The Oran Landings

The coast in the vicinity of Oran is precipitous except in the west, in the area of Les Andalouses, 12 miles from Oran and 30 miles east of Arzew. The port of Oran lies in a semicircular bay, its artificial harbor bounded on three sides by cliffs. Three miles away, on the western side of the Bay of Oran, is the supplementary harbor of Mers-el-Kebir, also artificial and also at the foot of a cliff. Oran was well defended by coastal batteries, particularly on the high ground between the ports of Oran and Mers-el-Kebir, though few of thee guns were long-range. The coastal batteries were manned by naval personnel. There were also some mobile artillery and an infantry division, while Sidi-Bel-Abbes, 35 miles to the south, was the headquarters of the French Foreign Legion. The two local military airdromes were at Le Senia, a few miles south of the city, and Tafaraoui, about 15 miles farther south. the French air defenses consisted of a few old antiaircraft and machine guns and few outmoded  fighter and bomber planes.

The Central Naval Task Force was entirely British, though some of the troop transports were American. There were 46 naval vessels, of which three were carriers, and 44 troopships and freighters. The Center Task Force, under General Fredendall, was composed of the First Infantry Division, Combat Command B of the First Armored Division, one battalion of the 503d Parachute Regiment, and the First Ranger Battalion. The missions of this task force were four:

1. To occupy the ports and airfields in the Oran area.
2. To extend westward to meet the Casablanca expeditionary forces.
3. To build up land and air striking forces in case the Axis erupted from Spanish Morocco.
4. To extend eastward to Orleansville to meet the forces coming from Algiers

The plan of attack envisaged simultaneous landings at Les Andalouses and Arzew, while two British cutters filled with U.S. combat troops would enter the harbor of Oran and seize the shipping and port installations to preserve them from sabotage. The parachute battalion was to be brought from England on the morning of D-day by the 60th Troop Carrier Group and dropped or landed at La Senia or Tafaraoui, depending upon whether the French proved hostile or peaceful.  Air cooperation was to be furnished during the early hours by the British Fleet Air Arm, but the 31st Fighter Group was to fly in from Gibraltar during the day.

Two landings were made about 0200 at Arzew, one to seize the harbor and the other the fort. Both objectives were accomplished, but with dawn, scattered guns about the harbor increased their fire until they were captured by Army detachments. Armored Combat Command B was landed promptly and began a rapid advance upon the airfields of Tafaraoui and La Senia. Two regimental combat teams also began moving toward St. Cloud and Oran. Combat Command B seized Tafaraoui at noon, then moved north toward La Senia. That airdrome, however, held out most of the next day. It was bombed by the Fleet Air Arm and strafed by Spitfires. Upon its capture the batteries above Mers-el-Kebir swung on the field, but were put out of action by Spitfires of the 31st Fighter Group.

Meanwhile the landings at Les Andalouses had been successful, though there was considerable confusion in the darkness. A searchlight illuminating the beaches was extinguished by naval fire. Three French destroyers and an escort vessel sallied from Oran; all were hit and two were sunk. During the morning coastal batteries opened upon the landing beaches and were shelled by the guns of HMS Rodney. One combat team advance toward Oran to seize the heights west of the city, while another column moved on Lourmel airfield.

During 9 November the build-up of forces continued, while forward elements engaged in bitter fighting. By the morning of the 10th the ground forces had pressed their way to the outskirts of Oran, and at 0737 they delivered a coordinated attack. At 1230 the city formally surrendered.