submarine attack awaited momentarily but all remained quiet. On D-Day minus-2 the convoy slipped into the Mediterranean through the Strait and only then did realization dawn that complete surprise might indeed be achieved. [Allen, 41]Saturday, November 7, 1942
The night before the invasion, Lieutenant Commander E.J. Tamlyn extended an "Invitation to a Beach Party" to all officers involved in the Operation Torch "Landing Party," which my outfit is a part of. The following invitation was sent to Lieutenant Max Cherney, one of the officers in my company.
[Allen, 43]
Sunday, November 8, 1942
Land in North Africa. We land on H HOUR D DAY, which is at midnite. Our outfit is first. We have help. We have a spy on the beach with a flash lite to steer the first bunch in. My platoon isn't first. We don't land until about day break. Now we find out that a unit of U.S. Rangers have landed just ahead of our first wave, they are destroying enemy machine gun nests and coast guard artillery battalion. Some paratroopers have also landed a few miles inland and captured airport.
Above are American troops of the Central Task Force landing on Red Beach, south of Arzew, Algeria, on November 8, 1942. These pictures were taken after daybreak, shortly after my platoon landed. [top photo courtesy: www.ibiblio.com; bottom photo: public domain]
Sunday, November 8 - Monday, November 9, 1942
Next two days is full of confusion. My company captures village of St. Lew. Also capture freight train, which is loaded mostly with barrels of wine. The enemy is mostly troops of the French Foreign Legion, with a few Germans. They recapture airport from our paratroops. They take our airplanes and strafe us on the beach. My outfit is now unloading ships and stocking supply and equipment on the beach. Our tanks and infantry recapture airport. It changed hands three times in a few hours.
My company captures the town of St. Lew (also known as Bettioua). The town of St. Cloud (also known as Gdyel) was an important stronghold during the invasion's first 24 hours.
Our infantry has captured town of St. Cloud [Gdyel]. Now the enemy has them surrounded and pinned down. They are helpless. We fear the enemy will now try to capture the beach head, which is my outfit and all the supplies we have there. Things look pretty bad.
Now we have to dig in to form a second line of defense. We have orders not to surrender, but fight to the last man.
After several hours, it was in middle of nite, good news. Tanks from 1st Amored Division had reached St. Cloud. They completely wiped out the enemy troops which had the infantry pinned down. The enemy was only an infantry outfit and had no defense against tanks.
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