In response, the French launched a pair of attacks to break up the American landings. During the first French attack, either "Wichita" or "Tuscaloosa" damaged the French destroyer and forced it aground. A second French attack was also defeated; one of the two cruisers sank the destroyer and damaged . "Wichita", "Tuscaloosa", and "Massachusetts" also engaged "Jean Bart". At 11:28, "Wichita" was hit by a shell, fired by a gun on El Hank. The shell penetrated her deck and exploded below, injuring fourteen men. Hewitt broke off the attack temporarily, but by 13:12, several American warships began firing on French vessels exiting the harbor. "Wichita" and "Tuscaloosa" closed on the port to engage the cruisers "Primauguet" and , still in the harbor. Heavy fire from El Hank forced the American cruisers to retreat shortly after 15:00. For the remainder of the operations off North Africa, "Wichita" patrolled between Casablanca and Fedhala. Her part in the amphibious assault complete, "Wichita" departed the area on 12 November, bound for New York for repairs; she arrived on 19 November.