timschochet
Footballguy
Torch Part 1
On the afternoon of November 7, 14 hours short of D-Day (the date set for the Torch landings) Gen. Henri Giraud arrived at Gibaltrar in the submarine that had spirited him out of southern France. He came immediately to Eisenhower, demanding to be flown to Algiers to take command of Torch. Ike was astonished at the temerity and hauteur of of this tall, one legged Frenchman, commander of nothing. He asked Giraud to make a broadcast to Morocco and Algeria, urging the French army to cooperate with the invaders. Giraud flatly refused, unless he was given command. Like a man casually changing vacation sites, he calmly proposed to change the target from North Africa to southern France. Eisenhower repeated his request for a broadcast, assuring Giraud that once the Allies moved on to Tunisia, Giraud could have command of the French rear areas. He virtually promised to make Giraud king of North Africa, with all possible American aid. Giraud kept saying, "Non." He wanted command. They argued for 8 hours, with no results. Giraud excused himself at bedtime with the remark, "Giraud will be a spectator in this affair."
By then the invasions had begun. Eisenhower stayed glued to his radio listening with relief to messages reporting that at Casablanca the surf was down and Patton was going in and that at Oran the landings were going well. There was no news from Algiers. At 4:30 am, exhausted, Ike unfolded a cot and went to sleep in his office. He arose at 7:00, reading reports and musing aloud about what to do with Giraud. Under pressure, Giraud finally agreed to become Governor General of all French forces in North Africa. He made the broadcast written for him by Eisenhower.
And nothing happened.
Not a single French soldier paid the slightest attention to this haughty shadow commander. In Casablanca, the French fought Patton's Americans. In Oran, they put up fierce resistance. In Algiers, Murphy's vaunted underground forces tried to arrest General Alphonse Juin, the French amy commander in the city, and were arrested themselves. Murphy rushed to Juin's headquarters and talked him into joining the Allies. Juin ordered his French troops in Algiers to lay down their arms, just as Admiral Darlan arrived. Juin urged Darl as Vichy commander in chief to broadcast similar orders to Oran and Casablanca. Darlan refused to do so until he met Eisenhower. He refused to work with Giraud. Giraud told Eisenhower he would have nothing to do with Darlan.
Now the supreme commander (Ike) was truly exasperated. He complained bitterly of "the petty intrigue and the necessity of dealing with little, selfish, conceited worms who call themselves men." But there was also no escaping the necessity of dealing with Darlan, so he sent Mark Clark to consult with him. In the meantime, Marshal Petain ordered the French to resist the Anglo-Americans. Shortly afterward, Hitler took over unoccupied France.
But to Eisenhower alone with his fears on the Rock, every minute lost in either combat or negotiation gave the Germans that much more time to reinforce at Tunis and Bizerte; every bullet fired at a Frenchman by an Allied soldier was one fewer to fire at the Germans. Reports that the Amercans at Casablanca and Oran were fighting well could banish a sinking feeling that the chances of strategic success were slipping away from him.
At this point in the great struggle, a general in the fighting emerged. In a very short period of time he would establish himself as one of the most brilliant and colorful military figures in all of American history. This was General George S. Patton.
On the afternoon of November 7, 14 hours short of D-Day (the date set for the Torch landings) Gen. Henri Giraud arrived at Gibaltrar in the submarine that had spirited him out of southern France. He came immediately to Eisenhower, demanding to be flown to Algiers to take command of Torch. Ike was astonished at the temerity and hauteur of of this tall, one legged Frenchman, commander of nothing. He asked Giraud to make a broadcast to Morocco and Algeria, urging the French army to cooperate with the invaders. Giraud flatly refused, unless he was given command. Like a man casually changing vacation sites, he calmly proposed to change the target from North Africa to southern France. Eisenhower repeated his request for a broadcast, assuring Giraud that once the Allies moved on to Tunisia, Giraud could have command of the French rear areas. He virtually promised to make Giraud king of North Africa, with all possible American aid. Giraud kept saying, "Non." He wanted command. They argued for 8 hours, with no results. Giraud excused himself at bedtime with the remark, "Giraud will be a spectator in this affair."
By then the invasions had begun. Eisenhower stayed glued to his radio listening with relief to messages reporting that at Casablanca the surf was down and Patton was going in and that at Oran the landings were going well. There was no news from Algiers. At 4:30 am, exhausted, Ike unfolded a cot and went to sleep in his office. He arose at 7:00, reading reports and musing aloud about what to do with Giraud. Under pressure, Giraud finally agreed to become Governor General of all French forces in North Africa. He made the broadcast written for him by Eisenhower.
And nothing happened.
Not a single French soldier paid the slightest attention to this haughty shadow commander. In Casablanca, the French fought Patton's Americans. In Oran, they put up fierce resistance. In Algiers, Murphy's vaunted underground forces tried to arrest General Alphonse Juin, the French amy commander in the city, and were arrested themselves. Murphy rushed to Juin's headquarters and talked him into joining the Allies. Juin ordered his French troops in Algiers to lay down their arms, just as Admiral Darlan arrived. Juin urged Darl as Vichy commander in chief to broadcast similar orders to Oran and Casablanca. Darlan refused to do so until he met Eisenhower. He refused to work with Giraud. Giraud told Eisenhower he would have nothing to do with Darlan.
Now the supreme commander (Ike) was truly exasperated. He complained bitterly of "the petty intrigue and the necessity of dealing with little, selfish, conceited worms who call themselves men." But there was also no escaping the necessity of dealing with Darlan, so he sent Mark Clark to consult with him. In the meantime, Marshal Petain ordered the French to resist the Anglo-Americans. Shortly afterward, Hitler took over unoccupied France.
But to Eisenhower alone with his fears on the Rock, every minute lost in either combat or negotiation gave the Germans that much more time to reinforce at Tunis and Bizerte; every bullet fired at a Frenchman by an Allied soldier was one fewer to fire at the Germans. Reports that the Amercans at Casablanca and Oran were fighting well could banish a sinking feeling that the chances of strategic success were slipping away from him.
At this point in the great struggle, a general in the fighting emerged. In a very short period of time he would establish himself as one of the most brilliant and colorful military figures in all of American history. This was General George S. Patton.
Still very much in 
