allied troops landed in north africa on june 17, 1944.
allied troops landed in north africa on june 17, 1944.
when did allied troops land in north africa?
june 17, 1944
on 8 november 1942 the allies invaded french north africa. it may be that general dwight eisenhower, with the support of president of the united states franklin d. roosevelt and british prime minister winston churchill, made a secret agreement with admiral françois darlan, commander of vichy naval forces, that darlan would be given control of french north africa if he joined the allied side. an alternative view is that darlan was an opportunist and simply switched sides for self-advancement, thus becoming titular controller of french north africa. following the allied invasion of french north africa, adolf hitler immediately triggered case anton, the occupation of vichy france, and reinforced german forces in africa.
scuttling of the french fleet at toulon
the battle began at 8:30 am, when allied troops initiated an attack at three different points, with an intense fire opened by both armies. the first allied attack was repelled by the defenders of the foothill; during the second attack, the allied troops were able to take the first line of trenches. they were subsequently expelled. during the third attack, the allied force advanced to a point where it was impossible to distinguish between guatemalan and allied troops. then, the fight became a melée, while the guatemalan artillery severely punished the invaders. at the height of the battle when the guatemalans faced an uncertain fate, carrera ordered that sugar cane plantation around the meadow to be set on fire. the invading army was now surrounded: to the front, they faced the furious guatemalan firepower, to the flanks, a huge blaze and to the rear, the river, all of which made retreat very difficult. the central division of the allied force panicked and started a disorderly retreat. soon, all of the allied troops started retreating.
history of guatemala