Chapter 144 Volume 4, Chapter 34, the torch is lit

General de Gaulle's situation Important person General Giraud arrives at Gibraltar Fleet approaching destination President Roosevelt's letter to Pétent and othersA Strange Disturbance Admiral Darlan in Algiers Appeals to him by Mr. Murphy and General Juin His Difficult Situation The Anglo-American Army Begins Landings American Attack on Oran On 8th November Both in Oran and Algiers The French stopped resisting and landed in Morocco. It was all U.S. Army General Bertouard who pledged allegiance to his allies. The governor of Noguey regained control. He ordered the resistance. Western special forces began landing French ships and fighting the American fleet. The General and General Clark flew to Algiers and Giraud, but were coldly received by the French generals. The Germans invaded the unoccupied area of ​​France. Darlan ordered a complete ceasefire throughout North Africa. Admiral Hittersgarden Darlan was finally won over by General Clark General Anderson took over the military command of Algeria and quickly moved eastward. The Germans airlifted the fate of Tunisia to reinforce the French fleet in Toulon.

President Roosevelt and I decided not to tell the Free French all about the Operation Torch program because of his prejudice against de Gaulle, his relationship with Vichy through Admiral Lehai and our two-year The memory of leaking secrets on the Dakar issue is still fresh.I have no problem with that.But I still can't get over the relationship between Britain and de Gaulle, and realize how insulted he must have been by our intentionally excluding him from the project.I therefore intend to inform him of this shortly before the attack begins, and to relieve him and the movement of which he leads this insult by entrusting him with the administration of Madagascar.All the facts that we encountered in the preparatory phase of the Battle of the Torch, and all the circumstances that we have learned afterwards, prove that if de Gaulle had been involved in this matter at that time, it would have aroused the extreme disgust of the French in North Africa.

former navy personnel to president roosevelt November 5, 1942 I must inform de Gaulle of the torch plan the day before the attack (if it is known that the weather will be fine the next day).You will remember that I had a solemn exchange of letters with him in 1940, recognizing him as the leader of the Free French.I am convinced that he has military integrity. 2. I will explain to him that the reason why I did not tell him about the Torch Program is because it is an American plan and secret, and explain to him that he and his companions are not allowed to participate in the Torch Program, not because we He and the movement he led had no good intentions, but rather the complexity of the situation in the Torch Region and the need to avoid fighting as much as possible.I am prepared for him to announce the appointment of General Le Gentiome as Governor of Madagascar sometime on Friday.We have kept it as a tribute to him.It will prove that we do not want to abandon the Free French.As for his relationship with Giro, I personally think they will work together politically, but under what circumstances, I don't know.

I hope you can agree with the approach I propose. President Roosevelt to Prime Minister November 5, 1942 I am deeply concerned that any involvement of de Gaulle in the Torch Project would have a negative effect on our promising endeavor to secure the majority of the French forces in Africa to our expeditionary forces. Therefore, I think it is better for you not to inform de Gaulle about the Torch Project until you have successfully landed.After the successful landing, you can tell him that, with my consent, the American commander of the American Expeditionary Force insists on keeping the matter strictly secret as a necessary security measure.

De Gaulle's announcement of the governor of Madagascar on Friday will not help the Torch Program, which needs only to maintain his prestige among his followers. Admiral Lee Hai fully agrees with the above opinion. It was evidently necessary to find a Frenchman of stature, and in the minds of England and America there was no one more suitable than General Giraud.The story of this scrappy high-ranking general's thrilling and daring escape from a German prison is already well-known.I met Giro at Metz when I visited the Maginot Line in 1937, when he was in command of the main part of the Maginot Line.I have already described this meeting in this book.At that time he told me about his adventures behind the German lines after he escaped from prison during the First World War.Since I also escaped from prison, this gave us both a common experience.Now, as army commander, he was repeating the heroic deeds of his youth with an even greater sensation.Oddly enough, back in April, before the President's secret War Baby Torch program was born, I sent the following cable to the President:

April 29, 1942 I am very interested in General Giro's escape from Dar Vichy.This person could be decisive in realizing something you have high hopes for.Please tell us what you know. Now, six months later, all of this is extremely important.The Americans had held secret talks with General Giraud, and had drawn up plans to send him from the Riviera to Gibraltar at the decisive moment.We have high hopes for the VIP, which is the code name for the Giro.I called the President on November 3rd and said: The dignitary had called to say that he had decided to come immediately and had asked for a plane to take him to Gibraltar.Eisenhower had telegraphed to persuade him to take a British submarine under the command of the American captain, which was already waiting off the coast.

After suffering false alarms at sea, Giro and his two sons were safely transported to Gibraltar. In the meantime, our large fleet is approaching its destination.We are determined to ensure their passage at any cost.Most of the convoys from British ports had to sail through the Bay of Biscay, through all the places where German submarines were rampant, so a strong convoy was needed.It must also be done so that not only the mass of ships which had begun to muster in the Firth of Clyde and other English western ports from the beginning of October, but also the actual times of departure of the convoys were hidden from the enemy's eyes and ears.We've been very successful.The Germans, on the basis of their own intelligence, mistook our target for Dakar again.By the end of October, some forty German and Italian submarines were stationed south and east of the Azores.They severely damaged a large convoy sailing back to the British mainland from Sierra Leone, sinking thirteen ships in total.Under the circumstances at the time, this loss was nothing.The first torch convoy left the Firth of Clyde on 22 October.By the 26th, all fast troop-carriers had sailed, and American troops were sailing directly from the United States to Casablanca.This expeditionary force consisting of more than 650 ships is now fully dispatched.They slipped across the Bay of Biscay or the Atlantic Ocean without detection by either German submarines or air forces.

All of our strength is now being used.In the far north our cruisers watch the outlets of the Denmark Strait and the North Sea for interference from enemy ships at sea.Other cruisers defended the American passage near the Azores, while British and American bombers attacked German submarine bases on the Atlantic coast of France.Although the German U-boats were apparently concentrating on the Strait of Gibraltar, our vanguard remained undetected only when it sailed into the Mediterranean during the night of 5-6 November.It was not seen until the seventh day, when the convoy bound for Algiers was less than twenty-four hours' voyage from its destination, but even then only one ship was attacked.

The time has come for a presidential statement.I was a little apprehensive about the first draft of the statement he sent me, in which he called Pétain my dear old friend and recalled the somewhat dated exploits of Verdun in 1916.I think this is tantamount to cutting off ties for the de Gaullists. former navy personnel to president roosevelt November 3, 1942 I don't know if I can point out that your letter to Petain seems a little too polite.His prestige must have plummeted by now.He has done great harm to our cause by his prestige.Please consider the effect of this letter on the de Gaullists; we have a great obligation to them, and they must have felt extremely painful at being excluded from the Torch Program.I was told that this letter would have adverse reactions elsewhere as well.Of course, it is absolutely right to send him a friendly letter, but would you please consider toning down a bit.

President Roosevelt to Prime Minister November 4, 1942 I agree that the tone of Zheng Peitang's letter should be lowered, and I have rewritten the letter.I am confident that this rewritten letter will not offend my French friends. The revisions made by the President are satisfactory, and readers are referred to the published Hopkins papers. On November 5, Eisenhower ventured to Gibraltar.I placed this fort under his command as the seat of the interim headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief in this first major Anglo-American campaign. The high point of Gibraltar's time of war had come.Of course, since September 1939 we have had military defenses against siege.

Facing the Spanish frontier we gradually built up a formidable defense, above which was the rock of Gibraltar, in which many tunnels had been blasted for the cannon that controlled the isthmus.Necessary measures were also taken to guard against attack by air, sea and airborne forces.The greatest need here was water, and by the middle of 1940, several distilled water plants had been built in solid rock, providing adequate supplies and reserves.This is a huge project. Gibraltar's greatest contribution to warfare was the development and use of its new airfield.It was originally just a small landing field of the racecourse. Since 1942, it has been continuously expanded, and finally it has become a wide runway more than one mile long.Its western end extends all the way to the Gulf of Gibraltar, and it is built with the gravel that was excavated when the tunnel was dug.A large number of aircraft used by the Torch Program are concentrated here.The entire isthmus was packed with planes, and fourteen fighter squadrons were concentrated there on standby.All this had to be done openly in front of the German watchdogs, who we hope thought the planes were supporting the island of Malta.We do our best to give them that impression.Apparently they believed it too. General Eisenhower said well that without British Gibraltar, it would be impossible to attack Northwest Africa. General Eisenhower to Prime Minister November 7, 1942 Arrived here safely yesterday. I think there is hope that some people will be brought to North Africa before (we land). But this matter depends on whether the weather is good or bad. If the weather is good, he can be transferred from the submarine to the plane.I will report this formally at a later date. Once again, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for your continued support and encouragement over the past few months.Our morale is high and we firmly believe that everything will go smoothly in the future. Giro arrived at the appointed place in time, and in order to make things go smoothly, I sent him the following telegram: As someone who has had the same escape experience, I'm happy to be working with you.Our conversation in Metz is still fresh in my memory.For thirty-five years I have had faith in France, and I am delighted that our two countries and the United States are about to join together for the first time in a major joint offensive to retake Alsace-Lorraine. General Eisenhower to Prime Minister November 8, 1942 The dignitary was obviously very pleased with your telegram, and he asked me to send you the following reply: Thanks to Huidian, thank you.I also remember our conversation in Metz.I, like you, have never wavered in the belief that the final victory will be mine despite all the hardships I have experienced.I now firmly believe that through everyone's efforts, Alsace and Lorraine will eventually belong to France. When Jiro came here this time, he thought he would be appointed as the supreme commander of North Africa, and he thought that the armies of the United States and Britain would be under his command, but he didn't know the strength of the coalition forces before.He himself strongly advocated landing in France, not in North Africa, or in France in addition to North Africa, and he thought for a long time that this was practicable.It took General Eisenhower and him a forty-eight-hour debate before the brave Frenchman finally realized what was urgent.We all expect too much from great men, but he knows better than anyone how much influence he has on the French prefects in North Africa, on the generals, and especially on the officer corps. The battle has finally begun.In his memoirs, General Eisenhower vividly described his anxiety on the night of November 7-8 and the days that followed.He has always been able to withstand such tension.The high stakes of the battle, the vagaries of the weather (which may have undone all previous efforts), the fragmentary information received, the extreme complexity of the French attitude, and the danger from Spain all this (not to mention the actual fighting It was extremely severe), and it was undoubtedly an extremely severe test for the commander, whose responsibility was both great and immediate. At this moment we were again disturbed by a curious incident, which turned out to be most favorable to us.Admiral Darlan returned to France after a tour of North Africa.His son suddenly contracted polio and was hospitalized in Algiers. News of his critical condition prompted the admiral to fly back to North Africa on 5 November.He therefore happened to be in Algiers just as the Anglo-American invasion was about to begin. It's a strange and troublesome coincidence.Mr. Robert Murphy (the political representative of the United States in North Africa) wants him to leave before our troops land.But Darlan, in his concern for his son's illness, stopped for a day in Algiers, staying at the villa of a French official, Admiral Fernard. Our chief hopes in Algiers for recent weeks have been on the French military prefect, General Juin.He has always had a close relationship with Mr. Murphy, but did not tell him the specific date of landing.A little after midnight on November 7, Murphy called on Juan to tell him that the time for landing had come.A powerful British and American coalition force, supported by the overwhelmingly superior navy and air force, is about to march to North Africa and land within a few hours.Although General Zhu An knew the inside story of this matter well and was loyal, he couldn't help being surprised.He had thought he could control the overall situation in Algiers.But he knew that because Darlan was here, his authority would be useless.He had only a few hundred passionate French youths under him.He knew very well that all the leadership of the military government had been transferred to the admiral who was the deputy head of the Vichy government.Now people will never obey his orders again.Why, he asked, had he not been notified of the landing time earlier.In fact, the reason is very obvious, and it has nothing to do with his authority whether to tell him the date of landing.Because as long as Darlan is in Algiers, all French loyal to Vichy will obey Darlan.Murphy and Zhu An decided to call Darlan and ask him to come to them immediately.When it was less than two o'clock in the morning, General Zhu An called to wake up Darlan, claiming that he needed to discuss something important, and Darlan came.When he heard the news that the coalition forces were about to land, his face flushed with anger, and he said: I have long known that the British are stupid, but I always think that the Americans are a little smarter than the British.Now I'm beginning to think that you Americans make as many mistakes as the British. Darlan's distaste for Britain was well known, and he had long been loyal to the Axis powers.In May 1941, he agreed not only to make Dakar available to the Germans, but also to allow the Germans to send supplies to Rommel's army via Tunisia. This treason was stopped by General Weygand, who at the time was the supreme leader in North Africa, who persuaded Petain to reject the German request.Hitler, preoccupied at the time with the impending Russian campaign, did not push the issue despite the objections of his naval staff.In November of the same year, Weygand was dismissed because he was considered unreliable by the Germans.Although it was not heard that the Axis powers planned to use Dakar against us, the ports of Tunisia were later opened to Axis power ships, and in the summer of 1942 they played a role in delivering supplies to Rommel's army. .Now that things have passed, Darlan's attitude has also changed, but no matter how he intends to help Britain and the United States occupy Northwest Africa, he is still completely loyal to Petain.He knew that if he defected to the side of the Allies, Germany would inevitably invade the regions of France not yet occupied by Germany, for which he was personally responsible.Therefore, although Murphy and Zhu An tried every means to persuade him, he only agreed to send a telegram asking Petain to allow him to act freely.A series of inexorable events had thrown him into a situation of extreme difficulty, in which he had nothing else to do but to do so. During this period, the original plan is being gradually implemented.Crowds of armed anti-Vichy French youths surrounded the villa, determined to find out what the attitude of the people in the house was.Before dawn, the police authorities routinely dispatched fifty mobile policemen to the villa to disperse the small group of violators.They replaced the French youths who came to monitor the house and arrested Juan, Murphy and with Murphy his assistant Mr. Kenneth Penda, the US Vice Consul in Marrakech.They waited for Darlan to issue the next instruction.He authorized M. Pendas to transmit his telegram to Petain to the French Naval Command in Algiers.A senior French admiral on duty there, after verifying the authenticity of the telegram, sent it, but detained the messenger.By this time, the time for the landings had come, and the Allies began to land at Algiers and Oran.After dawn, the news came one after another. Darlan and Juan arrived at the French Army headquarters in Algiers in the Fortress of the Emperor with mutual wariness along the way, leaving Mr. Murphy still under house arrest by the police in the villa. Darlan sent another telegram to Petain at 7:40 in the morning: At 7:30 in the morning the situation was as follows: American troops aboard British ships had landed in Algiers and its environs.The defenders repelled the attack at several points, especially at the port and at the naval headquarters.At other locations, landings were successful as a result of surprise attacks.The situation is deteriorating and the defenders will soon be unable to support them.Reports from all directions indicate that a large-scale landfall is brewing. Shortly after 1:00 a.m. on 8 November, British and American forces under the command of Rear Admiral Baller of the Royal Navy began landing at various points to the east and west of Algiers.Extremely careful preparations were made to guide the landing craft ashore on the selected beaches.To the west, the vanguard of the British 11th Brigade was completely successful, but to the east, the ships and landing craft carrying the American troops were swept by unexpected waves many miles from the planned landing site, and so in the dark caused some confusion and delays.Happily, we have received little attack or resistance along the coast.After dawn, reinforcements arrived, and we immediately regained control of the situation.A plane of the Naval Air Corps detected a friendly signal on the ground, landed at Blida airfield, and, with the assistance of the local French commander, occupied the airfield until the Allies on the beach came to their aid. The site of the fiercest fighting was the port of Algiers itself.There, the two British destroyers HMS Brock and HMS Malcolm attempted to force their way into the harbour, allowing American commandos to land on the breakwater in order to occupy the harbor and artillery positions and prevent the French from scuttling the ship.This daring action exposed the two British warships to direct flat fire from the resisting guns, with unfortunate results.The Malcolm was damaged shortly thereafter, but after three failed attempts, the Brock finally managed to sail into the harbor and land the troops.The ship was later sunk due to serious injuries suffered during the retreat.Many soldiers were surrounded on the shore and had to surrender. At 11:30 in the morning, Darlan sent another telegram to his superiors saying: Algiers may fall tonight.At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, he sent another telegram saying: Although our army tried its best to stop it, the US military has entered the urban area. I have ordered the local garrison commander General Juan to negotiate the surrender of the city of Algiers.Mr. Penda had been released and the French had given him a pass to see the commander of the American army. At seven o'clock in the afternoon, Algiers surrendered.From this moment Admiral Darlan fell into the hands of the Americans, and General Juan returned to power under the leadership of the Allies. At Oran, the attacking force was the US Central Special Forces, which had been trained and boarded in England.The main attack, supported by the British navy, was launched at about 1:00 am on 8 November in the Gulf of Arzer, east of the town, and at the same time, smaller attacks were launched on two points west of Oran. .The French resistance in this area was more violent than in Algiers.Many of the regular French troops who had fought the British in Syria, as well as the French naval forces, which held a grudge against the British attack on Mirskbier in 1940, put up resistance.It was because of these past events that the Americans also expected greater resistance here than anywhere else, but the landing went ahead as planned.At this time, two auxiliary combat operations were frustrated.The first setback was a daring airborne operation aimed at capturing the airfields behind Oran.A battalion of American airborne infantry was flown from Great Britain to carry out this daring attack, but the formation of aircraft was scattered over Spain by a storm.The lead planes kept going, but because they were heading in the wrong direction, they landed several miles from the airport.Later, they joined forces with their comrades who had already landed, and made great achievements in the battle of occupying Tafaloy Airport. The second misfortune was to the two gallant British frigates who attempted to land an American force at the port of Oran.As at Algiers, their task was to seize the port facilities from the French and prevent the French from scuttling the ship.Therefore, there are many skilled technicians in this landing team.The importance of this operation lies in the need to make Port of Oran the base of the Allied forces as soon as possible.Shortly after the main landings began, the Warner, under Captain Peters of the Royal Navy, sailed into the port of Oran, followed by the Hartland.These two warships were originally American anti-smuggling ships, which were transferred to us under the Lend-Lease Act.They were bombarded by close-range fire, and both warships were destroyed, with most of their crews killed.Captain Peters narrowly escaped death, but he was killed in a plane crash a few days later.After his death, the British and American governments posthumously awarded him the Victoria Cross and the American Distinguished Cross. By dawn, French destroyers and submarines were active in the Gulf of Oran, but due to our overwhelming superiority, they were either sunk or dispersed. The coastal artillery remained recalcitrant to the landing force, but they were shelled and bombarded by the Royal Navy with HMS Rodney.The fighting continued until the morning of the 10th, when the landing U.S. troops launched their final assault on the city.By noon, the French surrendered. At this time, although the French army in Oran and Algiers had ceased to resist, the resistance of the German army along the coast of North Africa was rapidly increasing.A large number of German submarines soon threatened the sea supply lines on which our side depended.They had some success, including sinking three large empty ships returning from the landing beach; but we also took strong anti-submarine measures, and by the end of November there were nine German The submarine was sunk. The landing tasks in Morocco are all undertaken by the US troops, and it is hoped that they will get local active support in this regard.General Bertouard, the French division commander in Casablanca, had fought at Narvik.He hated the Germans.Most of the ground defense of the Moroccan coast was under his command.We did not tell him the secret until very late, and he was willing to accept Giraud as the supreme commander of the French army.He hoped that the French governor of Morocco, Noguet, and Admiral Michelle would revolt.The representatives of the Allied forces advised him not to take any risks, but to arrest the governor.Bertouard was unwilling to do so.He did not want to be accused of substituting his superiors.At eleven o'clock on the night of November 7th he called to his headquarters those officers involved in this secret project.He told them: American troops will land at five o'clock tomorrow morning.The men left Casablanca in three vehicles at midnight, and two hours later they occupied the headquarters of the French army in the Moroccan capital Rabat, as well as the telephone exchange and post office of the General Staff.Unfortunately, General Noguey's secret telephone line was ignored, and for the next few hours the governor was free to speak to the commanders of the major bases scattered throughout Morocco. On his arrival in Rabat, Bertouard sent his adjutant to Noguet with detailed records of the discussions between Giraud and Murphy, and of the impending Allied landing.A company of colonial infantry, under the orders of Bertouard, surrounded the residence of Nogay.Nogai was furious.He arrested the adjutant, his own nephew, and immediately called Admiral Michele at the Casablanca naval base.Michele told him that there were no signs of Allied forces approaching the coast.This negative answer prompted Nogay to take action.He ordered Michelle to be on immediate alert and told him to take over from Bertouard, who was now in Rabat.In fact, an American fleet of more than one hundred ships carrying General Patton's landing force was only thirty miles from Morocco; Nothing is known about the landings in Algeria.In this tense situation, General Bertouard was of course very anxious. Because only he knew directly that the landing was coming, but the military coup launched by a small group of supporters led by him in Rabat instead put the whole of Morocco on alert under the order of Nogay. At five o'clock in the morning, the US vice-consul in Rabat handed Nogay a personal letter from President Roosevelt, in which the president asked him to aid the Allied forces.Two hours later, when the landings had begun, Nogay informed Darlan in Algiers that he had rejected the American ultimatum.Bertouard and his few supporters were surrounded.Nogay himself called and threatened to shoot the officers of the Colonial Infantry involved in the matter.These people were all arrested immediately.Bertouard was court-martialed two days later and was not released until November 17. In drawing up our plans of operation we were more apprehensive about an attack on the Atlantic coast of Morocco than we were about an attack on the Mediterranean coast. Because not only must the entire expeditionary force be transported directly from American ports across the North Atlantic to their landing beaches on time, but we are also extremely concerned that, on the day of the scheduled landing, the weather on the Atlantic coast of Morocco will prevent the Allied forces from landing, especially But as the season draws to a close, the weather conditions are worse.On November 7th, Admiral Hewitt's flagship received weather forecasts from both London and Washington that indicated bad weather. Another plan is to lead the entire fleet through the Strait of Gibraltar and let General Patton land on a little-known beach near Nemur, near Spanish Morocco.The problem with this plan, which deserves consideration, among other things, is that it would seriously delay the landing, which could have fatal consequences.Fortunately, Admiral Hewitt's staff expected the local weather to improve temporarily, and he boldly supported their judgment, and it turned out that he was right in doing so.Once a decision was made, the fleet sailed separately to their destination before dark. The Western special forces arrived on the coast of Morocco before dawn on 8 November.Due to the night travel and the relatively long voyage, the selected landing time was three hours later than the landing time around Algiers.General Patton had criticized this in advance, because he believed that the President's address to the French in North Africa, which was scheduled to be broadcast at 1:00 a.m. that day, at the same time as the landing in Algiers, would only put the Moroccan defenders on alert.His opinion is not without reason.The broadcast turned out to be of no importance to Morocco, although, as stated above, the defenders were indeed alerted.The operation was divided into three landings.The main attack was in the centre, landing at Fedara near Casablanca.The flank attack was on the flanks, with landings at Port Leot, north of Casablanca, and Safi, south of Casablanca.The weather was fine that morning, but it was foggy and the waves on the beach were not as big as expected.Later the waves became rough, but by then the landing force had secured firm footholds in all areas.At some points the first landing forces met no resistance, but resistance soon intensified, and fighting was fierce for a time, especially near Port Lyot. There was also fierce fighting at sea.The new battleship Jean Bart, not yet complete, was at anchor in Casablanca, not yet sailing, but able to fire her four fifteen-inch guns.It soon engaged in an artillery battle with the American battleship Massachusetts, while the French fleet, under the cover of the cruiser Primag, also went out to sea to prevent our landing.They happened to run into the entire American fleet, and by the time the battle was over, seven French warships and three French submarines had been destroyed, with about a thousand French casualties.The Jean Bart caught fire internally and ran aground on the beach. On the 9th, the U.S. military consolidated its stronghold while advancing inland.It was not until the morning of November and November that Nogai surrendered under the order of Darlan.He reported that after three days of fierce fighting, all our warships and aircraft were lost. The captain of the Primag, Mercier, was eager for the Allied victory, but because he obeyed the order, he finally died on the bridge of the ship.How thankful we should be to Heaven if Captain Mercier's tragic difficulties and conflicting loyalties cost our soldiers their lives. General Eisenhower's headquarters in Gibraltar began to receive fragments of the fighting and formal French resistance to the Allied landings.The Supreme Allied Commander now faces a serious political situation.He had agreed with Giraud's suggestion that Giraud should be the commander of those French troops who might pledge allegiance to the Allies.But now, suddenly and by chance, a man appeared, and in fact, if he only said a word, the entire French army in North Africa would join us in an organized way.It had been expected that Giro would become the man everyone expected, but this estimate has not been confirmed, and as far as the initial reaction on the landing zone is concerned, it is not optimistic.General Giraud therefore flew to Algiers on the morning of November 9 to negotiate with the French authorities there an immediate cessation of all hostilities, and General Clark followed suit as General Eisenhower's personal representative for the same purpose . The local senior French generals treated Giraud extremely indifferently.The local resistance, which took so long to organize by American and British agents, has collapsed.That night, under the auspices of Clark, Darlan and Giroux held their first talks, but failed to reach an agreement.Apparently, no Frenchman in any important position would recognize Giraud as the supreme commander of the French army.On the morning of November 10, General Clark arranged a second meeting with the admiral.He radioed Eisenhower that the only solution was a deal with Darlan.There was no time for telegraphic consultations with London and Washington.Giroux was not present at the meeting.Darlan was a little hesitant because he didn't get instructions from Vichy.Clark gave him half an hour to make up his mind.The admiral finally agreed to order a general ceasefire in North Africa.In the name of Marshal Petain, he assumed full authority over the territories of French North Africa, and ordered all officials to remain in their posts. Later in the day, the important news came that German troops had now begun to invade unoccupied France.This simplifies Darlan's situation.He could now claim that Marshal Pétain was an outcast, and the local civil and military officials would believe him.This behavior of the Germans also touched Darlan's heartstrings.德軍先頭部隊很快即將進入設在土倫的著名法國海軍基地。正如在一九四○年一樣，法國艦隊的命運又處於危急狀態了。在這種情況下，只有達爾朗享有足夠的威望，能使法國的戰艦駛出土倫。在十一月十一日下午，他採取決然行動，打電報到法國本土說，土倫艦隊在遭到有立即被德軍俘獲的危險時，即駛往海上。盟軍已佈置了海空軍，以便在這種情況下，保護法國艦隻突圍。 後來證明，德國最高統帥部差不多直到最後才知道浩浩蕩蕩地駛往北非的盟軍船隊究竟駛向何地。在德國潛艇的廣大巡邏圈中，許多地點已被切斷了。但是當主力艦隊一旦穿過了直布羅陀海峽，它們的目的地就比較明顯了。然而即使到這時，德國人似乎還以為盟軍這支遠征隊可能是想在意大利登陸或是增援馬耳他島。意大利的總參謀長卡瓦洛羅元帥在他的日記中記下了戈林與凱塞林在電話裡的如下一段對話，這段對話是他偶然聽到的。 戈林：根據我們的估計，這支船隊在未來四十到五十小時內將駛入我們空軍的航程之內，因此必須作好一切準備。 凱塞林：元帥先生，如果有一支船隊企圖在非洲登陸呢？ 戈林：我看它們不是企圖在科西嘉島或撒丁島登陸，就是企圖在德爾納或的黎波里登陸。 凱塞林：恐怕在北非一個港口登陸的可能性要更大一點。 戈林：不錯，不過不會在法屬的港口登陸。 凱塞林：只要這支船隊穿過西西里海峽，我就有時間對付它了。 戈林：如果它不開往撒丁島，它就必然會穿過西西里海峽，因為意大利人沒有在那裡的海面布下水雷，應當對意大利人指出這一點。 直至十一月七日午夜，德國當局和維希之間才有了正式接觸。設在威斯巴登的德國停戰委員會的負責人於該晚召見了駐在該委員會的一名法國軍官，通知他說，目前已駛入地中海的龐大的盟軍船隊的目的地很可能是阿爾及利亞與突尼斯。德國人對維希方面表示願意提供軍事援助。 十一月八日凌晨，關於盟軍逼近北非的報告不斷傳到維希。德國駐維希的政治代表打電話給住在維希附近的賴伐爾，將他從夢中喚醒，再次向他表示，如果盟軍在北非大舉登陸，德國願意提供軍事援助。賴伐爾慌忙趕到內閣。早晨四時，美國臨時代辦平克尼‧塔克先生帶著總統的那封信件到達了貝當元帥的辦公室。賴伐爾已控制了一切。他召集了他的親信，擬好了一封拒絕而充滿敵意的覆信，以便貝當在上午簽字。一小時以後，維希海軍部通知在阿爾及爾的達爾朗說，德國人願意提供空軍援助來抵抗盟軍的登陸。達爾朗在答覆中建議從西西里和撒丁島起飛的德國空軍轟炸盟軍運輸船隻。 直到早晨七時，他們才喚醒了貝當元帥，告訴他這個消息。他對賴伐爾所擬的致美國總統的覆信毫無表示，甚至是毫無興趣。他一面嘴裡吹著一支打獵的曲子，一面毫無異議地在信稿上簽了字。他在九時接見了平克尼‧塔克先生，把覆信交給了他。關於這次會見的情景，其說不一。據說貝當在把那封信交給塔克的時候，他意味深長地輕輕拍了拍這位美國人的肩膀。這位年邁的元帥在那些日子裡就好像是在做夢一樣。 雖然，維希政府依然妄想在盟國和德國人之間玩弄兩面的手法，以便從中取利，但是這種幻想很快就破滅了。納粹加強了壓力，因此在同日上午十一時三十分，維希政府便接受了德國人所提出的、從西西里和撒丁島提供空軍援助的建議。這種卑鄙的決定使得德國人得以迅速而斷然地佔領突尼斯各飛機場，這一行動使我們在戰役中付出了重大的代價。 在同日稍晚一些時候，維希政府又舉行了一次內閣會議，通過了與美國正式斷絕外交關係。 九日晚上，希特勒召賴伐爾去貝希特斯加登。賴伐爾於次日晨乘汽車出發，但是由於遇到大霧，直到十日晨才到達慕尼黑。因此，正當達爾朗在阿爾及爾和盟國談判的時候，正當這個談判的消息給在維希的那些仍然希望貝當元帥站到盟國這邊來的為數很少的人帶來一線希望的時候，賴伐爾正在途中。魏剛特意到維希來勸說貝當元帥不要向德國人屈服，海軍部長奧凡海軍上將也竭力勸阻貝當。他們甚至作到了使貝當同意，擬好一封致達爾朗的電報，同意達爾朗的行動。賴伐爾在慕尼黑獲悉了在阿爾及爾和維希所採取的這些行動以後，勃然大怒，他以辭職為要挾，迫使貝當元帥收回了那封給達爾朗的電報。 這天下午，賴伐爾謁見了希特勒。德國元首以對歷史進行誇張的手法，對這位法國人追本溯源地大談法德過去的關係。他還交給賴伐爾一份德意兩國聯合照會，要求法國同意軸心國部隊在突尼斯登陸。當時齊亞諾也在場，據他說賴伐爾其狀甚為可憐。他的話大概是可信的。十一月十一日清晨，阿貝茨喚醒了賴伐爾，通知他說德國元首已命令德軍佔領法國的自由區。同日，意軍佔領了尼斯和科西嘉。維希政府就此壽終正寢了。 德國人截獲了達爾朗致維希政府的電報後，便對賴伐爾施加壓力，要他逼迫貝當打電報到阿爾及爾，否定達爾朗所採取的行動。克拉克將軍在發現達爾朗顯然準備收回成命時，便逮捕了這個海軍上將。但是貝當用海軍專用密碼發來的一封密電和德軍繼續開入法國的未淪陷區的消息，使得阿爾及爾局勢恢復正常，也使該地有關人士心情好轉。第二天，即十一月十一日，雙方一致同意達爾朗應發出明確的指令，命令土倫艦隊出海，並致電給法國駐突尼斯總督埃斯特瓦海軍上將，要求他參加盟軍。 埃斯特瓦海軍上將是維希政府一名忠心耿耿的走卒。隨著事態的急轉直下，他的惶恐不安也與日俱增。由於他距離西西里和他東部邊境上的敵軍較近，因此他的處境比達爾朗或諾蓋的處境還要糟。他的高級幕僚的優柔寡斷也不下於他。 十一月九日，德國空軍部隊就已佔領在阿維納的一處重要的飛機場。同日，德意部隊開到突尼斯。當在的黎波里塔尼亞的軸心部隊由東方開進突尼斯，而且，盟軍部隊也由西方直奔突尼斯的時候，埃斯特瓦心情沉重，舉棋不定，但在形式上依然表示效忠維希政府。另一位法國將軍巴雷最初對面臨的問題親愛的讀者，像這樣的問題你們還沒有碰到過也是莫知所措，最後他帶著大部分守軍往西投奔吉羅將軍去了。但是，在比塞大港卻有三艘魚雷艇和九艘潛艇向軸心國軍投降了。 有一支法國艦隊自一九四○年以來就一直被凍結在亞歷山大港，在該地曾舉行過談判，但沒有結果。該艦隊的司令戈德弗魯瓦海軍上將對維希政府忠貞不渝，不承認達爾朗海軍上將的權力。他認為盟軍只有先征服突尼斯，然後才有資格宣稱他們有能力解放法國。因此在我方佔領突尼斯以前，他的艦隻一直就在那裡閒置著。 在達喀爾，維希總督布瓦松接受了達爾朗在十一月二十三日所發佈的停止抵抗的命令，但是駐在該地的法國海軍部隊卻拒絕參加盟軍。直到我軍征服整個北非後，黎歇留號戰列艦，還有和它在一起的三艘巡洋艦，才參加我方。 安德森將軍在阿爾及爾登陸成功後，便立即根據原計劃，接管了美國賴德將軍的指揮權。他派第三十六步兵旅由海路攻打布日伊，該旅於十一月十一日兵不血刃地佔領了該城；有一營人並於次日進抵季傑利機場。十一月十二日，兩連英國傘兵在來自海上的突擊隊支援之下，在布奈降落。十六日，其他傘兵降落在蘇克阿爾巴機場，他們由該地向貝雅挺進，再向前便遇到了德軍的陣地。第三十六旅由公路急速向前，進入突尼斯境內，於十一月十七日在阿比奧德山與德軍遭遇。同時，美軍傘兵在十五日也降落於尤克斯鹽沼，在兩天後抵達加弗沙。 我軍通過這些神速的、如入無人之境的行動，佔領了阿爾及利亞東部各處機場。這些機場是支援地面部隊所必須的，因為直布羅陀這時已遠在八百哩外，再也無法掩護我們的地面部隊了。進展如此神速，說明了我軍的英勇大膽，但現在既已與敵軍遭遇，進展就不得不緩慢下來。德軍已迅速採取了對策。他們的首批部隊於十一月九日飛抵該地，原來準備用以增援隆美爾的兩團傘兵和四營援軍不久也力圖阻止我軍前進。繼這些部隊之後，敵軍又投入了德軍第十裝甲師的先頭部隊、意軍的兩個貝薩格利裡營和意軍蘇配爾加步兵師的六個營。到了月底，在突尼斯的軸心國部隊已達一萬五千名，並擁有一百輛坦克、六十門野戰炮和三十門防坦克炮。以突尼斯的良好機場為基地的軸心國俯衝轟炸機也開始進行騷擾活動。不過，我們業已減輕了俄軍的負擔。在十一月一個月中，德軍自東線撤走了四百架作戰飛機，其中多半是遠程轟炸機，以供地中海戰區使用。德方在後一戰區，現在所部署的空軍兵力，占它的全部空軍的四分之一，而在十八個月以前，只佔十二分之一。 英美聯軍在北非登陸，在法國立即產生了後果。德國人早在一九四○年即已擬定了佔領法國自由區的詳細計劃。這個計劃的密碼代號是阿提拉。關於這項計劃的指令是希特勒於那年十二月十日發出的。其目的原為對付魏剛在北非的任何敵對行動。每當法德之間的關係一緊張，便提出了執行阿提拉作戰計劃的問題。這一計劃的主要目標在於完整無損地奪取停泊在土倫的法國艦隊的主力。但是希特勒和雷德爾一直力求與維希合作，他們希望避免承擔佔領全部法國本土以後所必須承擔的義務。 但是盟軍在北非的登陸，卻使形勢徹底改觀。賴伐爾在貝希特斯加登對德國人所介紹的有關達爾朗在阿爾及爾和盟國談判的情況，大概起了決定性的作用。艾森豪威爾將軍也和德國人一樣，急於奪取法國艦隊。其實和達爾朗談判的主要原因也就是因為維希的海陸軍將領聽命於他。德國人顯然絕不甘心白白奉送，因此，當達爾朗致電維希和土倫，催促法國艦隊出海駛向盟軍控制下的港口時，德軍也在兼程趕往地中海海岸。 維希海軍部長奧凡海軍上將原想助達爾朗一臂之力，但是鑒於賴伐爾的淫威和土倫的法國海軍將領的態度，他愛莫能助。拉博德海軍上將，是個對英國人恨之入骨的人。當他聽到盟軍登陸的消息時，他想出海攻擊盟軍的運輸船隊。他拒絕了達爾朗的號召起義的呼籲，當德軍趕抵法國海軍的這個基地的外圍的時候，雙方達成了一項協議，根據這項協議，在該港周圍設立一自由區，由法軍守衛。奧凡勉強同意了這項協議，並盡力在該港加強防禦措施。但是德方在十一月十八日卻要求法軍全部自該區撤退，而該區又只能由海軍來守衛，因此奧凡便於次日辭職。 德方這時計劃對法國艦隊進行突然襲擊。十一月二十七日開始突然行動。靠著少數幾名軍官包括最後終於起義的拉博德的勇敢和機智，全部法國艦隊才得以自己鑿沉。在港口沉沒的七十三艘軍艦中，包括一艘戰列艦、兩艘戰列巡洋艦、七艘巡洋艦、二十九艘驅逐艦和魚雷艇，還有十六艘潛艇。 火炬戰役進攻階段戰果輝煌，實在是一次出色的作戰行動。我方以不大的代價，攻佔了阿爾及爾和卡薩布蘭卡，這和達爾朗海軍上將的干預有些關係。但我方未能大獲全勝，這和突尼斯的法軍將領猶疑不決有關。坎寧安海軍上將在他的關於這些事件的報告中說：我引為終身遺憾的是，在最初進攻布奈時未能採取更大膽的戰略。敵方當時驚惶失措。我方卻未能一鼓作氣，力爭全勝。