He left that post (and was promoted to the two-star rank of major general) to become the second commander of the 1st Armored Division, a Regular Army formation, in March 1942. The division was sent to Northern Ireland in May and participated in numerous exercises with the British Army stationed there. In November he supervised the deployment of his division across the Atlantic Ocean to French North Africa, which was brought piecemeal as part of Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa, and subsequent operations. The failure of the 1st Armored Division to arrive intact and deploy as a single entity would have important consequences in later action against German forces in the Tunisian Campaign.