![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/files\/2017\/05\/Africa-259x210.jpg\")
General Dwight D. Eisenhower (left), commander in chief of Allied Armies in North Africa, and General Honore Giraud, commanding the French forces, salute the flags of both nations at Allied headquarters. From Library of Congress.<\/p><\/div>\n
Eisenhower stated in a press conference shortly following the American landing that he was originally disappointed in the resistance of the French but is glad that they have come around and accepted the presence of American and British troops. Eisenhower also praised the American army for its ability to move quickly and take African ports while setting up defense points across the coastline.<\/p>\n
Although Eisenhower and President Roosevelt have both given most of the credit for the invasion to U.S. military forces, Eisenhower has been quick to praise the British navy and air force for their aid. General Eisenhower explained that the British navy was up against terrible storms and still managed to deliver materials as well as men on time: \u201cThe way the naval staff planned the giant convoys with exact timing was nothing short of wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n
French North Africa coming under the control of the Allied forces is a great tactical position for the military, especially after reports that German and Italian troops were poised to enter North Africa within the next few weeks.<\/p>\n
The location of these new ports gives Allied forces direct access to what some call the \u201csoft underside\u201d of Axis-dominated Europe: an area that is not protected well by Nazi forces, separated from Allies by waters that are easily navigable by the powerful ships of the British and US navies.<\/p>\n
Although Eisenhower was quick to praise these military advances, he was careful to say that this is no great victory as U.S. troops have yet to face German ground troops in battle. As the general told French forces in North Africa: \u201cThe hour of national uprising has not sounded. We have already promised you that we will warn you when this hour shall have come. Today that moment is closer. We will keep our promise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sources:<\/p>\n
- \n
- \u201cU.S. Takes Over North Africa.\u201d Life, <\/em>November 23, 1942, p. 33.<\/li>\n
- \u201c2 Commanders Order Capitulation.\u201d New York Times<\/em>, November 12, 1942, p. 6.<\/li>\n
- \u201cGen. Eisenhower Reassures Invaded Area on U.S. Motives,\u201d The Washington Post<\/em>, November 8, 1942, p. 2.<\/li>\n
- \u201cEisenhower \u2018Well Satisfied\u2019 With Progress in North Africa.\u201d The Washington Post<\/em>, November 10, 1942, p. 1.<\/li>\n
- Trussel, C.P. \u201cU.S. MEETS ‘THREAT’: Big Expeditions Invade North and West Africa to Forestall Axis EISENHOWER AT HEAD President Urges French to Help, Calls Move Aid to Russia U.S. FORCES LANDED IN FRENCH AFRICA.\u201d New York Times<\/em>, November 8, 1942, p. 1.<\/li>\n
- Gallagher, Wes. \u201c\u2019Well Satisfied,\u2019 Says Eisenhower of American Army\u2019s Progress.\u201d New York Times<\/em>, November 10, 1942, p. 1.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
U.S. troops, led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, marched onto North African soil for the first time in the war. They secured several ports for the Allies in what British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is already calling \u201cthe beginning of the end\u201d of the war. On November 8, U.S. troops, supported by British naval and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3784,"featured_media":1020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-battle-front","category-war-in-europe","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/files\/2017\/05\/Africa.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8bpwr-gr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3784"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1019"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1319,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019\/revisions\/1319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/ww2-0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- \u201c2 Commanders Order Capitulation.\u201d New York Times<\/em>, November 12, 1942, p. 6.<\/li>\n