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September 1942: The world was at war. The German Wehrmacht had succeeded in occupying almost all of Europe in a series of “Blitzkriegs”.
Poland was overcome in 1939. The Dutch, Belgian and powerful French armies surrendered in 1940 and the tiny English Expedition Corps only managed to cross the British Channel and get back to the mother country by leaving all its equipment behind.
The entire bloody spectacle of the western campaign repeated itself all over again when Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941. The startled divisions of the Red Army perished in massive battles of encirclement and annihilation without even being able to display their strength at all. Only with the aid of the Russian winter were the German armies finally stopped in their tracks before the gates of Moscow.
Yet still the panzers rolled on eastwards under the sign of the Teutonic Cross in the summer of 1942 moving towards the Volga and the Caucasus. On the African theatre of war, the German General, Rommel had succeeded in defeating the English, and in Asia the Japanese had entered the war on the side of the Axis powers.
The United States of America had remained neutral for a long time. After the experiences of the First World War, it was the greatest desire of many Americans to stay out of the European conflict for as long as humanly possible.
The Japanese attack on the U.S. Fleet in Pearl Harbor and the German Declaration of War on Washington in December 1941 changed America’s tentative stance completely and the American people and its government took on the challenge, thus meaning that the most far-reaching war in the history of America was to begin.
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The English and French commanders hadn’t been prepared for the war that was taking place on the battlefields of Europe in their military academies. Leading American military experts were also extremely surprised by this new manner of mobile warfare where whole countries were overrun in just a matter of weeks.
This war in Europe matched almost exactly what General George S. Patton had predicted about wars of the future. This somewhat cranky General from America’s south was regarded as one of the most important heroes of the First World War and one of the most experienced Tank Generals in the U.S. Army. Since the 1930`s though, things had become quite quiet for Patton. This quickly changed when Germany declared war on America. Experienced tank-generals were suddenly extremely sought-after. America put together an expedition corps that was supposed to stop the advance of Rommel’s tank troops in Africa. A new marching order subsequently arrived at Patton’s location in Fort Indio, California. Destination: North Africa.
The American government ordered the army and navy to take their first tentative steps towards Europe in Operation Torch. Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia were to be occupied by American troops in this operation. Morocco was under French Protectorate at the time, and although the French government in Vichy was officially neutral, it was actually extremely dependent on Germany.
General Patton received the order to land at Casablanca and to take this important Moroccan port in a surprise attack. The Western Task Force allotted to him was 45,000 strong and accompanied by 250 tanks. Patton’s troops landed in the early hours of November 8, 1942.
The soldiers of the French garrison in Casablanca only noticed the American attack after the first swarms of troops belonging to the Western Task Force had reached the periphery of Casablanca. The war was to last but three days before the French garrison finally surrendered.
Information about your first mission: You are commanding an American unit whose task it is to conquer the port of Casablanca.
The enemy is not prepared for an attack.
You have clear air supremacy. You can request recon planes, bombers and fighter planes from the British base in Gibraltar, if you think necessary.
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29 сен 2024
