OPERATION TORCH CONFLICT

"Operation Torch" was the code name for the AngloAmerican invasion of North Africa in 1942. Combat operations commenced in late1942, less than a year from the time the United States became an official participant in the Second World War on 7 December 1941.

United States participation in Operation Torch was controversial among American political and military leaders. The command structure, objectives, and scope of the operation all were points of dispute between the British and the Americans.

This research examines American motivations that led to the decision for the United States to participate in Operation Torch. The findings of this examination are presented in (1) brief discussions that (a) describe the strategic situation confronting the United Kingdom and the United States in 1942, (b) the British position on the issues involved, and the (c) probable reactions of the governments of the North African countries that would be affected by an AngloAmerican invasion, and in (2) a more indepth discussion of the American position on the issues involved.

By the summer of 1941, the Soviet Union was drawn into the conflagration of the Second World War when it was attacked by Germany, and, in December of that year, the United States was drawn into the war through the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Within a day, the United States had also become an adversary in the Euro

. . .
apanese military command in China or the Japanese government. Nevertheless, the attack was made possible by a policy of the Japanese military command in China that provided for attacks on all Yangtze River traffic north of Nanking in an effort to cutoff retreating Chinese troops. The sinking of the Panay elicited a strong antiJapanese response from the Roosevelt Administration, but only a "brief flurry of public indignation" in the United States. The Japanese government apologized for the Panay incident before the United States government could lodge an official protest, and this quick apology plus the offer of the Japanese government to pay indemnity for the attack relieved the tension and resentment held by the American public over the incident. The Rape of Nanking which immediately followed the fall of that city in the wake of the Panay incident stirred American public opinion, but again only briefly. Even in 1938, American public opinion, while recoiling at Japanese actions, wished most of all to avoid war. By 1939, American public opinion had become quite hostile toward Japan. In 1940, the Roosevelt Administration publicly loaned China $100 million for defense against Japanese actions, and privately promised 5
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Roosevelt Administration, Operation Torch, North African, United Japan, LendLease Act, Neutrality Act, Franklin Roosevelt, North Africa, World War, Britain United, operation torch, american public, roosevelt administration, north africa, world war, north african, american military, lendlease act, american public opinion, public opinion, united kingdom, participation operation torch, attack pearl harbor, american participation operation, north african strategy,
Approximate Word count = 3957
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page)

More Essays on OPERATION TORCH CONFLICT