15-100 Garand Picture of the Day - Operation Torch

[Mark in Rochester]

U.S. troops aboard a landing craft head for the beaches during Operation Torch of the North African Campaign. Operation Torch was the joint British and American planned invasion (with additional support from soldiers and sailors of Free France, the Netherlands, Canada and Australia) of Axis-held French North African territories. Oran, Algeria. 8 November 1942.

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[Bill Hollinger]

Third in, middle. So young. Looks like my son Jeff when he was 12.

[CINDERS]

Back Rt side "Brodie hat" a hitch hiker perhaps.......??

[RudyN]

And that kid is a Corporal.

[Bob Seijas]

1942, still a lot of '03s in there.

[Paul S.]

The bloke in the Brodie appears to be wearing a uniform of a different colour or shade from what the rest of lads are wearing. He might be a Free-French or British forces translator assigned to facilitate communication with the Vichy French forces that will be in place to 'greet' them on their arrival.

What is interesting is the presence of what appears to be two 16 mm motion picture camera cases and a rather bulky looking chest lined up in the aisle on the right side of the photo. The bloke with his right hand on the cases may be a combat cameraman.

How newly issued all their kit looks leaves me wondering if they've had any real training before embarkation.

[Bob Seijas]

I think Torch was the first time they used the super-secret Bazooka.

[Mark in Rochester]

Secretly introduced via the Russian front and in November 1942 during Operation Torch, early production versions of the M1 launcher and M6 rocket were hastily supplied to some of the U.S. invasion forces during the landings in North Africa. On the night before the landings, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was shocked to discover from a subordinate that none of his troops had received any instruction in the use of the bazooka.

[browningautorifle]

none of his troops had received any instruction in the use of the bazooka.

Beauty of that is, next day you go to the troops and they'll demonstrate how to use the item...with no instruction. They ain't as dumb as they act some times...

[Bob Seijas]

And they will show you how to change a Jeep tire with it